BEARVILLE — Defending Class AA state champion Pierce County’s 14th straight playoff appearance will take a different route this year.
The fifth-ranked Bears (9-1), who are seeded 10th in GHSA’s new “Power Rankings” playoff format and looking for a seventh straight 10-win season, will host 23rd-seed Jackson (4-6) Friday night at 7:30 p.m.
The bracket was officially released about 9:30 p.m., Saturday night (November 9), nearly an hour and 30 minutes later than the announced time of 8 p.m.
According to the bracket, Pierce County is guaranteed just one home playoff game with road trips in Round 2 (possible to Decatur - Columbia High), the quarterfinals (Columbus - Carver-Columbus) and semifinals (LaGrange - Callaway) unless there are upsets by seeds lower than number 10.
The PCHS-Jackson winner advances to face either seventh-seed Columbia or 26th-seed Butler in Round 2. The Bears or Red Devils would host if Butler pulls the upset.
The Bears have played at least two home playoff games in eight (2015, 2017) of the last the last 10 seasons and twice had four games en route to their state titles.
“I kind of like the way you got brackets previously,” said PCHS head coach Ryan Herring, who has led his program to six consecutive playoff appearances since taking over in 2019 and two state titles (2020, 2023), after last Thursday’s regular season finale at Vidalia. “You kind of knew who you were getting in the first round and could start gathering film,” he said. “Now, we’re not going to find out until 8 (p.m.) Saturday night. We’ll (coaches) start gathering tapes of whomever we’re playing after the bracket is released.
“The negative side is having to wait. But, it’s the same for everybody. We (coaches) may like it ( format), but right now I’m just not too sure about it.”
Pierce County is 14-2 in the post-season at home under Herring and 30-7 overall (4-3 region playoffs, 26-4 state) inside Bears Stad ium. PCHS has won six straight home playoff games over the past two seasons and are 11-2 in the first round since 2011.
Friday’s matchup with Jackson, who finished fourth in Region 2, will be the third playoff meeting between the two programs. The Bears recorded a 49-21 victory in the first round of the 2014 playoffs under Sean Pender en route to the quarterfinals and a 45-0 victory in the second round of the 2018 post-season under Jason Strickland leading to a semifinal appearance.
The Red Devils are under the direction of Thomas Clark, their third head coach in the last three years. Jackson, which has not posted a winning record since 2019, has made the playoffs in 18 of the last 24 years. The Red Devils have dropped three consecutive first round games.
Clark coached for three years at Class 4A Stockbridge leading the Tigers to a 27-11 record reaching the quarterfinals in 2022 and the championship game in 2023.
Jackson enters the game having dropped three consecutive games to end the regular season. Offensively, the Red Devils are averaging 11.3 points per game scoring a seasonhigh 26 points in a win over Rutland in their season opener.
Jackson will break from a traditional I-formation to the spread. The Red Devils are a 73 percent running team averaging 112 yards on the ground (four games over 150 yards). They throw 9.9 passes per game completing five for 54 yards (once over 100 yards) a game.
“They are going run power and counters,” said Herring. “They’ve got two or three big offensive linemen who do a good job of pulling. The quarterback is a threat and can scramble. The running back has good speed which we need to keep bottled up.”
The quarterback is senior Nehemiah Jones (6-foot-2, 175 lbs.), who has thrown for 292 yards and rushed for 251 yards (three touchdowns) in a dual-threat role. His backup, junior Cannan Bernhardt, has thrown for 248 yards and is more of a passer.
Sophomore Danarrie Brown leads the team in rushing (578 yards; 6.2 per carry) and touchdowns with seven scores. Junior Jaison McCall (5-10, 160) is the lone receiver with double-digit receptions (16) and over 100 yards (235).
“We’ve got to get lined up and have formation recognition,” said Herring. “We can’t let them run downhill. We’ve got to make them run east and west.”
Defensively, Jackson has stayed pat with its 4-3 alignment. The Red Devils have allowed opponents to score 22.6 points per game. During its current three-game losing streak, Jackson has surrendered 37 points per Friday to No. 7 Morgan County (36-7), No. 2 Callaway (45-14) and Westside-Macon (29-23).
“They will drop down to a 4-6 ‘Bear’ look putting lots of guys on the line and in the box,” said Herring. “We’ve got to be able to block those numbers and loosen them up with our play-action passes.
“The key is being efficient early in the game and not get behind the sticks. It doesn’t have to be pretty, but we’ve got to efficient. If we can be successful we can control the game.”
Sophomore linebacker Braylon Dawe leads the Jackson defense with 55 total tackles, 14 tackles for loss and four quarterback sacks. Junior linebacker Micah Cook (5-11, 210) is next with 53 stops and five TFLs.
Senior defensive lineman A.J. Robinson (6-2, 225) is third on the team with 28 tackles and four TFLs. In the secondary, senior Tashawn Head (5-9, 165) and sophomore Seth Williams each have two interceptions.
