THOMASVILLE — Thomas County Central is set to begin Region 1-AAAAA play in the same position it began its region slate last year. The Yellow Jackets are 5-1 with their only defeat to a Region 1-AA opponent. Last year it was to Thomasville. This year it was to Brooks County.

However, according to Central coach Ashley Henderson, that’s where the similarities end.

“I think we feel like it’s night and day,” Henderson said. “I think we’re a better football team. They culture of our program is just different. I think we’re better suited this year to handle adversity. Right now we’ve had to handle more injuries this year. We’ve been able to do that and I think we’re better for it.

“I think this year’s team has handled adversity a lot better than last year’s team and that’s not a strike against anybody, it’s just a compliment to this bunch.”

The Yellow Jackets rebounded from a 38-22 defeat to the Trojans two weeks ago to throttle Worth County 40-12 last Friday night. Junior quarterback Kalique Guyton led Central with 271 passing yards and five total touchdowns.

But the degree of difficulty increases this week with the start of region play. Central will travel to Warner Robins to face the state runners-up from last year. The Demons, 12-game winners last year, are 6-1 this season with their only defeat being a 31-14 loss to Class AAAAAAA Colquitt County.

“We have a lot of respect for that program. We have a lot of respect for coach (Marquis) Westbrook and the job he has done there this year just keeping that thing rolling, looking at them on tape,” Henderson said. “They’re in the state championship conversation year in, year out. That’s where we want to grow our program to be. I think that is a really good measuring stick to see where we stand.

“You know where you stand right out of the gate.”

It doesn’t get any easier with the rest of the region slate. Harris County, which lost 37-22 to Warner Robins on Friday night to drop to 4-3, will travel to Central next week. Games against Veterans (6-1) and defending state champion Bainbridge still await the Yellow Jackets.

“I think everybody’s better,” Henderson said. “You look at Harris County, they gave Warner Robins fits for the first half Friday night. Veterans beat Bainbridge and we all know what Bainbridge had coming back. I think it’s a tight race. Warner Robins was the region champs so everybody is out to get them, but at the same time you’ve got the state champion in your region as well.

“It’s definitely a tough region and there’s really no room for error. You’ve got to take advantage of every one of the games you get and try to win one each week.”