BEARVILLE — Third-ranked Pierce County will have its hands full when surging Region 3-AAA foe Tattnall County visits Friday night in a matchup of teams tied for second place.
The Warriors (3-3 overall, 2-1 region) have won three of their last four games, including two straight, for their most wins in a season since 2022. PCHS (5-1, 2-1) rebounded from its first loss to roll past overmatched Beach 65-20 at homecoming.
Friday’s meeting is the 25th in a series dating back to 1996. The Bears have won the last 15 meetings by an average score of 44.9 to 11.9 to open an 18-6 advantage. PCHS has dominated the last seven matchups outscoring the Warriors 285-27 (40.7-3.9) with three shutouts and not allowing more than seven points.
Tattnall County has rebounded from an 0-2 start with losses to Windsor Forest (31-21) and Treutlen (4112) with three victories over Chatham County schools. The Warriors downed Savannah (31-0) ahead of falling in their region opener to Appling County (49-13). TCHS followed with wins over Johnson-Savannah (24-6) and Islands (31-14).
Johnson is the only common opponent for the two schools. Pierce County posted a 49-6 victory to begin region play.
TCHS enters the game averaging 26.4 points per game utilizing the groundoriented old Georgia Southern doubleslot offensive scheme. The Warriors average 25 rushing attempts and 130 yards per game and throw the ball about three times a game. Senior Manuel Gonzalez (5-foot 10, 155) directs the offense. Gonzalez has 28 yards rushing and 124 passing on 5-of-7 completions with two touchdowns. Freshman wingback Jacari Jones is the leading rusher with 197 yards on 30 tries and one score. Junior fullback Shayon Guest has accumulated 159 yards and a team-leading four scores on 29 attempts. Freshman wingback Josiah Melvin has 122 yards on 17 carries and two scores.
“They (Warriors) have a couple (Jones, Guest) of good backs,” said PCHS head coach Ryan Herring. “There is a lot of misdirection, there are some power runs and they run sweeps. Most of the time they have a wide open receiver when they do pass.
“We’ve just got to make sure we line up correctly. We’ve got to be sound and read our keys and not get caught by the misdirection plays.”
Defensively, the Warriors mix up from even (four-man) to odd (five-man) fronts. Tattnall County is allowing 28.2 points a game climbing to 40.3 in their three losses.
“I think their (Warriors) base is a 50 and they drop an end to move into a 40,” Herring said. “They may be in a 60 (six-man front) against us.
“Right now, I need for us to get healthy. That’s the biggest thing is we need Jae’Veon (Williams) and Ocean (Henderson, tight end) to be able to go Friday night.
“The key, outside of their return, is being able to identify the structure of the defense and how to attack. I thought we did a good job Friday against Beach.”
Williams led the state in rushing (1,450 yards) before sitting out the 65-20 rout of Beach with a foot injury. Henderson suffered an ankle injury at Toombs County missing the second half and the homecoming game.
The Bears turned to juniors Dylan Johnson and Jack McClellan to handle the bulk of the running game combining for
420 yards on 30 carries and scoring eight touchdowns.
TCHS vs. PCHS Bears lead series 18-6 TCHS PCHS
1996 ..........34 ............13
1997 ..........47.............19
2000..........19 ............20
2001 ..........16 .............14
2006..........18.............19
2007..........14 ............26
2008 .........35 ............26
2009 .........22.............14
2010..........33...............7
2011 ............6.............37
2012..........36.............67
2013 ............6 ............49
2014............6.............55
2015 ..........26.............56
2016..........28 ............49
2017 ..........22.............31
2018..........22 ............49
2019............0 ............49
2020 ...........6 ............50
2021............0.............35
2022............7.............37
2023 ...........0.............31
2024............7.............37
2025............7 ............42
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