Don't look for repeat of 1989

The last time Thomson and Washington County played, the final score was 69-0 in favor of the boys that call the Brickyard their home. Don't look anything remotely similar in the predictions part of your sports section on Friday.

That was in 1989. It was before Washington County was home to the House of Pain and one of the state's top records over the past 10 years. When the two tradition-rich programs meet Friday night in Thomson, one thing is certain. One team will be packing up their helmets sooner than a lot of Class AAA football teams they're clearly better than.

"The matchup with Washington County will be as tough, if not tougher, than any team we will face in the first three rounds," Thomson coach Luther Welsh said.

That feeling is mutual.

"The brackets are unfortunate," Washington County coach Rick Tomberlin said. "The first round is normally a lot easier than this. We usually don't start seeing teams as good as Thomson until the final eight or the final four."

The Golden Hawks' (7-3) slot as a No. 3 seed from their region has something to do with that.

They came into this year 87-8 at their home stadium in 13 years under Tomberlin. Washington County has lost twice at home this year.

"We're 7-3 and it's a down year," Tomberlin said. "It wouldn't have been a down year before 1992 when I got here; 7-3 would be jubilation. But it's a down year for our last 14 years when we've averaged 11 or 12 wins a season."

Tomberlin verbalized a high level of respect for Thomson.

"They are an awesome team," he said. "We've watched them dismantle teams on film. They took apart Butler. They have no weaknesses and every ingredient of a state championship team."

The teams will be in the same region next season. They are scheduled to meet in the final week of the regular season.

The stakes will likely only be for a region championship then.

"I have nothing but the highest respect for Coach Welsh," Tomberlin said. "He's a tough coach. I won't be able to coach as long as him. But I hope he gets his 300th win next year. I don't want him to get any closer to 300 this year in these playoffs."

THAT'S CLASS: Lincoln County's fans started a new tradition this year. The Red Devils have always stood apart on the field. The class of their fan base has them in another league of their own after the games these days.

"Our die-hards fans started that up after our bad start this year," Lincoln County coach Larry Campbell said. "Those good people never gave up on us. They wanted to do something for our kids to pick them up and let them know they were all still behind them."

So those fans set up a postgame spread worthy of the Golden Corral buffet line for players to eat after Friday night's game. Those that cater the meal even wait until all the players file through the chow line and have something to eat before grabbing one fork of their own.

They even fed Commerce's players on the way home after playing their Red Devils.

SAD STORY: If that is one of the most uplifting scenes of the 2005 regular season, the career of Aquinas lineman Gene Maddox has been the most disappointing.

The 6-foot-3, 340-pound lineman with a set of the quickest feet you'll ever find on a 300-pounder never played this season.

Aquinas coaches reached a point during the midpoint of the season where they gave up on him. The reason for his absence in the lineup began with a delay in getting his summer school correspondence courses turned in to restore his playing eligibility.

Reach Jeff Sentell at (706) 823-3425 or jeff.sentell@augustachronicle.com.