THOMASVILLE, Ga. —Thomas County Central’s offense could have been compared to an old car on a cold morning with perhaps some bad gasoline in the tank Friday night.

Spittering and sputtering, the Jackets had to overcome an early touchdown deficit to take a 30-8 victory against Monroe High at the Jackets Nest in a game that was a little too close for comfort for TCC’s fans on homecoming.

Two late scores in the final 3:28 made a close game look like a blowout. However, it was far from a comfortable victory.

With former Yellow Jacket superstars Leonard Guyton, Joe Burns and Smoky Robinson serving as honorary captains before the game and reuniting on the field for the first time since leading TCC to the 1997 state championship, many fans hoped the trio would help rekindle some offensive magic the Jackets once enjoyed.

However, Friday’s game showed the team still has a little way to go in its rebuilding project under first-year coach Ashley Henderson.

“No doubt,” Henderson said. “We’ve got to learn how to develop a killer instinct. Our defense gave us a lot of scoring opportunities, and we’ve got to cash in on those. We’ve got to continue to clean things up and we will. Tonight was another step in that process.”

The Jackets failed to convert three times inside the red zone, dropped passes that should have been caught and missed three field goals.

Henderson was glad to get the victory, but he wasn’t exactly pleased.

“We got in the red zone a few times and I threw some passes I shouldn’t have,” quarterback Adam Tedder said. “I take full responsibility for those passes. I’ve got to learn to throw the ball away.”

The Jackets spotted Monroe an 8-0 lead when quarterback David Dilliard scored on a 5-yard keeper, then he tossed a 2-point conversion pass to Octavian Parks with 1:42 left in the first quarter for an 8-0 advantage.

But TCC (3-1) scored 16 unanswered points to close the first half. The defense had a hand in setting up both scores. Imond Hobbs intercepted a pass and returned it 17 yards to set up the Jackets with a first-and-10 at the Monroe 22.

A few plays later, Quay Edwards scored on a 4-yard burst, then Darius Spearman caught a 2-point conversion pass at the 11:33 mark of the second quarter to tie the game at 8.

Then a few minutes later, Tykeem Wallace intercepted another pass and returned it to the Monroe 19. On the ensuing play, Tedder connected with Ben Wilhelm on a 19-yard score. The Jackets made it 16-8 when Carrington Robinson threw a halfback option pass to Tedder on a razzle-dazzle play with 8:53 left.

The Jackets’ best offensive drive came midway through the second half when they had third-and-goal at the Monroe 1-yard line. However, a costly fumble the Tornadoes recovered at the 5-yard line killed their most-promising drive of the game.

Late in the contest, an errant snap on a punt attempt set up the Jackets at the Monroe 6. Dashon Lewis scored on a 6-yard run to make it 23-8 with 3:28 remaining to clinch the game.

But the Jackets weren’t finished. 

Wallace, who had a big game on special teams and defense, returned a punt 36 yards to the Monroe 14 where Dondell Green scored on the next play for a 14-yard touchdown gallop to make it 30-8 with 2:01 left.

Tedder was critical of his play, but he found some positives.

“The offensive line greatly improved as well as the running game,” he said. “And the special teams and defense helped us out a lot.”

The Jackets play host to Class 2A power Brooks County next Friday.