BEARVILLE — Pierce County will find out where the program is at Friday night at 7 p.m., inside Glynn County Stadium when the Bears face Class 6A Glynn Academy in the first of two scrimmages before the August 21 season opener in Alabama.
The two teams met in Bearville last year with the Bears posting a 35-7 victory limiting the visitors to just 119 yards of offense in the threequarter varsity scrimmage.
Pierce County is coming off a 9-3 campaign, which ended a stretch of seven consecutive 10+-win seasons. PCHS has made 15 consecutive post-season appearances starting with the 2011 season.
The Bears are also having to replace seven starters on each side of the ball, the most in any season during head coach Ryan Herring’s eight-year tenure.
Meanwhile, Red Terrors’ head coach Rocky Hidalgo enters his 13th season and 18th overall. Glynn Academy is coming off a 6-5 campaign in 2025 extending its playoff stretch to 18 consecutive seasons.
Since starting practice June 1, Herring has been impressed with his squad’s increased football IQ.
“We’ve still got a ways to go, but our football IQ has gone up,” he said.
That IQ, especially on the defensive side of the ball, will be tested by Glynn Academy’s offensive scheme. The Red Terrors unveiled the old Georgia Southern flexbone last season.
The Terrors averaged 29.6 points per game, the 8th-best points per game in school history and the 2nd-highest during Hidalgo’s tenure.
Returning to direct the offense is rising junior quarterback Max Noonan (5-foot-11, 160 lbs.), who missed much of spring practice while helping Glynn Academy’s baseball team make a deep playoff run. Noonan led the Terrors in rushing yards and touchdowns last season while quickly picking up the new offense.
Replacing the two-headed attack of Da’sean Howard and DJ Creighton at fullback will be one of the questions on offense for the Terrors. Glynn Academy has several potential options at the position, including junior Caiden Robinson, standout senior linebacker Cooper Reiss (62, 220) and junior backup quarterback Ayden Wilson (6-2, 190), who could all see carries in the backfield.
“It may sound like we’re beating a dead horse here, but we’ve got to get lined up on defense,” said Herring referencing a priority with seven new faces in the lineup. “We just didn’t do a good job of that last year. We’ve got to get lined up and be able to play with technique and be able to fit the run.”
Offensively, Pierce County will also have seven new faces in the lineup. The Red Terrors are missing half of their top tacklers from a year ago with graduation.
Glynn Academy’s unit will be led by senior middle linebacker Cooper Reiss (6-2, 220) and junior inside linebacker Barron Hayes.
PCHS counters with explosive senior running back Jaeveon Williams, who piled up over 1,700 yards rushing to earn Region 3-AA Offensive Player of the Year honors.
“Offensively, I want to see how we do blocking other people and knowing who to block ... just our rules,” Herring said heading into the scrimmage. “I want to know where we are at as far as all our fundamentals.”
PCHS will close out the pre-season schedule August 14 traveling to Wayne County for a 7 p.m. scrimmage at Jaycee Stadium.
The Bears kick off the 2026 season for keeps August 21 on the road in Gadsden, Ala., vs. 2025 Class AA state champion Coosa Christian at 7:30 p.m., central time.
Pierce County heads to Quitman August 28 to tangle with Brooks County at 7:30 p.m., to close out the month.
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