While the term "hit for the cycle" is commonly used in baseball, it certainly describes the kind of night River Thomas had on the gridiron in Week 8. The Sylva Bay Academy senior athlete ran, caught and tossed for a touchdown in his team's 36-7 win over rival Newton County Academy last Thursday on Senior Night.
Those were just his accolades on offense. Thomas also added a defensive touchdown early in the second quarter on a 62-yard pick-six to widen the Saints lead over the visiting Generals.
"I thought Thomas was the best player on the field," said Saints head football coach Terry Underwood. "He's a good athlete with a lot of self-confidence, which is what you need. He's also very coachable and has high character. He is willing to do whatever we ask him to do, and that's a good thing.
After the win - and again on Monday - Thomas credited his special night to his supporting cast.
"I don't want to take anything away from my teammates," said Thomas on Monday. "I went out and did my best and what I was supposed to do. I believe we were all ready to play. There was a lot we could have done better, but overall we did well."
When Thursday night was said and done, he padded his stats on the season with 198 all-purpose yards that included 108 yards rushing on 11 carries, one pass for 34 yards and 56 yards on two receptions.
Underwood said Thomas, who is no stranger to big offensive nights, had never had a night quite like his against Newton County Academy.
"I can't say he's ever had a game quite like the other night," said Underwood. "He played receiver for us last year. This year he plays everything from quarterback to running back and corner, safety, and punt return. In our level ball, you must have guys like that. Thomas is a good player, but first and foremost, he's a team player."
Later, Underwood praised his coordinators for the play-calling that put Thomas in scoring situations.
"Thomas is a guy on the field that you have to give the ball to in different ways," Underwood said. "I give our coordinators a lot of credit for creating different ways of doing so. There are certain sets we want him at receiver, there are certain sets we want him at running back, and there are certain sets we want him at quarterback."
The 36-7 win puts Sylva Bay Academy in prime real estate to win its second straight District Championship. The Saints play Bowling Green this week in a non-district contest before finishing out the regular season vs. Amite Christian School in AAA-District 3 on Oct. 25.
"We stepped up to the occasion, especially in a district and rival game," said Underwood. "Newton County Academy came to play and took it to us early. Then we rebounded from there. I give our kids credit. They fought back and made big plays. They did what they had to do to win. It puts us in a great position. If we can beat Amite, we can win the District Championship. But first, we have a big game versus Bowling Green this week because of seeding. As it is right now, we're fighting for either a third or fourth seed come playoffs. If we're able to beat Bowling Green, that could push us to a three seed. If we didn't, then we'd possibly be the fourth seed. You really can't worry about that stuff, but at the same time, it gives us the initiative to get ready for Bowling Green."
Kickoff at Bowling Green is set for 7 p.m. Friday.
