It can be hard to admit someone else is better than you but Bryan County Coach Cherard Freeman didn’t shy away when asked about his team’s 30-0 loss to Metter last Friday at Redskins Stadium.
“I have to be honest,” Freeman said. “They were a better team. They were stronger…just better.”
The win put Metter—it was favored by 24 points—in early command of the Region 3A-DI race. Although it was only the first game of region play the Tigers (4-3, 1-0) appear to be head and shoulders above the three other region teams.
Freeman, however, is undaunted as he is confident the Redskins (4-3, 0-1) will bounce back Friday night when they play at unbeaten Screven County (5-0, 0-0).
“I thought we played well, especially in the second half,” Freeman said. “We just couldn’t move the football against them. We might have broke 100 yards.”
Bryan County was averaging 230.4 yards per game rushing but Metter bottled up the ground game and put itself in prime position to win its fourth straight region championship. Metter has been a Class A state semifinalist the last two years.
Freeman could not emphasize strongly enough the importance of the game with the Gamecocks.
“This will be the biggest game of the year for us,” Freeman said. “I think this game will be for the number two seed in the playoffs.”
After playing the Gamecocks the Redskins will have an open date before closing the season against winless Savannah High (0-7, 0-1) and at Claxton (4-3, 1-0).
While the loss to Metter stung Freeman said he saw a lot of positives that further reinforced his belief that things are headed in the right direction.
“We competed the whole game,” Freeman said. “Our young guys played hard. That was the most important thing I saw: we played hard and did not quit.
“The last one or two years I felt we quit against them when they were beating us by 50 points. They beat us but we’re not getting pushed around. The kids believe in what we’re doing.”
Freeman was especially pleased with the play of center Jet Lewis and defensive tackle Carter Tapley.
“Lewis had one of the top nose guards in the region playing in front of him but he blocked well,” Freeman said. “Tapley was fighting the flu all week—he had to go home one day—and he wasn’t 100 percent but he gave it all he had. He fought through it.”
It was Metter’s ninth straight win in a series it now leads 30-6. It was the first time in five years Bryan County had held the Tigers to under 50 points.
“Coach (Rodney) Garvin was very complimentary of us,” Freeman said. “He told me this was the best Bryan County team he had seen. He said we were maximizing what we’ve got.”