BEARVILLE — Putting last week’s 21-point loss to top-ranked Toombs County in the rearview mirror will be monumental as fourth-ranked Pierce County prepares to host Region 3-AAA member Beach at homecoming Friday night. The Bears (4-1 overall, 1-1 region), who fell two spots a f t e r their first setback of the season, are tangling with a very athletic and explosive Bulldog (2-3, 1-1) squad entering off a 48-35 win against Islands. Beach dropped its region opener 76-7 against Toombs County.
Friday’s meeting is the seventh between the two schools and first since 2018. PCHS has won all six of the previous encounters with the closest matchup a 29-18 win in 2017.
Beach entered the 2026 season off a state playoff berth last year under sixth-year head coach Michael Thompson. It marked the Bulldogs’ first post-season appearance since 2011.
Head coach Ryan Herring and his staff are working to correct defensive mistakes made against a vaunted Toombs County offense.
“We’ve got to do a good job, from the coaching aspect, of making corrections,” said Herring. “We’ve got to make sure our players understand and make corrections ... that’s huge. You don’t look at yourself when you win 49-0. When you come out here and play Toombs and get beat now you’re going to look at yourself real hard. We won’t have a hard time getting the players to understand.
“That was a great litmus test at midseason. You played against the best team in state. That game could have gone either way until the fourth quarter.”
After Sunday’s film study of the Toombs County game, the attention turned towards Beach.
“Beach is loaded on offense,” said Herring. “We (coaches) watched them against Toombs. Beach has got some athletes on offense, so this won’t be a week off for us. They (Bulldogs) are not anything like I thought they were going to be offensively ... they’re pretty good.
“They moved the ball against Toombs. They have some explosive playmakers. The could be the best of the Savannah schools in our region.”
Senior quarterback Jayvion Williams (6-foot-1, 175) directs the spread offense. According to Herring, he is a true dual-threat problem.
Senior running back Jordan Newton, who also plays middle linebacker, is a power back. Lining up at the wide receiver slots are senior Willie Mayes (5-7, 120), senior Dionte Riley and senior Kywan Phillips (6-1, 160).
“They (Bulldogs) are well-versed in what they are doing offensively,” said Herring. “The quarterback does a great job of leading. They are going to run counters and the offensive line, which is a good one, is well-coached in what they are suppose to do. They have a good mixture of height at wide receiver and they can all run.
“We’ve got to stay disciplined in what we’re doing and be better than we were last week. We’ve got to do a better job at all three levels on the defensive side of the ball.”
Herring was unsure of what the Bears’ offensive unit will see.
“They are going to give you multiple looks,” he said. “They’ve (coaches) put a lot of emphasis on the offensive side of the ball.”
Williams joins Newton on the defensive side of the ball playing safety.
“We’ve got to continue doing what we do and get better at it,” said Herring. “We’ve (coaches) got to clean up a few things.”
Beach vs. PCHS Bears lead series 6-0 BHS PCHS 2012 ................18 .........35 2013.................14.........42 2015 ..................6.........33 2016.................13.........58 2017.................18.........29 2018..................0.........38
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