The off-season got a little more palatable for the Bryan County football team Friday night as it closed out a lost season with a 40-0 win over Savannah High at Redskins Stadium.
The Region 3-AA win over the Blue Jackets was the Redskins (1-9, 1-4) first of the season while the Blue Jackets (0-10, 0-5), who showed up with only 21 players in uniform, closed out a winless year.
The win, Coach Cherard Freeman said, meant more to his team than avoiding a winless season. It can set the tone for everything to follow in an off-season which starts next week.
“It’s been a long season, a disappointing and frustrating one,” Freeman said. “Mentally (to win) it helps our kids, it helps our coaching staff.
“I really felt we were a better football team than 1-9,” Freeman said. “But you know things change over the course of a season. We’re very young. We finished with seven seniors and five juniors. The rest were sophomores and freshmen and we made a lot of young mistakes over the year.”
The Redskins made mistakes against the Blue Jackets but fortunately they were playing an opponent who was more mistake prone than they were and they were able to take advantage of Savannah’s miscues.
Bryan County came up with interceptions on Savannah’s first two possessions and quickly turned them into touchdowns for a quick 13-0 lead that set the tone for the rest of the evening.
Jonah Broce, who scored on an 80-yard touchdown reception last week at Savannah Christian, picked off Savannah quarterback Romelo Milton on the third play of the game at the 20-yard line and returned it to the Blue Jacket one. Sophomore Davion Butler took it in on first down.
On the ensuing series sophomore Kameron Joyner intercepted a wayward Milton pass over the middle to give the Redskins possession at the Savannah 35. Five plays later Joyner skirted right end from 17 yards out. Although JD Roberson missed the extra point it was 13-0 with 6:21 left in the first quarter.
Bryan County struck for three touchdowns in the second, the third coming on a 10-yard run by Eli Koskela with 3:45 to go in the half. This assured that the second half would be played with a running clock.
Mari Green got the second quarter surge started when he scored the first of his two touchdowns when he went up the middle from 5 yards out to cap a 50-yard drive. The Redskins had gained possession at midfield when Savannah, electing to go for a 4th-and-1 at the 38 had the center snap the ball over Milton’s head.
The scenario repeated itself on the following series when the Blue Jacket center once again snapped the ball over Milton’s head at the 19-yard line. The ensuing scramble saw Broce fall on the ball in the end zone for a 26-0 lead.
Koskela’s touchdown was set up by a 56-yard run by Joyner to the Blue Jacket 10. On the next play the senior fullback bulled his way into the end zone to erase all doubt, if there had been any after the first quarter, as to the eventual outcome.
Green, a junior who is a standout on the track team, wrapped it up when he went 10 yards for a score with 6:37 to play.
Joyner led a punishing ground attack as he had 93 yards on four attempts. On the night Bryan County ran for 248 yards on 31 carries. Cosey failed to complete his only pass. Milton had 116 yards passing for Savannah which had minus 41 yards rushing.
Thanks to Braeden Sharpe the Redskins were able to preserve the shutout when the junior cornerback chased down Willie Moss for a touchdown saving tackle at the 22-yard line after a 53-yard catch and run.
Moss had caught a swing pass out of the backfield and somehow slipped through a gaggle of defenders. He was streaking down the right sideline with what looked like a sure score. Sharpe refused to give up the chase and caught up at the 23. The big gain went for naught when the next four plays lost 19 yards thanks to sacks of Milton by sophomore Banks White and junior Gunner Ennis, respectively.
BRYAN COUNTY 40, SAVANNAH 0
SAVANNAH 0 0 0 0 – 0
BRYAN COUNTY 13 22 0 7 -- 40
First Quarter
BC: Davion Butler 1 run (JD Roberson kick)
BC: Kameron Joyner 17 run (kick failed)
Second Quarter
BC: Mari Green 5 run (kick failed)
BC: Jonah Bruce recovered fumble in end zone (Roberson kick)
BC: Eli Koskela 10 run (Roberson kick)
Fourth Quarter
BC: Green 10 run (Roberson kick)