Here's how Michael Youngblood rebuilt Thomson football into a state power

Five wins, seven losses.

That was the result of Thomson's 2018 football season, Michael Youngblood's first year as the Bulldogs' head coach.

He keeps a copy of that schedule by his desk as a not-so-subtle reminder of where the program was when he started. Flash forward to this week, he and his team are preparing for a state playoff semifinal matchup against Appling County.

“When I first got here, we didn’t have some of the things that you needed to be at the top of the food chain," he said. "It was rough. It reminds me where we’ve come from.”

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Losing is a tough pill to swallow for a championship-caliber program like Thomson as much as it is for a coach like Youngblood. Even going back to his college days as a linebacker at Georgia Southern, where he helped lead the Eagles to a pair of national championships (1999, 2000). He also helped lead Tucker (2008) and Burke County (2011) to state championships as an assistant coach.

The pairing was a match made in heaven as Thomson, a program looking for its first state championship since 2002. Following Rob Ridings' retirement after the 2017 season, Thomson tabbed Youngblood as the man to bring the Bulldogs back to their former glory.

What they found out, however, is that a rebuild of that magnitude doesn't happen overnight. That's where getting the administration and the community to buy in can make or break the process.

“It’s a work in progress. In today’s society everybody wants that instant championship and they don’t give you a chance to build, so I give credit to our board of education, our superintendent, our principal and our athletic director for giving time to let this thing grow," Youngblood said. "Seeing the improvements year-in and year-out and giving it time to blossom and now I think everybody’s starting to see all the hard work that was put in.”

The community is one thing, but getting the players to buy in can be another thing entirely. Transitioning to a new coach after hearing one voice for many years is never easy. Like other aspects of building a program, time is a necessary element. Building a championship culture can, and usually does, take years.

“It was tough at first, because you’ve got to think they were used to doing things a certain way for three years. Then this new coach comes in and he wants to change how we think and change what we do. You get into the next year and start to see some of the same stuff and you’re starting to weed out some things," Youngblood. "Now you can truly say we have our players in here, our way of thinking, our way of doing things and it’s starting to take off.”

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The players have taken notice. Senior tailback Jontavis Curry is quick to give much of the credit for their success to his head coach.

“Coach Youngblood has helped a lot of the kids and he does a lot for us," he said. "If it wasn’t for him, we wouldn’t be in this situation we’re in now. He set us up for some good success in life and I thank him for that.”

Junior quarterback Jahkiaus Jones echoed Curry's sentiment, saying that Youngblood's mentorship goes far beyond the huddle.

“He’s like a father to everybody on the field. He doesn’t sugarcoat anything and he treats everybody the same," he said. "He got us to the final four and it’s a blessing to have him as a coach.”

Thomson has improved each year under Youngblood's leadership. While he knows there were a few bumps along the way, it's obvious the program has turned a corner as the Bulldogs seek to win 13 games for just the fifth time in the school's history.

“It’s hard when you’re going through the process. You sit there and look at you’re 5-7 the first year, 6-6 the second year and then all of a sudden it starts to come together for you," he said. "We were able to win 10-plus games last year, nine-plus the year before that and now we’re sitting at 12-1.”

Going forward, the message stays the same. That message remains intact whether Thomson's season ends in Baxley or Atlanta, and for years to come.

“The biggest thing now is to make sure we keep taking care of business and keep getting better year-in and year-out," Youngblood said. "It’s about challenging our kids to be the best that they can be each week, not only on the football field, but in the classroom and within the community. Now I think you’re starting to see all of those things come together.”

Thomson hits the road to face off against Appling County Friday at 7:30 p.m. The winner locks up a spot in the Georgia High School Association 2A state championship game at Center Parc Stadium in Atlanta next Friday.

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: How Michael Youngblood rebuilt Thomson football into a title contender