>> GMC PREP
These past couple weeks for the Georgia Military Prep Bulldogs (2-6, 1-2) have been unpredictable, to say the least.
The Bulldogs defeated the Wilkinson County Warriors 7-6 on Oct. 7 and lost to the Bulldogs of Hancock Central 22-21 in overtime last Friday night. Both games were decided by a two-point conversion, but GMC Prep only came out on the winning side in one of those contests.
Even though the past few games have been nail-biters, head coach Lee Coleman is proud of the way his guys have fought and understands that sometimes, things just don’t go your way.
“The past two weeks, we’ve played really good football, and we’ve looked like the team I thought we could be,” Coleman said. “We ran the ball well and scored on the first possession [last week], played solid defense and it was just one of those things where we have to capitalize on [Hancock’s] mistakes.”
A couple weeks ago, the Bulldogs’ offense was able to score a touchdown early, and the defense fended off the Warriors rushing attack until late in the fourth quarter. GMC Prep’s defense came up with a big stop on the ensuing two-point conversion and eventually won the game.
Last Friday’s away game was similar to the team’s previous contest.
GMC Prep drove the ball down the field early in the first quarter and running back Jessie Washington found the end zone for six. The two Bulldogs teams went back and forth, and Hancock Central led by one going into the locker room.
The second half was just as evenly matched, and the two teams were tied at the end of regulation. GMC Prep scored on its first play of overtime and converted the extra point to go up seven, but it wouldn’t be enough.
The Bulldogs held the home Bulldogs in check for three straight plays, but Hancock Central found the end zone on fourth-and-10. Being down one, the Bulldogs attempted to go for it and succeeded.
The 22-21 loss proved that all the little things matter, and Coleman acknowledged as much after the last-second defeat.
“We played well Friday, but [our defense] couldn’t get off the field on third-and-long and fourth-and-long. They converted on eight to 10 plays that were on third or fourth down from 10-plus yards out,” Coleman said, “When we were able to get off the field, we could never hang onto the momentum and just keep scoring. We drove the ball down the field and missed two field goals, so we didn’t capitalize on the things we needed to capitalize on.”
Even after a devastating loss, GMC Prep is in a position to make a run at the end of the regular season and still make the state playoffs.
With the Bulldogs hosting the Panthers of Glascock County next Friday, Coleman acknowledges that the season isn’t over yet.
“We just need to win one more game, and we’re in the playoffs. If we were to win that game [against Glascock] and then win out, we would be the No. 2 seed,” Coleman said. “If we don’t, we’re looking at a 3 or 4 seed, but we’ve got Glascock County this week and Twiggs County next week, both of which are teams that are beatable.”
Both Glascock and Twiggs County have only two wins on the season, and the Bulldogs have historically played well against the Panthers.
GMC Prep leads the all-time series 26-3-1, and the Bulldogs have defeated Glascock County in 13 straight games dating back to 2009.
Overall, the Bulldogs are starting to play their best ball and hope things fall their way as the regular season comes to a close.