BEARVILLE – “I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a team improve and look better over the course of one week.”
That was the impression of top-ranked Pierce County head coach Ryan Herring following Friday night’s 42-7 victory here over visiting Brantley County.
The Herons (0-3) of first-year head coach David Shores stayed within a touchdown of the Class 2A defending champions trailing just 7-0 before PCHS (2-0) seized control with five straight scoring drives over the second and third quarters to pull away.
“They (Herons) did some good things tonight offensively,” Herring said. “I think moving that big kid (Carson Jacobs) inside helped them a lot on the defensive side. That was a good move.
“We’ve got a lot of things we’ve got to clean up this week. The bottom line is everything falls on my plate. Everything you saw wrong, things we didn’t do right, the fingers point to me. It starts with me. I’ve got to do a better job.
“But, in saying all that, I’m proud of our players. When you win 42-7 you need to be happy. But we’ve just got a lot of stuff to clean up. We can enjoy it tonight, but we got to clean a lot of stuff up and it all starts with me.”
Brantley County’s Shores liked the improvement he saw from his team.
“We definitely played better than we did last week (20-8 home loss to Windsor Forest),” he commented. “We need to get sharper in our execution and we need to elevate our secondary play. We gave up too many chunk plays in the passing game (seven completions of 20plus yards).
“They (Bears) are probably the best team in South Georgia. They have a top tier quarterback (Caden McGatha) who can throw and run, and they have top quality skill players.”
McGatha accounted for five of Pierce County’s six touchdowns throwing for three and running for two while adding a two-point conversion. The senior dual-threat quarterback passed for a career-high 298 yards completing 13of-20 passes and netted 54 yards rushing on 13 attempts in guiding the Bears’ offense to 448 yards.
“We had some great throws, some great catches and all that, but we didn’t really get into our type of rhythm,” Herring said of the offense production. “You’ve got to be able to run the ball and you’ve got to be able to throw the ball. We’re still not quite where we need to be yet running the ball.
“We’ve got two really, really good athletes out who’s going to help us in the run game and passing game. We made a lot of mistakes and it’s our job as coaches to make sure we get it cleaned up.”
The mistakes, mostly caused by Brantley County’s strong defensive effort, were throughout the game. Those miscues were evident early on as the Bears punted the ball away on three of their first four possessions with two quick three-and-outs.
The lone exception was a one-play scoring possession following the first of two interceptions by the PCHS defensive unit.
Chance Williams stepped in front of an errant Kaden Hendrix (4-of-16, two interceptions, 62 yards) throw setting PCHS just 34 yards from the goal line on Brantley County’s opening possession.
Running back Marquez Leggett (seven carries, 96 yards) did the honors racing through a hole at left tackle. Garrett Stevenson’s PAT with 9:37 on the first quarter clock gave Pierce County a 7-0 lead.
Brantley County nearly had a response after the kickoff. Mason Kicklighter turned a third-and-nine swing pass out of the backfield in front of the BCHS sideline from Hendrix into a 53-yard gain to the Bears’ 18. Three plays gained but two yards setting up a 33-yard field goal attempt by Rylen Smith. The kick drifted just missed to the right.
“We didn’t play as solid and consistent on defense as we’re used to,” said Herring. “We made some plays ... we just got a long way to go right there.”
Four consecutive punts, two by each side, followed before Pierce County scored on its final three possessions over the final 7:33 of the first half.
The Bears drove 65 yards in six plays needing 2:42 of second quarter clock time to extend the lead to 14-0. McGatha sprinted eight yards around right end untouched upping the advantage to 14-0 after the Stevenson PAT with 7:33 to play in the half.
After a third straight three-and-out by the Herons, PCHS quickly covered 80 yards in three plays for a 21-0 bulge. Mc-Gatha connected with a wide open Williams for a score on a wheel route at the 4:24 mark.
Anthony Walker’s ensuing 63-yard kick return to the Bears’ 33 set up Brantley County’s lone touchdown of the night.
Hendrix (seven carries, 44 yards) followed an incompletion on first down with runs of 10, 16 and the final seven yards for the score with 3:34 remaining in the half. Smith kicked the PAT to pull the Herons to within 21-7.
Pierce County followed with a third consecutive touchdown drive capping the first half scoring with a five-play, 52-yard possession.
Facing second-and-20 following Jacob’s sack of McGatha and a delay of game penalty, McGatha hooked up with Braden McKendree (two catches, 50 yards) for a 44-yard gain to the Brantley County 18. Three plays later facing third-and-10, McGatha hooked up with Joe Drew (five catches, 105 yards) for the score with 1:53 left in the half. Stevenson’s PAT failed leaving the Bears with a 27-7 advantage.
PCHS’s scoring streak continued in the third quarter with its defense forcing a pair of three-andouts and the offense responding with touchdowns.
The first possession went 74 yards in five plays with a 20-yard pass to Drew and a 39-yard completion to Nigel Brown (three catches, 69 yards) setting up Mc-Gatha’s one-yard run with 7:22 left in the third period.
BCHS blocked the PAT only to be called for offsides setting up McGatha’s twopoint conversion for a 35-7 lead.
The final score of the night followed with the Bears covering 47 yards in four plays, the final 16 a pass from McGatha to Brown. Stevenson’s PAT boosted the margin to 42-7 with 3:09 remaining in the third period.
An interception of a Hendrix pass on Brantley County’s third possession of the second half tipped by the Bears’ Campbell Strickland to Drew, his third in three games, set up one final scoring opportunity for PCHS.
The drive from midfield to the Herons’ 17 stalled with Stevenson’s 34-yard field goal sailing wide right during a “mercy rule” final period.
Brantley County generated a 60-yard drive reaching the Bears’ 20 when the game ended.
