BEARVILLE — Pierce County’s quest in defense of its 2023 Class AA title hits a second major hurdle Friday night in Columbus.
The 10th-seed Bears (11-1), the consensus No. 2 team in the Top 10 polls, faces second-seed and consensus No. 1 ranked Carver-Columbus at 7 p.m., in a quarterfinal matchup at Odis Spencer Stadium.
“They (Tigers) have great tradition,” said PCHS head coach Ryan Herring. “They always seem to go deep in the playoffs. We’ve got to get some guys out of the M.A.S.H. unit and get healthy. I’ve never had that many players get that banged up in one game ... it was crazy.
The Bears had five starters suffer injuries in the win against Columbia. Caden McGatha is day-to-day with an upper body injury, Jones Herrin suffered a concussion, Jae’Veon Williams is out with a shoulder injury, Chance Williams is day-to-day with an ankle injury and Joe Drew is day-to-day with an upper body injury. Pierce County is 4-5 all-time in the third round having won four (all at home) of its last five such starts. The first five foes were all top five teams and the first four — all losses — were on the road at No. 3 Lincoln County (1982, No. 4 at. No. 3), No. 2 Buford (2002), No. 1 Washington County (2014) and No. 5 Crisp County (2016). The Bears also lost at Fellowship Christian (2022; Bears No. 6).
PCHS broke through in a Top 10 matchup at home vs. No. 3 Monroe Area (2018; Bears No. 9 for first semifinal appearance), Carver-Atlanta (2020; Bears No. 6; first state title), Peach County (2021; Bears No. 3) and Fellowship Christian (2023; Bears No. 3, second title).
The is the first-ever meeting between the two schools who are each making a fifth consecutive Round 3 appearance. The Bears are 3-1 in the quarterfinals while the Tigers are 2-2.
PCHS, winners of at least 11 games in each of the last seven years, has advanced to the four semifinal games in that span and won two state titles (2020, 2023).
Pierce County is the highest ranked opponent the Tigers have faced this year.
Carver-Columbus, ranked No. 1 for the first time since 2010, is in the playoffs for the 19th consecutive season. The Tigers five 10-plus win seasons over the last seven years and 13 since 2006. The Tigers advanced to the Class 3A semifinals last year losing to Savannah Christian. They played in the Class 4A championship game in 2021 falling to Benedictine.
The Tigers, 22-2 as a No. 1 ranked team, opened the playoffs with a 54-7 victory over 31st-seed Therrell and beat 15th-seed Ringgold 35-14 last week.
Meanwhile, the Bears blanked 23rdseed Jackson 56-0 in their playoff opener. PCHS went on the road and survived a 31-24 decision at seventhseed Columbia for the program’s firstever true road playoff win in 14 tries.
The Carver-Columbus offense schemes out of the spread attack with tremendous skills play and a huge offensive line protecting junior quarterback Matthew Mungin (6-foot-5, 175 lbs.) and opening massive holes for junior running back Jakobe Caslin (5-9, 180).
The offensive line averages 295 pounds from a “smallish” 265 lbs. to a pair of 330 lb. behemoths.
The Tigers’ left side of junior tackle Zamar McGee (6-2, 290) and sophomore guard Terrance Warren (6-5, 330) average 310 pounds. Junior tackle Jamari McElroy (6-3, 280) and junior guard Israel Hughes (6-4, 330) average 305 pounds. Junior John Davis (6-foot, 265) handles the snapping chores.
“It looks like they (Tigers) have every big kid in Columbus on that team,” Herring said referencing the size and girth. “It looks like a college-sized offensive line. They will run counters and power and the linemen move extremely well to be that big.
“The quarterback throws the ball well. They have two running backs with breakaway speed and two wide receivers that can fly.”
Mungin, a dual-threat signal-caller, has thrown for over 1,600 yards and is second on the team in rushing yards. Caslin has rushed for over 1,200 yards to lead the team.
The Tigers are averaging 37.2 points per game. They have scored 31-plus points in each of the last 11 games with a pair of 60-plus point outings and a 54point night over a three-game stretch.
“We’ve got to keep from being knocked down by those linemen,” Herring said. “We’ve (coaches) got to do some things differently on our defensive front because there is a 100-pound difference at each spot. We’ve got to figure out ways to clog holes.”
The Tigers scheme out of odd-man front going from three down linemen to adding two outside linebackers for a five-man look. Opponents are averaging 7.1 points a game with only four of the 12 foes scoring two touchdowns.
Carver-Columbus has pitched four shutouts including three straight in games four, five and six with another coming against unbeaten and then eighth-ranked Sumter County in Game 8 in the defacto Region 1 championship.
“Their (Tigers) base is a 3-4,” said Herring. “One defensive end is a fourstar player and the nose guard is about 6-foot-2 and 295 pounds with an offer from Auburn. The linebackers are thick and the defensive backs run like the wind. They are sound in the box.
“It boils down to what we can do on first down to stay ahead of the chains. We’ve got to take it one play at a time.”
