CANEY BAY — Brantley County plays its home opener Friday night when Class A Lanier County visits for a 7:30 p.m. kick.
The Herons (0-1) kicked off the 2026 season in Alma falling to the Class AA Red Raiders 20-0, the third consecutive season BCHS has dropped the first game of the season. Brantley County is 3-7 over the last decade in the first game of the year.
Lanier County (0-1) had its season opener against Berrien postponed Friday night because of weather. The two teams met Saturday morning in Lakeland with the Rebels rolling to a 41-2 victory.
The visiting Bulldogs enter Game 2 having lost 20 of their last 23 games dat- ing back to a 2023 playoff loss vs. ECI. Meanwhile, Brantley County (12 straight losses) is in search of its first win since a November 1, 2024 14-7 win in the infamous matchup with Bacon County in Alma which ended with a brawl.
Friday night’s encounter is the eighth in a series dominated by the Herons, who have won five of the seven matchups. The two teams played to a 21all tie in 2003.
“Lanier (County) is in a similar situation as us,” said BCHS head coach Matt Hickox. “They (Bulldogs) have a new head coach who is implementing new schemes on both sides of the ball. We both have evolving concepts on each side of the ball.”
Marcus Gowan is in his first season at the helm of Lanier County. He led Gordon Central (Region 7-A DI) to a 7-5 mark last season in his first year as a head coach.
The Bulldogs return just one all-region first team player on offense with senior wide receiver Daishon Pope (6-foot-2, 175 lbs.), who caught a team-high 16 passes for a team-high 322 yards and team-leading two touchdowns.
Pope has help on the outside with honorable mention wide receiver Waylon Tucker (6-2, 160). Sophomore Caleb Taylor (5-9, 135), junior Parker Brantley (5-11, 170) and senior Evan Yearby (6-1, 175). Outside of Pope, the four others combined for 11 receptions covering 86 yards and a touchdown by Yearby.
Three returning ball carriers accounted for just 10 percent of the 414 yards rushing last year. Back are senior Jalen La (6-foot, 180), senior Tobias Hollis (6foot, 182) and sophomore Devin Reeves (5-11, 190).
Along the offensive front are honorable mention performers in juniors Trey Heirs and Christian Contreras (5-10).
“They (Bulldogs) want to be a runbased offense going down hill with some option and RPO (run/pass option) elements,” said Hickox. “The more games they play the more versatile the scheme will become. I’m just excited to get back out there and compete to try and get a bad taste out of our mouth.”
Lanier County’s defensive unit from 2025 had just one player receive all-region status with Yearby being named as a first team defensive back.
“Defensively, Lanier County likes to mix up its fronts,” Hickox said. “We’re going to try and establish a running game. With our injuries, we’ve (coaches) got a million questions to find answers for. We’ve got to be creative with the players we have who are going to be playing.
“I feel pretty good about the moves we’re making. Players with not a lot of experience are going to get their chances. The depth chart is also changing with the moves.”
LCHS vs. BCHS Herons lead series 5-1-1 LCHS BCHS
1997 ...........................7 ......................57 2002 ........................14......................48 2003 ........................21 ......................21 2004..........................0......................30 2005 ........................19......................42 2008........................34 ........................7 2009 ..........................7......................42
Comments