Although the season is only in its third week, the Bryan County Redskins got a much-needed break last week. But they’ll be returning to action on Friday night when they take on Savannah High in their Region 3A-DII opener.

Coach Cherard Freeman’s sixth Bryan County team opened with a less than stellar 21-6 win over Johnson and then took it on the chin, 35-7, against a very good Aquinas team which is ranked No. 7 in the state in Class 3A-Private by the AJC.

“We made too many mistakes against a really good football team,” Freeman said after the Aquinas game. “We’ve got a lot to work on and although we’ve got an off week coming up we’re going to get to work on getting ready for Savannah right away.

“It’s our region opener and we’ve got to be ready. We’re not at a point where we can wait a week and then start preparing.”

The Redskins are a three-touchdown favorite against a Blue Jackets (0-1) team which is riding a 36-game losing streak. Savannah last won in the 2021 season when it beat Groves, 12-6, en route to a 3-7 season under then coach Michael Moore who is now at Bryan County.

“We played a lot of freshmen and sophomores as backups against Aquinas,” Freeman said. “One of the things we’ll be doing in practice is getting them as many reps as possible. We’ve got to have everyone prepared and on the same page. And, we can’t be looking past Savannah.”

This will be the Redskins’ third straight home game. Next week they will be at Portal before facing ECI at home.

Coach Moses Greene is in his first year at Savannah having come over from Jenkins where he was the Warriors defensive coordinator. Savannah lost its opener two weeks ago against Frederica Academy, 34-7, averting a shutout with a late score.

Freshman Jamariyan Corey will be getting his third straight start at quarterback and Freeman likes what he has seen of Corey so far.

“He’s played as well as can be expected,” Freeman said. “He’s made mistakes but they’re correctable.”

Bryan County will be looking to get its run game back on track after being limited to 129 yards by the Irish. In two games the Redskins have 343 yards, an average of 171.5 per game.

Senior Anddreas McKinny has 121 yards on 18 attempts, while Ger’bravion Collins has run for 79 and sophomore Gerome Lee has 73.