BRUNSWICK — Pierce County Head Coach Ryan Herring found answers to his concerns here Friday night at Glynn County Stadium against two higher classification schools in a three-team jamboree.
The Bears, in search of replacements at 14 positions heading into the 2026 season, belted Class 7A Richmond Hill and Class 6A Glynn Academy, who hosted the scrimmage, by a combined score of 49-0 over three quarters.
“I wanted us to be able to line up right on both sides of the ball,” said Herring, who is entering his eighth season, of what he was looking for in the scrimmage. “Last year, defensively, we had a big problem in getting lined up. Offensively, I wanted to halfway be able to execute. I also wanted to make sure we ran and hit people. I think we did all three a decent amount.”
“Now, of course we make mistakes. There’s things we’ve got to fix and clean up, but I think we lined up right a lot. I think we executed a lot. I think we hit people a lot. So I’m very, very happy and glad we came over here and saw two different teams. That was pretty neat and I think it was a real positive night for us.”
Another area of defensive concern for Herring was replacing all four linebackers in the Bears’ 3-4 alignment.
“What we (coaches) saw wasn’t too bad,” he said. “There’s a lot of things we messed up on, but it’s things I know we can fix. I thought the inside backers, at times, did really good. At times, the outside linebackers made some great plays. At times, they didn’t. So, you know, we’ve got to get that 50-50 more to 80-20 this week.”
The defensive unit smothered Richmond Hill’s and Glynn Academy’s rushing attacks allowing just three yards on 24 attempts (nine negative plays) and a combined 85 total yards of offense. The two teams managed eight first downs.
Herring also wanted to see how PCHS’s retooled offensive line would work together with three returning players — one moving from tight end over to tackle.
The Bears piled up 192 yards on the ground (22 attempts) and 195 through the air for 387 yards of total offense.
“Tonight wasn’t bad,” the veteran coach said. “We saw different fronts from both teams. I saw some mistakes that are easily correctable. The more reps we get, you know, another scrimmage next week (at Wayne County) is going to help us seeing different stuff.
“The key is just knowing our jobs. Just like the Marines say, do your job. We’ve got to know our job ... we’ve got to do our job.”
PCHS received several standout performances on both sides of the ball. Offensively, senior pre-season Class AAA all-state running back Jae’Veon Williams looked in midseason form rushing for 117 yards on 12 carries scoring once. He turned a short pass in the flats into a 50-yard score on his lone reception.
Junior running back Dylan Johnson showed off his speed on his three carries with two resulting in touchdowns on runs of 15 and 50 yards while finishing with 68 yards on three attempts.
Junior quarterback Jack McClellan completed passes to six different receivers finishing 8-of-12 for 195 yards and touchdowns to four different receivers covering 17 (D.J. Moody), 50 (Williams), 36 (Demontrey Clark) and 42 (Will Higginson) yards.
On the defensive side, senior nose guard Ja’Lynn Everette announced his presence to future opponents with several stops behind the line of scrimmage and two fumble recoveries. Everett, a third-place finisher at the Class AA state wrestling tournament in February, was playing in his firstever football game.
Junior inside linebacker Noah Delaney, a backup last season, and Moody, a sophomore outside linebacker, harassed the quarterbacks for both teams recording a sack apiece.
Pierce County’s most experienced group is at the defensive back positions. The Bears’ defenders did a good job in man-to-man coverage on Richmond Hill’s and Glynn Academy’s wide receivers with quarterbacks completing just 9-of-23 passes for 82 yards.
Junior place-kicker Fleming Cochran looked comfortable in his first action handling PATs with the graduation of Garrett Stevenson finishing 7-for-7 in conversion attempts.
PCHS scored on its final play in the first quarter (six minutes or 15 plays) against Richmond Hill. Williams capped the 10play, 50-yard possession with a two-yard run.
The Bears punched in three scores in the second period while scrimmaging Glynn Academy. Johnson went 15 yards for a score on the second snap and followed one play later with a 50-yard burst. McClellan connected with Moody six plays later for a 17-yard score.
Pierce County finished the jamboree with a threetouchdown outburst in the final stanza against the Wildcats. Williams turned a short pass from McClellan, the first of nine straight passes, into a 50yard score two plays into the Bears’ final possession.
Clark, a senior, pulled in a tipped McClellan pass for a 36-yard score on a quick slant. Two plays later, sophomore Will Higginson raced 42 yards on McClellan’s last pass of the night for the final score.
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