Dublin and Thomasville haven’t played a whole lot throughout the years, only eight times.

          That’s not much.

          But the familiarity between the two will be strong when they battle Friday in a GHSA Class AA semifinal.

Maxwell Ratings Prediction
Dublin by 8

          The only surprise will be if somebody tries a surprise.

          Two years ago, Thomasville beat Dublin 44-22 in the second round of the playoffs.

          Last year, Dublin got revenge 23-7 in the second round.

          “And I think they’re like No. 4 in the state of Georgia in total wins,” Dublin head coach Roger Holmes said.

          In the last five meetings, the home team won. But that only goes back to 2000. Dublin lost at home in 1969 and won on the road in 1963, in a Class 1A West semifinal.

          OK, back to the present. The latest playoff battle is one of contrasts. Thomasville (9-4) is fairly balanced, Dublin (13-1) is nowhere near balanced.

          The Bulldogs have rushed 456 times and passed 314 times. Dublin has 567 carries, and all of 33 pass attempts.

          “They’re very similar to Bleckley County,” Holmes said. “Bleckley and Thomasville converse quite a bit about their systems.”

          Both have multiple threats in the ground game.

          Thomasville’s Ricky Fulton, Ronnie Baker, and Malik Harper have between 586 and 883 rushing yards, each with more than 100 carries, teaming for 21 touchdowns.

          Dublin counters with the three-headed monster of JaQues Evans, Marcus Adams, and Zion Kemp.

          Evans has 194 carries and 1,964 yards with 34, Adams 1,338 yards and 13 touchdowns on 153 carries, and Kemp 111 carries for 1,294 yards and 16 touchdowns.

          Quarterback Markelle Mitchell has 50 carries and seven touchdowns, with 143 yards. He is 13 of 27 for 333 yards, eight touchdowns and one interception.

          Thomasville has given up a few points, though, 24.2 a game to Dublin’s 19.9, and is scoring 15 fewer points a game than the Irish.

          “They’ve had a few kins banged up,” Holmes said. “I antipate them getting a couple players back, and I think that could make a difference.

          But the hosts are more tested in tight games. They have played in seven games decided by 14 points or less, going 6-1. The lone loss is 31-17 to Thomas County Central in the second game.

          There is also a 31-14 loss to Class 3A semifinalist Crisp County, to go with a 31-20 win over AA semifinalist and region runner-up Brooks County.

          Dublin topped Brooks County 49-35 in its third game.

          “There’s not a lot of different, really,” Holmes said of Thomasville and Brooks County. “They’re very comparable to each other.”

          One difference was the kicking game, Thomasville downing punts deep – one leading to a safety – and being able to kick field goals.

          A few weeks ago, that would’ve worried Holmes, whose special teams followed a good start with a slump.

          “There for awhile, we were pretty consistent,” he said. “And then it’s like all of a sudden, the snaps got a little wild with consistency, and then the kicker got his timing and his confidence busted a little bit and just had a hard time putting it together.

          “I don’t think we’ve played a game in four weeks when ewe didn’t have a miss or a bad snap or something on the extra points. A lot of hiccups in the kicking game.”

          And the ship was righted last week in all phases, including following a Bremen touchdown with a long kickoff return to set up a momentum-changing touchdown just before halftime, along with a blocked punt.

          “Last week, the kicking game really is what got us going,” Holmes said. “We played a complete game last week. We were solid in all three phases.”

          Just in time for a road semifinal, in which such execution is a must.

          “They are tremendously coached, and they have a lot of depth,” said Holmes, then going back to his familiarity with the region Thomasville represents. “If you play Region 1, it’s going to be physical, because (first-round opponent) Early County was physical and Brooks County was physical.”