Georgia Military Prep lost its second game of the season in a 20-0 loss to Jenkins County last Friday on the road. The Bulldogs are now 3-2 on the season and will look to recover over their bye this week.
However, Head Coach Gavin Tierce is not discouraged by his team's 0-1 start in region play.
“I think the biggest takeaway is that we were really two mistakes away from completely changing the complexion of that game,” Tierce said. “I can’t say enough good things about the way our defense played. They were fast, physical, and played with a tremendous amount of effort all night. They gave us opportunities and kept us in the football game. Now we have to clean up the mistakes, be more consistent offensively, and do a better job of complementing that defensive effort.”
Tierce hopes the bye week this week will help his team recover and clean up the mistakes that have cost them multiple games this season.
“It gives us an opportunity to really self-scout and take a hard look at what we’re doing well and where we need to improve on both sides of the ball,” Tierce said. “Offensively, we need to use this time to clean up some of the details and get back to playing with confidence and consistency.”
Tierce believes in his offense's ability to play at a high level despite a number of games where they have struggled to put many points on the board. The Bulldogs have scored as many as 49 points in a single game this season (49-12 win over Crawford County), but have also been shut-out twice this season.
“I don’t think we need to reinvent anything,” Tierce said. “We need to clean up the details, trust what we do, and execute with confidence. We’ve shown what this offense is capable of. Now it’s about getting back to playing fast, physical, disciplined football and finishing drives.”
During the bye week GMC will be preparing for the Wilkinson County Warriors (2-3) in the Bulldogs second region game of the season. Tierce hopes his team will return to playing the style of football they expect to play.
“For us, this week is really about getting back to playing our brand of football,” Tierce said. “We need to be physical, disciplined, take care of the football, and execute consistently. Coming off the Jenkins game, I think our guys understand there’s a small margin for error, and Wilkinson is another team that will make you pay for mistakes.”
The Bulldogs and Warriors will meet at Davenport Field in Milledgeville on Oct. 9 at 7:30 p.m.