Georgia Military College (GMC) Prep suffered its first loss since Sep. 5, falling 34-6 in Irwinton to the Wilkinson County Warriors.
Irwinton took a 13-0 lead in the first quarter and had extended that advantage to 20-3 by halftime. The Warriors added one more touchdown plus the extra point in each of the final two quarters, while GMC managed another field goal with about three minutes left in the game.
“We came out flat,” Bulldogs head coach Gavin Tierce acknowledged after the game. “They jumped on us early. We had to get completely away from our initial game plan offensively because we were down three possessions at the half.”
GMC gets a chance at redemption Friday night in Wrightsville with its final game of the regular season. The Bulldogs will have to bring their best game, though, against the undefeated Johnson County Trojans.
Johnson County will be looking to go undefeated through the regular season for the first time since 2022, while the Bulldogs will seek to beat the Trojans for the first time since 2002.
GMC and Johnson have played each other on and off over the years, dating back to 1968 when the Trojans bested the Bulldogs 26-14 in Milledgeville. GMC evened the score the following year with a 30-6 victory in Wrightsville.
“We will have to be very physical on the edge of our defense,” Tierce said of this Friday’s game. “They (Johnson) do a great job of getting outside and swarming defenders. Our offense will have a big test up front. They have a very physical defensive line that can cause a lot of issues in the backfield.”
“We have to get back to playing the style of football that got us to the playoffs,” Tierce said, adding that he wants his players “to play with a chip on their shoulder and execute our gameplan.”
The Bulldogs vs. Trojans rivalry will resume at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Herschel Walker Field in Wrightsville.