BEARVILLE — Pierce County will close out its regular season in a rare Thursday night game when the secondranked Bears travel to Vidalia.
PCHS (8-1) enters following a 13-7 loss in a defensive struggle at Appling County (7-2) in what was the Region 3-AA championship game. The setback ended a school-record 17-game winning streak, which followed last year’s 17-14 heartbreaker at home.
The Bears, who were a No. 2 seed in the Class AA power rankings heading into the Appling County game, can finish no higher than a No. 9 seed with the eight region winners guaranteed the top eight spots.
Thursday’s game against the Indians (3-6), losers of five straight, was rescheduled from September 28 when Hurricane Helene left a destructive path one day earlier.
“We’re focusing on us this week,” said head coach Ryan Herring. “We’ve got to get sharper, play smart football and get better. It’s still about being sound fundamentally.”
The Thursday night kick changes the practice schedule some.
“We only lose one day of practice and that’s what we do on Wednesday’s,” explained Herring. “What we do Thursday (walk-thru) will be done Wednesday so our Wednesday practice will be Thursday.”
The meeting is the 13th between the two schools dating back to 1981. PCHS has won the past three encounters to pull to within 7-5 in the series standings. The teams have two common opponents. The Bears notched a 42-7 home victory one week before Vidalia posted a 30-0 road decision. The Indians downed Tattnall County 43-6 a week before beating the Herons while PCHS rolled to a 37-7 victory two weeks ago over the Warriors.
The shutout of Brantley County was the last victory for Vidalia, which finished last in its region going 0-4. The closest loss during the five-game skid was a 13-7 setback at then seventh-ranked Dodge County.
Vidalia surrendered 40.5 points to region foes while scoring 11.75 points.
Pierce County’s offense will try to get back on track against the Indians. The Bears were held below 10 points for the first time in the Herring era covering 77 games (including playoffs). Cedar Grove beat PCHS in the 2018 semifinals 30-6.
It was the first time in 72 regular season games the Bears failed to reach double digits. The last occurrence was a 30-8 loss to Wayne County in 2017.
Pierce County has averaged just 233 yards the last two weeks. PCHS followed a season-low 239 of which 236 came in the first half against outmatched Tattnall County with a new season-low of 227 against Appling County.
Vidalia will mix up its looks from an even front to an odd front.
“We’re going to see both,” said Herring.
The PCHS defense will line up against a Vidalia offense in run mode. The Indians’ scheme is similar to that Georgia Southern once ran.
The Bears are allowing 121 yards per Friday night with 73.3 yards on the ground and three yards per attempt.
“They are doing a little more offensively than earlier in the season,” Herring said. “We’re going to see some crazy empty formations, some wing-T with option and spread. They (offensive coaches) are trying to outflank you on the perimeter.
“In the wing-T they (Indians) are going to run veer, belly, hard dives, power sweeps and read option. They’ve got a big, strong fullback and the key is stopping him.
“We’ve got to do a better job of squeezing down to take the dive away. If we run up field they will have a field day.”
Senior wingback A.J. McClendon (5-foot-7, 150), senior quarterback Jackson Berry (6-foot, 175) and senior fullback Jamarion Phillips (6-2, 210) are key players.
PCHS vs. VHS Indians lead 7-5 PCHS VHS
1981 .........# 12 ...........33 1982 ........# 23............6 1986 ..........14..............0 1987 ...........6 .............36 1996 ..........12.............29 1997...........12.............35 1998...........8 .............44 1999 ..........12.............13 2010...........6..............19 2011 ..........20 .............7 2022 .........42.............12 2023..........35..............7
# - Region 2-AA playoff
