Today’s Four Questions interviewee is Thomas County Central coach Justin Rogers, whose team won Class 5A in 2025. The Yellow Jackets have won two state championships in the past three seasons under Rogers, including a 62-21 domination of Gainesville last season.
1. What was the legacy of Thomas County Central’s 2025 championship team?
“It was such a historic year, and I mean, just historic not only for us but historic for our school and the amount of records that were set, and I think it’s a historic team when you talk about all-time state championship teams in the entire state. I mean, that was a special group. I don’t know if I will ever coach a group that was as dominant, to go all four years the way they did, the winningest class in the history of the school. And you’re talking about a school that’s won seven state titles, so you ain’t talking about the winningest class at some podunk school. So to have that legacy and then be able to do it in the fashion they did it last year where you really had no close finals. Win 15 (games) in the state of Georgia, so yeah, that’ll be a special group to me for my entire life.”
Note: Thomas County Central scored 808 points and won each game by at least 15. The senior class’s four-year record was 53-3, the best of any Georgia school.
2. What are the strongest areas of this team, and what areas need the most work?
“The biggest thing right now is we’ve just got to get consistent. We’ve got so many new starters, so many people in there. We show signs that we can be a good team, and then we have busts and breakdowns, and you just see it. I compare us almost like a little teenage boy right now in the fact that we can do it, but we’ve got to be mature and consistent. We’ve got to become that young man, and I think we’re making that move. I really do, but we’re not there yet, so thank God we’ve got another month before Aug. 21, because we really have to be able to get more consistent.”
3. You open the season against Colquitt County, where you used to coach. Personally, what does that game mean to you?
“Obviously, personally, being there and all that, that always makes it neat and it’s a cool story. But more importantly, this is two state powers and national names that are neighboring counties. It’s been a travesty they ain’t been playing already, so I’m just glad we finally got it back going, and I hope we’ll keep it in Game 1. I love that it’s the first game of the year, everybody’s excited, so I hope this just becomes a tradition and when you look forward to Game 1, it’s going to be Moultrie (Colquitt County) versus Central. And I think it’s going to be a great test for both of us. I think win, lose or draw, I think both teams are going to benefit in the new (PSR). They’re going to benefit from that because both teams are going to have good years.”
Note: The Thomas County Central-Colquitt County game Aug. 21 will be the first meeting between those programs since 2012.
4. If you had to name one coach that impacted your career the most, who would it be?
“At first, it’s going to be (Veterans coach) Steven DeVoursney, working for him at Griffin. I mean, he’s one of my best friends in the world. I keep up with him, talk to him once a week. He was such a mentor, and he gave me an opportunity to be an (offensive coordinator) when I didn’t deserve it, and so I’m very thankful for him. And then another one would be a head coach I worked for as a really young coach, (former Harris County and Upson-Lee coach) Tommy Parks. He’s passed away now, but Tommy was impactful to a lot of us, and he made a huge impact on me and really just lit a fire in me to love coaching football, so it’d be those two men.”
About the Author
Keep Reading
The Latest
Featured
