ADEL, Ga. — A 23-point second-quarter explosion for Thomas County Central rocked Cook Memorial Stadium on Friday night. The Yellow Jackets capitalized on the Hornets’ plethora of self-inflicted miscues to blitz the Hornets 44-18. 

The Hornets fumbled eight times and botched three snaps on punt attempts, including one out of the end zone for a safety. The Yellow Jackets took advantage, soaring to a 38-6 advantage at halftime. Central (2-1) finished with 192 total yards.

“Good teams capitalize on (mistakes) and we were able to do it,” Central coach Ashley Henderson said. “Cook will have better nights, and they’ll bounce back.”

Senior quarterback Adam Tedder tossed four touchdowns in the first half to four different receivers — Kai Brown, Jabais Kerbo, Zendai Brooks and Darius Spearman. Tedder completed 15 of 19 passes for 152 yards.

Central’s other first-half touchdown came on its third play of the game on a 33-yard run up the middle.

The Hornets’ lone touchdown of the first half cut Central’s first-half lead to 15-6. After the Hornets’ defense recorded a rare stop, Central punted deep in its own end zone. But the Cook returner muffed the return and Central recovered the fumble. Momentum quickly shifted to the Yellow Jackets. Two plays and 45 yards later, Central found the end zone, as Tedder connected with Kerbo for a long 34-yard scoring strike.

The Yellow Jackets rebounded from a disappointing 39-7 loss to cross-county rival Thomasville on August 24. Central had two weeks to think about the lopsided loss to the Bulldogs and took its frustrations out on the Hornets.

“There’s one or two ways that thing can go after a game like that. Our kids were resilient, and we got better the last two weeks,” Henderson said. “We did a lot of one-on-one stuff; our best on our best. I think it showed tonight. Our offensive line is getting better. Everybody’s getting better. We had a lot of different guys contribute tonight. That’s very encouraging.”

Central won despite fumbling six times and committing six penalties for 54 yards.

The Yellow Jackets return home next Friday for their homecoming matchup with Monroe.