CANEY BAY — Brantley County heads into the final two weeks of the regular season needing at least one win to earn a state playoff berth and two to guarantee one of 32 spots in the Class AAA field.
The Herons (3-5 overall, 2-3 region) host Tattnall County (3-5, 2-3) here Friday night on Senior Night. BCHS and the Warriors are two of three teams (Beach) with 3-5 overall records and 2-3 in region. The trio are trying to finish among the top 32 teams in the PRI rankings to earn a playoff berth.
Brantley County is currently 34th and 30th minus four Private School teams which is inside the cut line. Tattnall County sits in the 44th spot after falling 31-13 to the Bulldogs last week, who are 39th. The Herons close with Beach in the regular season road finale.
“We’re expecting a very competitive game with a great atmosphere,” said head coach Matt Hickox. “If they (Warriors) win out or if they win one (Toombs County in season finale), they’ll probably earn a playoff spot. We’re in the same situation. We’re trying to build confidence and do what we can to get to the playoffs.
“We’re (coaches) trying to build confidence in our guys and do what we can to get to the playoffs. Once you get in the playoffs, that’s you know that’s the second season. You’re practicing while other teams aren’t, you’re getting better and you’re developing the younger guys.
“Those are special environments. You get to play some new teams. Anything can happen in the playoffs. You’re playing for keeps when you when you’re in the playoffs.”
BCHS will honor the 10 senior players in a pregame ceremony, along with other senior Fall sports athletes, band and JROTC cadets.
The Herons and Tattnall County are renewing acquaintances after a 16-year run was interrupted with Brantley County dropping in classification after the 2023-24 school year. The Warriors lead the series 10-6 after winning the first six matchups. Brantley County has won six of the last 10 including a 31-3 victory in the last meeting in 2023.
The two teams have four common Region 3 opponents in which each went 2-2. Both lost to second-ranked Appling County (45-6 BCHS; 49-13 TCHS) and third-ranked Pierce County (52-0 BCHS; 56-17 TCHS). Each won against Johnson-Savannah (BCHS 27-14; TCHS 24-6) and Islands (7-6 BCHS; 31-14 TCHS).
The biggest key Hickox and his staff face this week is flushing the loss to the Bears.
“There was a lot of disappointment,” said Hickox. “We had some stuff dialed up that if we execute we put points on the board. It was kind of shocking to see the difference in the levels of physicality. Pierce moved the line of scrimmage all night.
“They (Bears) played on our side of the ball when we had it while we were continually trying to make tackles downfield. This used to be a rivalry, and still is in other sports, but the rivalry has kind of died in football. I would love for that rivalry to come back. That means that we’re doing something really good.
“Nobody likes to lose. I have made it clear to the team we’re not accepting a good showing or a good fight. I’m not happy with you know the fans saying ‘hey y’all never gave up.’ To me that’s a participation award and that’s not our goal. It was a very disappointing heartbroken atmosphere after the game. We’re going to look at what we can do to get better against Pierce County and everybody else.”
Just like the Herons, Tattnall County has significantly improved its win total. Brantley County has one more victory this season (three) than the last two years while the Warriors have matched their win total (three) of the past two seasons.
“Tattnall’s got some impressive team size,” said Hickox. “They (Warriors) look to be a 4-2 or 4-3 defense. They run a lot of wing slot. They went through a coaching change in the middle season. They seem like they’ve gotten better every game since.
“I actually had a chance to go watch the Pierce-Tattnall game. They got after Pierce a little bit right there in the first quarter. When Pierce started busting some big plays in the second quarter, they kind of laid down a little bit.”
The Warriors scrapped the old Tformation offensive scheme and moved to the old Georgia Southern flexbone with two wings featuring a triple-option attack along with jet sweeps.
“They ran a little option against Pierce, which they hadn’t played or shown before,” said Hickox. “Their offense is developing ... it’s becoming more multiple week by week. They’ve got some athletes.
“Anytime somebody runs the wing-T or the wing-slot offense, you’ve got to have eye discipline. Discipline is the number one thing on the defensive side. If you’ve got discipline, and you can keep your eyes in the right spot and do your job, then you can stop it. You got to be physical at the point of attack.
“But, if your eyes wonder start looking at the eye candy that happens with the motion, then it’s going to be a very difficult night. The number one thing we’ve got to focus on defensively is discipline to defend and eye discipline.”
Offensively, the Herons are in dire striates at the quarterback position with the loss of Clark Carter in the season opener and with last week’s loss of J.T. Johns against Pierce County.
“We (coaches) don’t know if J.T.’s done for the year, but he’s definitely out for this game,” said Hickox of Johns. “We’ve got 33 players on the roster. It’s not like I can just go next man up at the quarterback position. We’re going to have to move some pieces around and get really creative.
“We’re going to tweak and adjust. We’ve got a semblance of a game plan for Tattnall, but now we’ve lost our starting quarterback and two tight ends. We’re going to have to come up with a completely different strategy on how we can how we can attack.”
BCHS still has the “Big Heron” attack, which rotates running backs to take direct snaps from the center. Senior Malachi Saunders, who has a team-high 692 yards with three 100yard games and a team-leading five touchdowns, and junior Tallan Collins 73 yards, have run from the ground-oriented attack. Collins has also completed 6-of-9 passes for 82 yards and a touchdown in limited passing attempts.
Sophomore Jaylon Byron, the leading receiver with 17 catches for 183 yards, played quarterback last year as a backup. He completed his only attempt this season for 38 yards to Saunders.
“In high school football, you’ve got to be able to run the football,” Hickox said. “If you can’t run the football, you’re not going to be successful.”
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