Georgia Military College Prep’s seasonopening game was canceled last Friday after threats were sent into Atkinson County High School.
That forced the school to make the decision to cancel classes and last Friday night’s game between the Bulldogs and Rebels, set to kickoff in Pearson.
The Bulldogs now turn their focus to the Crawford County Eagles, who they will face this Friday night in Roberta at 7:30 p.m. The Dawgs will be looking for a measure of revenge, as the Eagles spoiled GMC’s home opener last season, winning 28-7.
Bulldogs head coach Gavin Tierce said he believes the extra bye week for his team can only help his team heading into Friday’s matchup.
“I think the extra time can be an advantage, but only if we use it the right way,” Tierce said. “The biggest benefit is giving our players some additional time to recover physically and giving our coaches more time to prepare for our opponent. At the same time, you can’t assume the extra week automatically makes you better. We’ve got to come back focused, stay sharp, and make sure that the time off doesn’t take away from our preparation or our edge.”
Last year, the Bulldogs struggled at the start of the season, going 0-4 through its first month. Their biggest hurdle was acclimating to the new offensive gameplan, which they eventually did by week five. This season, Tierce expects his team’s experience running the flexbone for a full season will serve them well heading into this season.
“This year, we have a lot more experience and understanding of what were trying to do on both sides of the ball,” Tierce said. “Our players are playing faster because they’re not thinking as much. They’re reacting and executing. Combined with the increased buy-in we’ve seen, I think that experience will help us start the season with more confidence.”
Like GMC Prep, Crawford County does not run a traditional offense but rather the wing-t offense, which Tierce suggests will bring some tough concepts for his defense to deal with.
“They’re a physical 2021 football team, and they do a good job with their run game,” he said. “They’ll give you some wing-t concepts and formations that can create problems with misdirection and different angles, so we’ve got to be disciplined with our eyes and assignments. They also have a weapon at slot receiver in No. 4 that we have to account for.”
A win this Friday would be the first seasonopening victory for the Bulldogs since they beat Creekside Christian 46-0 to begin the 2021 campaign.