Two unbeatens will square off Friday night when Bryan County High School takes on Benedictine in a Region 2-AA showdown at Savannah State.
The Redskins (5-0, 3-0) set up the battle against the Cadets for first place in the region with a runaway 54-23 win over Long County on Friday night in Pembroke.
The game against B.C is the first of two contests against a Class AA powerhouse.
After a bye week on Oct. 11, the Redskins face Vidalia on Oct. 18.
“We’ve put ourselves in that position,” BCHS coach Mark Wilson said. “The next couple of games we go up against what everybody said were the top two teams in our region, and hopefully we can come out on top.”
The Cadets (5-0, 3-0) are ranked No. 8 in Class AA and are coming off a 48-15 win over Atkinson County. Two weeks ago, Benedictine surprised Vidalia 28-0. The Indians were ranked in the top 10 at the time.
The Cadets are averaging 41 points a game while allowing only five.
Wilson teams knew heading into the season that Benedictine would be loaded.
“The best play I’ve seen anyone make against them is punt,” he said. They’ve got a great team and we’re going to have to play well to have a chance, but we’re looking forward to the challenge.”
Bryan County kept pace in the hunt for the region crown by jumping out to a 28-7 first-quarter lead over the struggling Blue Tide. By halftime, the Redskins were on top 41-7 and putting an exclamation point on homecoming night.
Nick Scott rushed for 129 yards and four touchdowns on 13 carries while quarterback Jeremy McClendon connected on 5-of-8 passes for 127 yards and two TDs – one two Raekwon Love, the other to Kajana Dixon.
Sophomore Dominique Mock and senior Damion Dixon anchored the Redskins’ defense.
“We came out and jumped on (Long County) pretty quick,” Wilson said. “We were able to let some young guys play at the end and I think we built a little depth along the way. It’s always good when your younger guys get to play on Friday nights.”
The focus now is against one of the most fundamentally sound teams the Redskins will see this season. The key for Bryan County is to take care of the football, Wilson said, noting the Indians turned the ball over on their first three possessions in their loss to the Cadets.
“We need to make it a field position game and not turn the ball over,” he said. “We need to be fundamentally sound and try not to give up plays. I think if we can do that we have a chance.”
Note: Bryan County honored the late Fred Covington, the school’s first booster club president and a longtime supporter of the schools’ athletic programs, Friday night by ensuring jersey No. 50 will only be worn by someone named Covington. A ceremony was held before the game with family members attending.
Restricting the wear of the jersey number to the family was fitting, Wilson said, since Covington had helped found the program and continued to support it and other sports over the years.
“Fred had done so much for us and he’d been such a great supporter,” Wilson said. “It was his favorite number because his kids and grandkids had worn it, and we felt like making sure only his family would wear the No. 50 in the future was the right thing to do.”