WASHINGTON, Ga. --- In a dead heat between neighboring rivals that goes back 79 games, one play in the 45th minute of the 80th game broke the tie.

Thomson converted a fourth-quarter fumble into the winning touchdown with 2:10 remaining to steal a 14-7 victory at Washington-Wilkes on Thursday night.

"Big play needed," was Thomson linebacker Lonnie Harris' simple assessment of the crushing open-field hit he delivered to Washington-Wilkes' star tailback, Eric Scott, on an option play. The ferocious collision sprung the ball loose. It was picked up by Darius Eubanks and returned 22 yards to the Tigers' 12 with 3:37 remaining and the game tied 7-all.

Four plays later, James Bonner scored his second touchdown of the night from a yard out to lift the Bulldogs to the victory and a 40-39-1 career record in the overall series.

"One's about as good as the other," Thomson coach Luther Welsh said of the matchup. "That was the difference. We needed a big play like that."

Until then, Class A Washington-Wilkes seemed to hold a slight edge this night over its Class AAA rival from just down U.S. Route 78. The Tigers had outgained the Bulldogs by more than 100 yards to that point.

"It's disappointing but at the same time I couldn't be any prouder of our team," said Washington-Wilkes coach Russell Morgan of the early-season game that is often the measuring stick for how good his Tigers can be. "We played about as hard as we could play. We're light years ahead of where we were last year."

In a balanced series that has tilted Thomson's way in a 1-7 stretch since 2000, the teams looked nearly identical most of the night. Especially in a first half that featured matching sustained drives.

Thomson struck first with 14-play, 65-yard march that consumed 8:21 of the first and second quarters. Two big conversions kept the drive alive, with Bonner converting a third-and-10 with a 15-yard lateral run and Jeremy McGahee taking a toss for 10 yards on fourth-and-5. Bonner capped it off with a 4-yard touchdown untouched off the left side.

But Washington-Wilkes answered immediately with a 14-play, 73-yard touchdown drive of its own that ate up 6:49. The catalysts were two big pass completions by Teverrius Jones -- a 28-yarder to Deandre Stewart and a 7-yard screen to Deon Jackson on fourth-and-5.

Jones finished it off with a 1-yard sneak to tie it.

Washington-Wilkes had an opportunity to build on that march after Tyrance Ashmore recovered a fumbled snap at the Bulldogs' 31 on Thomson's next play, but the Tigers coughed it right back up on their first snap when Jones mishandled the handoff to Scott.

Scott finished the night with 103 yards despite suffering cramps that required him to get fluids at halftime. He hurt his shoulder on the decisive fumble.

Bonner led Thomson with 72 rushing yards, while Jeremy McGahee added 36 and Dontavis Brown 22.