It’s an old football axiom that a team improves the most from week one to week two. That can also apply to pre-season scrimmages.
Bryan County opens its season Friday night against Johnson and Coach Cherard Freeman believes his team is on the right track after a scrimmage last Friday night against Bradwell Institute and Windsor Forest.
Game time with the Atomsmashers is 7:30 p.m. at Redskins Stadium. It will be the first of three straight home games for Bryan County which is looking to rebound from a 4-6 season that saw it miss the Class A-DII playoffs for the first time in three years.
After a two-quarter scrimmage with Beach last week the Redskins took on Class 5A Bradwell at Bradwell and Freeman said he saw significant improvement from the previous week.
The scoreboard showed the Tigers winning 28-7 but for Freeman that was insignificant. The Redskins played Bradwell to a virtual standstill in the first quarter and then the sixth-year Redskins coach started substituting freely in order to get a look at as many players as possible.
“We got a lot of guys in tonight,” Freeman said afterwards. “Everything we had worked on in practice last week we got better at it this week.
“We’re looking forward now to getting these kids ready to play Friday against Johnson,” Freeman said. “We know where we were last Friday (against Beach) to where we were tonight.
“We’re taking steps in the right direction. I tell the kids every week you don’t stay the same every day: you’re either getting better or getting worse. This week we got better but we’ve still got a lot of room to grow.”
Bradwell got the ball initially and starting at its own 35-yard line drove down the field for a 7-0 lead but the Redskins showed their mettle as they responded with a 12-play drive that stalled at the Tigers’ 12. Will Summerford’s 30-yard field goal attempt was off to the left.
“I think we could have made it,” said Freeman of electing to kick on the 4th-and-4 play. “We need to see what our kicker can do.”
Lack of a kicker has been a cross to bear for Freeman in his time at Bryan County. Summerford is a senior playing his first year of football. He’s a standout on the soccer team and excels as a distance runner in track who has been encouraged to give football a whirl by Freeman.
Ger’Bravion Collins opened at quarterback for Bryan County but moved to running back in the second quarter when freshman Jamariyan Cosey was inserted behind center.
Collins wasted little time in making his presence felt as a running back when he ran 65 yards for a touchdown behind crisp blocking. Summerford was successful on the extra point attempt. Collins, Anddreas McKinny, Eli Koskla and Gerome Lee all saw action at running back.
“Our first offensive drive was a beautiful drive,” Freeman said. “We had five starters out but we still moved the football. We’re trying to build some confidence.
“We tried to get as many kids as possible on film. You never know when you’re going to need some of these young kids. Football is a long season and we’re going to have injuries. We’re just trying to build depth. I think we did a good job tonight subbing kids in and getting them on tape.”
This will be the second ever meeting between Bryan County and Johnson.
The Redskins prevailed, 20-12, last year when McKinny scored on an 8-yard run with 44 seconds remaining. The Redskins had to overcome five fumbles in a game highlighted by a 74-yard kickoff return by Collins.