CANEY BAY — Brantley County is hosting Islands of Savannah inside Herons Stadium Friday night for homecoming as well as the first Region 3AAA football game.
BCHS is 1-2 while the Sharks enter 3-0. The crowning of the queen will take place at halftime. Kick off is 7:30 p.m.
See Page 6 for a report.
Herons open Region 3 play vs. visiting Islands Sharks
CANEY BAY — Brantley County returns to the gridiron here Friday night hosting surprising unbeaten Islands of Savannah in the Region 3-AAA opener for both schools.
The Herons (1-2) last played in Claxton two weeks ago where they dropped a tough 1613 decision to the Tigers turning the ball over on downs when a fourth down pass into the endzone was batted away inside the final minute of play.
“We had a good week of practices and just got after it,” said first-year head coach Matt Hickox. “We worked internally to fix ourselves. It was almost like a fall camp where we (coaches) went back to work on fundamentals.
“We also worked on situational settings. I thought the players responded and competed well.”
BCHS is playing its 55th region opener in school history which has produced just 11 wins, the last coming in 2024 when the Herons shocked seventh-ranked Jeff Davis 28-21. It was just the fourth region opening victory this century with Brantley County beating Appling County in 2005, Jeff Davis in 2006 and Beach in 2013.
The Herons recorded wins in 1970 and 1971 over Atkinson County, 1975 over Blackshear, 1981 against Irwin County, 1984 vs. McIntosh County Academy, and 1986 and 1987 over Pierce County.
BCHS and Islands are meeting for just the fifth time and first since playing twice in both 2014 and 2015. The Herons won all four meetings with 40-7 and 51-3 victories in 2014 and 27-0 and 45-6 in 2015.
Islands enters 3-0, its best start to a season since 2020 when the Sharks began 6-0 and climbed as high as No. 7 in the Class 4A Top 10 poll. The program followed the six-game unbeaten streak by losing 48 of its next 53 games heading into the 2026 season, which included a 38-game losing streak.
The Sharks three victories are two more than they had over the past four seasons when they went 1-39. Their three wins are over teams who have combined for a 0-10 mark. Islands beat Groves (03) 36-24, Savannah (0-4) 18-0 and Bryan County (0-4) 14-7.
Islands operates out the old Georgia Southern run-based double-slot offensive scheme. The Sharks are averaging 37 rush attempts per game, 231.7 yards on the ground, and six yards per attempt. They are only throwing the ball three times per outing.
“They (Sharks) will dabble with the spreads, but their bread-and-butter is running the ball in the wing-slot formation,” said Hickox. “It’s a very disciplined offense with a sugar huddle and then quickly lining up at the line of scrimmage for the snap. There’s a lot of eye candy with movement.”
Junior quarterback Mason McLaughlin (6-foot-2, 170 lbs.) directs the offensive scheme. He has completed 4-of-6 passes for 72 yards and a touchdown.
He is the third-leading rusher with 108 yards on 18 attempts and a team-high three touchdowns. McLaughlin has a long run of 36 yards. Junior Parker Woods (5-10, 170) is the leading rusher with 201 yards on 26 carries to go along with two touchdowns. His best outing was 110 yards on nine carries against Groves in the season opener. Woods’ longest run is 78 yards. Junior Nathan Tulloch (5-9, 170) is second in rushing with 189 yards on a team-high 30 attempts. He has scored twice and has a long run of 54 yards. Senior wide receiver Michael Cooler (6-4, 205) has three catches for 58 yards and two touchdowns. “The key for us is having our eyes in the right place,” said Hickox of his defensive unit. “We’ve got to line up quickly and correctly. It’s about alignment, assignment and eye discipline.
“There’s a lot of misdirection, so we’ve got to make sure we’re where we need to be because all their (Sharks) backs need is a missed creased. It should be a quick game because we both like to run the ball. It should also be a physical game. It will come down to who taps out first.”
Islands utilizes a 3-4 defensive alignment which is allowing just 10.3 points per game, a stark improvement over the 43.5 points surrendered during its 39 losses in 40 games entering this season.
“They (Sharks) have some pretty athletes,” said Hickox. “They have a cornerback who is very good and a linebacker who just make plays.”
Junior nose guard Matthew Enus (511, 205) anchors the defensive front. Enus has 12 tackles and one tackle for loss through three games. Senior defensive back Andrew Davis (5-9, 170) is the leading tackler with 13 stops.
Senior Middle linebacker Jackson Tripp (5-8, 170), who has a team-best three TFLs, and senior linebacker White Perry (5-9, 175) are tied for third in tackles with 10 apiece.
“We have got to learn to sustain our blocks,” Hickox said. “Going back and looking at game films, we’re moving the ball and just not scoring. We’ve got to quit shooting ourselves in foot by not sustaining blocks or committing penalties.
“This game is about sustaining blocks, playing cleaner and finishing drives. That’s where our focus has to be.”
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