Thomasville, GA | The Thomas Military Transition Football Team picked up their first Sun Conference victory, in program history, by defeating the Warner Royals, 38-26, at Thomasville's Veteran's Memorial Stadium.  Coach Orlando Mitjans, and the Night Hawks, with the win, pick up their first victory over NAIA competition.  Charles Britt, making the surprise start for Thomas, would lead the Night Hawks to the victory.

The Night Hawks would score on their first offensive possession.  Receiving the ball at the 11:59 mark, the Night Hawks would drive 88 yards in 12 plays, utilizing 7:02 on the clock, Britt would complete a 15-yard pass to Tremal Hall for the touchdown (Braxton Crawford PAT).  

Both teams would continue to battle defensively throughout the first half.  Thomas would start a drive with 6:33 in the 2nd quarter.  The Night Hawks would score an apparent touchdown to cap off the drive, but a penalty would negate the touchdown.  Three plays later, with 2:23 remaining in the 2nd quarter, the Night Hawks would add a field goal from Crawford, from 30 yards away, to increase their lead to 10-0, which would be the halftime score.

The Night Hawks would take the opening kickoff of the 3rd quarter 70 yards for another score.  On third down, Britt would complete a 22-yard pass to Brandon Denmark for the score (Crawford PAT).  

Warner would answer with a touchdown on the next drive, to cut the score to 17-7.  After flipping the field, via a punt, the Night Hawks defense would force Warner to punt.  Raheim McBride would block the Royal punt and recover the loose ball to set up the next Night Hawks score.  Three plays later, Britt would complete his third touchdown pass of the day to Jarek Foster, from 14 yards out (Crawford PAT).

On the next Warner possession, Jackson Coley would force a Royal fumble, but the ball was recovered by Warner.  The play occurred on 4th down, giving the Night Hawks the ball at the Warner 16 yard line.  One play later, the Jahvin Butler would take the handoff and run to pay dirt.  After another Crawford PAT, Thomas would increase their lead to 31-7.

After two touchdowns and a failed 2-point conversion by Warner, Thomas would put the final nail in the Royal coffin, in the 4th quarter.  Thomas would use 5 minutes of clock to score their final touchdown.  Britt would cap off an eight play, 59 yard drive with a quarterback sneak, from the 1-yard line, for the score (Crawford PAT).

Warner would score a late touchdown, but fail on another 2-point conversion, to make the score respectable. Warner would attempt an onside kick, but Thomas would recover the ball.  A final kneel down by Britt would give the Night Hawks the victory, in front of the home fans.

A LOOK AT THE NUMBERS

• Thomas would rush the ball 49 times for 168 yards.
• The Night Hawks defense would limit Warner to 24 rushing yards on 26 attempts.
• Thomas double Warner in time of possession:  39:55 to 20:05.
• Thomas was 6/8 in the red zone, scoring five touchdowns.
• Thomas had a season high of four sacks on the day.
• Charles Britt accounted for four of the five Night Hawk touchdowns, passing for three and rushing for one.
• The Night Hawks had three players rush for over 55 yards on the day:  James Amaker (12 attempts, 63 yards), Jahvin Butler (18 attempts, 61 yards), and Charles Britt (12 attempts, 56 yards).
• Only three Night Hawks caught a pass.  All caught a touchdown pass:  Brandon Denmark (3 receptions, 55 yards, 1 TD), Tremal Hall (4 receptions, 47 yards, 1 TD), and Jarek Foster (3 receptions, 43 yards, 1 TD).
• Marcus Dennis recorded two of the Thomas four sacks.
• Adrian Traylor led the team in tackles with eight, plus 0.5 tackles-for-loss, along with two pass breakups. Fabian Yarbrough contributed six takles.
• Nathaniel Tyler recorded an interception.

NEXT UP

The Night Hawks will travel to Babson Park, FL to face the Webber International Warriors, on Saturday.  The Warriors are winless in the Sun Conference in 2023.  Kickoff is set for 1:30 p.m.  For up-to-date information on this game and other TU Athletics, visit http://www.TUNightHawks.com. Stay up-to-date with news, scores, photos, game summaries, play-by-play, and feature stories of your TU Football team by following them via Twitter at @NightHawksMFB.