The Georgia Military (GMC) Prep Bulldogs claimed their longawaited first victory under second-year head coach Gavin Tierce last Friday night in a 45-14 win over Creekside Christian Academy (CCA) at Davenport Field in Milledgeville.
The win ended a 14-game losing streak dating back to last year’s season opener in August and marked the Bulldogs’ first victory since November 2023 under previous head coach Bobby Rhodes.
“It’s the biggest moment of my coaching career, probably the biggest moment of my athletic career in general.” Tierce said after celebrating the victory with his players and students on the field. “I am so happy for our kids.
“I have been fighting so hard for them and to get them a win and they have worked so hard for so long and it’s finally paid off. They have finally been rewarded for the fruits of their labor and that’s the hurdle we had to get over. And now that win is going to only elevate us as a group.”
The Bulldogs’ offense finally showed what Tierce said he knew it is capable of to achieve success.
“We knew early on that we were going to have to sustain long drives because they (CCA) throw the ball downfield really, really well and they are the first team that has really challenged us downfield.
They got us a couple of times, but they are going to do that to everybody,” Tierce said.
“But we knew we were going to have to weather the early storm and I had a feeling that once we got up two possessions that we were going to wear on them. And we were very physical tonight and I think the last half of the second half was when that physicality really started to wear on [Creekside Christian], and we had so much momentum and I am just really proud of our physicality.”
The Bulldogs’ physicality was most apparent in the running game. Bulldog freshman running back Jevion Taylor rushed for three touchdowns, all in the second half. Taylor carried the ball on runs of 67, 20, and 15 yards for touchdowns, the first three-touchdown game of his young career.
Junior fullback Evan Stasney also had an impressive night, toting the rock 14 times for two touchdowns and 171 yards rushing against the Cougars.
Quarterback Cason Dennis also had a great outing, commanding the offense with an average 8.0 yards per carry on six carries and 48 yards rushing.
The win is exciting for Tierce, but he stressed there remains some fine tuning to be done.
“I knew that once we got the lead the challenge then becomes, can you sustain it? Do your kids know how to win?” he said. “And those little mental mistakes are things that have to be eliminated, especially going into region play.”
Now, with the weight of trying to finally win their first game behind them, the Bulldogs can take advantage of their bye week by resting and preparing for their region schedule to begin.
“This is as good of momentum as we could have ever asked for. We get our bye week, much needed, and our kids have earned it,” Tierce said.
GMC Prep will travel to Jeffersonville on Friday, Sep. 26, to face Twiggs County (0-4) in the Bulldogs’ first region matchup of 2025.