SOUTHMONT — Thomasville is finally starting to enjoy Friday nights.

In the Bulldogs Central Carolina 2-A Conference opener against Central Davidson, the defense pitched a shut-out in THS' 21-0 victory over the Spartans.

With two wins in a row, the Bulldogs are starting to find some things that work on both sides of the ball and, following a rough four-game losing streak, are right where they need to be with conference play in full swing.

"I told them we've been playing out of a hole all year," THS coach Allen Brown said. "If we could win [this game] for the first time, we'd be ahead. It's really big for us psychologically. If we had lost it would put our backs to the wall again. This gets it away from the wall a little bit. Success breeds success."

What worked Friday night was a whole lot of Kesean Green running behind an improved effort from the offensive line. The junior broke two long scoring runs on the way to 184 yards, giving the defense more than enough offense to work with.

CDHS' wing-T offense may have worried Brown before the game, but the defense didn't show it as the Bulldogs wreaked havoc on the Spartans ground game, allowing just eight first downs.

"They were there all night," said Brown. "I was really proud of the way they adjusted to the Wing-T. We haven't seen a lot of it. They were terrific."

Trailing by 14, the Spartans had a chance midway through the final quarter with the ball at the THS 5-yard line. A penalty and a sack wasted that opportunity and the Bulldogs took over following a failed fourth down conversion. It took THS less than a minute to break Central's back, as Green broke an 87-yard touchdown run around the right side that sealed the deal.

"The offensive line really stepped it up for me," Green said. "I just followed Lawrence Thomas. We had to step it up. I wanted to come out and do my best and help our team win. Now we're 1-0 on the conference."

An opening quarter dominated by defense turned offensive with less than two minutes to go when Green burst through a right-side hole 55 yards to the end zone. Lawson Hodges' PAT put the Bulldogs ahead 7-0 with 1:12 remaining in the first quarter.

With the running game established and the defense in full control, Sam Nelson started making play downfield with the THS passing game. During the Bulldogs second possession of the second quarter, the southpaw completed two key third down passes before connecting with Brandon Lucas on a 25-yard post route for a score.

Central Davidson, despite not picking up a first down until its final drive of the half, had a chance to make things interesting going to intermission. The Spartans drove down to the Bulldogs 20-yard line with less than 20 seconds to go in the half, but Isaiah Williams picked off a Kirk Brown pass at the THS 10 and raced 90 yards the other way for an apparent touchdown. A block in the back penalty nullified the score, however, and the Bulldogs went to the locker room up 14-0.

Staff Writer Eliot Duke can be reached at 888-3578, or duke@tvilletimes.com.