BEARVILLE — Pierce County will put its 12-game winning streak on the line here Friday night when New Hampstead visits.
The Bears are one game shy of the school-record 13 consecutive victories set in 2018 when PCHS opened 13-0 and reached its first semifinal game.
The Class 4A Phoenix (2-2) have alternated wins and losses with the two victories coming against Class 5A programs South Effingham (56-35) and Effingham County (47-44). The losses were to Private School power Savannah Christian (35-7), the topranked private school in Class 3A-1A, and Class 6A Richmond Hill (47-28).
Friday’s meeting is just the second between the two schools. Pierce County won a wild 49-40 shootout in 2019 at home. The 40 points are the most surrendered in the regular season under head coach Ryan Herring.
Pierce County has won eight straight at home and are 48-4 inside Bears Stadium since 2018.
“This is going to be a tough matchup for us,” said Herring. “They (Phoenix) are going to throw the ball about 80 percent of the time with a real good quarterback (senior Rashawn Truell) who can make all the throws. Defensively, they are big and athletic. It’s going to be a four-quarter game.”
Truell (6-foot-1, 205 lbs.) is a mid-major recruit with offers from Georgia Southern, Charleston and Coastal Carolina. He also has an offer from Bucknell with his academics.
Over the last two weeks, Truell has completed 49-of-85 passes for 783 yards and 11 touchdowns. He threw for 470 yards and five scores against Effingham County and 313 yards and three scores against Richmond Hill pushing his season yardage to 1,025.
“He is a dynamic thrower who likes to stay in the pocket,” said Herring. “He can make all the throws including from one hash across the field to the sideline. They (Phoenix) run a lot of vertical routes and screens.”
Truell’s favorite target is senior Kamari Maxell (6-1, 185), who has 29 catches for 473 yards and seven touchdowns. Senior tight end Mason Brown caught nine passes for 88 yards against Richmond Hill pushing his season totals to 15 catches for 175 yards. Junior wide receiver Ben Hockman (11 catches, 257 yards, three touchdowns) pulled in five receptions for 180 yards and two scores against the Wildcats with a long of 82 yards.
“Their (Phoenix) No. 21 (Maxwell) is really good,” Herring said. “He ate up Effingham County. Their No. 2 (Hockman) is also pretty good. When they try to run it’s off bootleg action, misdirection and power to just keep defenses honest.
“For us, we’ve got to do a good job of disguising our coverages pre-snap and post-snap. We’ve got to have an effective pass rush and not let the quarterback get comfortable in the pocket. Our secondary is going to be taxed on every play covering more grass than they have through three games.”
While its offense is averaging 29 points per game, the New Hampstead defense has been generous surrendering just over 39 points thus far.
“They (Phoenix) give you multiple looks changing from play to play,” said Herring. “It’s hard to say what their base defense is. They remind me a lot of Laney with big, thick defensive linemen and athletes at the linebacker spots and in the secondary” Senior safety Tyler Johnson (5-9, 160) leads the team in tackles. Senior middle linebacker Kamren Blake Mazes (5-11, 210) is second. Senior defensive lineman Shaun Hamilton (6-2, 250) is next.
“That No. 18 (Hamilton) is a long kid,” Herring said. “Those two linebackers (Mazes, senior Anthony Williams (5-8, 202) are pretty good.
“We’re going to have to earn every yard we get. We’ve got to be well-versed in our blocking rules. “
