GADSDEN, AL — Pierce County opened the 2026 football season here Friday with what amounted to a third scrimmage by routing Coosa Christian School 55-0 in a game shortened in the second half to a pair of six-minute quarters with a running clock.
The Bears (1-0), ranked 10th in the pre-season top 10 poll, scored on each of their offensive possessions in the first half and two of Coosa’s to activate the “mercy rule” and a running clock in the second half. The coaches agreed to further shorten each of those periods by six minutes.
“After a long trip over (six-plus hours), I thought the guys did a great job,” said head coach Ryan Herring. “We came out and played fast and with effort.”
Coosa Christian (0-1) captured the Class AA state title a year ago under legendary head coach Rush Prospt, who was let go just over a week after the Conquerors’ championship victory. The program had several standout players leave after Propst was ousted.
The 55 points in the first half was a school record. The previous high was 49 on three occasions.
The margin of victory was second only to the 560 win against Jackson in the 2024 playoffs.
The 32-point second quarter trails only the 35 points the Bears scored against Tatnall County in 2012.
Jae’Veon Williams had a hand in four touchdowns to lead the romp. The Bears defense also contributed with a safety and an interception return for a touchdown by Grayson Arington.
Williams, a senior preseason Atlanta Journal Constitution all-state selection, ran for 180 yards on eight carries in less than a half and had running scores covering 54 and 45 yards. He also passed three yards to tight end D.J. Moody for a third, and finished off his scoring night by returning the free kick 59 yards after Coosa Christian suffered the safety.
Sharing time with Williams as the quarterback in the Pierce “Big Bear” attack, Dylan Johnson added a 10-yard touchdown run and Colton McCook ran 64 yards for another. Jack McClellan passed eight yards to Ocean Henderson for the other Pierce touchdown while kicker Fleming Cochran was 5-for-8 on extra point attempts, hitting his first three and final two.
As a team, Pierce had 356 total yards and 12 first downs on only 20 snaps. The Bears never faced third down.
Coosa, now playing in Class A, never threatened to reach midfield, let alone score. Other than Pierce County’s two defensive scores, each of Coosa’s possessions ended in a punt or a kneel down.
The Bears held Coosa Christian to just two first downs and a schoolrecord- tying minus-34 total yards, all rushing. Pierce also held Long County to that total in 2020.
The Conquerors had negative yardage on every possession, giving up the ball deeper than where they took over.
Coosa Christian had a first down on its opening drive, and the yardage gained was wiped out by one of PCHS’s five sacks three plays later. The other first down came in the second half.
Williams put Pierce County on the board less than a minute into the game with his 54-yard jaunt on the game’s second play. Cochran added the conversion for a 7-0 lead with 11:18 left in the quarter.
It only took the Bears three plays to score touchdown No. 2 after taking over on the Coosa Christian 40 following a punt. Williams ripped off 35 yards on the first play for firstand-goal, and after a two-yard dive, found Moody all alone off naked bootleg action for the final three yards with 5:39 left in the quarter.
PCHS picked up the safety on Conquerors’ ensuing possession when quarterback Jay Don Butler was called for intentional grounding in the end zone under a swam of defenders led by Demontrey Clark.
Williams then sprinted through the coverage team with the punted free kick for another touchdown and a 23-0 lead with 4:02 left in the quarter after Cochran’s third PAT.
After another punt, the Bears had their most sustained scoring drive of the night, going 64 yards in four plays. Johnson capped it with his scoring run eight seconds into the second quarter for a 29-0 cushion.
Pierce’s longest scoring drive of the night in terms of yards came after another punt. The McClellanto Henderson pass ended the fourplay, 69-yard possession with 7:18 left in the half for a 35-0 lead to bring on the running clock for the final two periods.
Two plays later, Pierce was on the board again with 5:36 left when Arington pulled in his first career interception and raced 28 yards for the score and a 41-0 advantage.
A pair of one-play possessions by the visitors set the final score at halftime. Williams ended the first with his 45-yard scoring jaunt with 2:54 before intermission, and McCook took a snap to the end zone from 64 yards away with just six seconds left. Cochran followed each score with a conversion kick.
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