BEARVILLE — Don’t let a record deceive you. That will be the case Friday night when Class A DII seventh-ranked Brooks County brings a losing record into its matchup with Class AA second- ranked Pierce County.
“It’s going to be brutal,” said PCHS head coach Ryan Herring, who watched the Trojans’ (1-3) 21-3 upset at Class A DI secondranked Fitzgerald.
Brooks County scored on a 77yard screen pass from Junior Burrus to Trae Stevenson, an 85-yard fumble return by Demarrion Washington and an 85-yard interception return by Marcus Hardwick.
“They play as good a defense as you’re going to see,” said Herring. “I mean, I really like and respect the way they play defense. I knew going into the season from last year what they had coming back and they were going to be good this year.
“They just hadn’t quite got it together. They finally put it together Friday night. Everybody thought Fitzgerald was going to kill them because they (Purple Hurricanes) had been scoring on everybody.”
Friday’s matchup will be the ninth in the series (Brooks County leads 6-2) and fourth in Bearville. Pierce County’s only win against the Trojans prior to last year’s 17-14 thriller in Quitman came in 2002, a 35-14 decision.
It’s also the second straight season the two have met as ranked teams.
Brooks County, coming off a surprising run to the Class A DII title game. Bowden knocked off the Trojans 34-14 for a third consecutive title.
Two of Brooks County’s three losses have come against two of Class A DI’s Top 10 programs. Current third-ranked Thomasville dealt the Trojans a 35-7 loss in the opener. Cook, which made an appearance in the AA poll, notched a 19-6 victory.
Current Class A DI No. 1 ranked Worth County rolled 4425 before Brooks County notched its first victory last week in a rivalry game with Fitzgerald.
“This is going to be as physcial game as anything we’re going to see all year,” said Herring. “They’ve (Trojans) have had some injuries and, situations come up. But, they looked good against Fitzgerald.”
Brooks County’s offense has struggled against the brutal schedule. The Trojans are averaging just 38.3 yards a game on the ground and 127.5 through the air. Burris (5 foot-7, 140 lbs.) has com pleted 5 2 per cent of his passes (32-of-61) for 464 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions.
Senior running back Damari Baynard has recorded 148 yards (2.9 per attempt) to lead the team and scored twice.
Junior wide receiver George Lamons, Jr., a Texas A&M commit, has been limited to six catches for 52 yards and a touchdown.
According to Herring, Stevenson (6-1, 175), a Georgia Tech commit, is the heart and soul of the team. He has a team-high 15 receptions for 321 yards (21.4 per catch). He’s scored four touchdowns including the 77-yarder in the win at Fitzgerald.
“He’s their guy,” Herring said of Stevenson. “He’s physical and makes things happen on both sides of the ball. He’ll line up at receiver and running back in the ‘wildcat’ look. He’s a really good football player.
“The key for us is winning the line of scrimmage and keeping No. 1 (Stevenson) from making plays. We know they’re going to throw it up to the big receiver three or four times. They’ve also got a good RPO (run/pass option) game. We’ve got our hands full.”
PCHS will face a 4-4 defensive alignment from Brooks County with Stevenson, ranked by 247Sports as the No. 61 defensive back in the nation, the last line of defense.
Washington (6-1, 245), a senior defensive end, leads the team in tackles with 31 and tackles for loss with 10.5. He has offers from Alabama State, Samford and Charleston Southern.
Senior linebacker Anton Graham (6-2, 185), who has an offer from Stoney Brook, is second with 29 tackles and six TFLs. Junior linebacker Caden Cobb (6-1, 195) has recorded 20 tackles and three TFLs. “They (Trojans) are a very, very good defense that plays great defen sively,” Herring said. I know they have one good defensive lineman returning. He makes plays. He’s a really good football player.
“They’ve got two or three real long linebackers that are athletic and physical. They’ve got defensive backs who can run and No. 1 (Stevenson) will play a lot of different places.”
Herring said the key offensively is also winning the line of scrimmage.
“We’ve got to block the line of scrimmage — that’s bottom line,” said Herring. “It was a brutal and physical game last year and we were able to get out of town with a 17-14 win. I’m just telling you it’s going to be brutal.”
