Bryan County’s girls clinched their ninth straight—discounting the 2021 COVID season—20-win season Tuesday night as they rolled to an easy 55-18 win at Jenkins County which kept them in contention to earn an automatic berth in the Class A-DII state playoffs.

Coach Mario Mincey’s team (20-4, 12-3) closes out regular season play Friday night when it hosts Claxton on Senior Night. The Redskins are currently in third-place behind Metter (13-2, 11-1) and McIntosh County Academy (11-10, 10-2).

But things can change dramatically in the next week. While Bryan County finishes its season against the Tigers other region teams will be playing next week and there is much to be settled before the Region 3A-DII tournament which will be played Feb. 16-20 at Metter.

While Metter is the hottest team in the region the Tigers must play McIntosh twice while the Buccaneers face Screven County and Portal in addition to their two-game set with Metter.

On paper Bryan County will be favored to dispatch Claxton with ease while Metter will be a heavy favorite to handle MCA. If that scenario plays out then the Redskins will get a bye into the region tournament semifinals and be assured of a state playoff berth. Third and fourth-place teams get a first-round bye.

However, it’s not as clearcut for Coach Jason Napier’s team (11-11, 9-6) in a region race which is set up for a wild finish and even wilder region tournament.

The Redskins knocked off Jenkins County, 78-62, after surviving at ECI, 64-62, last Friday and now hope to knock off a tougher than its record indicates Claxton (5-14, 3-9) team. In their last two games the Tigers have shown they can’t be taken lightly as they lost to Metter by five points and to Screven by eight.

Those games should serve as a warning to Bryan County who in the last two weeks lost to Metter by 12 points and to Screven by 19, both on the road. Screven County (14-8, 10-3) currently holds down first but Savannah, Portal, MCA and Metter all have four losses each.

One of the more stunning outcomes came Tuesday night when Portal beat Metter, 77-45, to snap the Tigers’ nine-game winning streak. Portal led 27-25 at the half and then went on a 50-18 run in the second half, scoring 30 points in the fourth quarter.

The Bryan County boys in their final home game are Darius Edwards, Ger’bravion Collins and Cayden Rawls. For the girls, the seniors are Jasmine Mikell, Liz Harvey, Laney Sehr, Briana Crawford, Erianna Morgan and McKinley Walker.