For the first time in three years Bryan County will not be playing this week when the state football playoffs get underway. Nor will Richmond Hill despite fielding one of its most competitive teams in Coach Matt LeZotte’s 10 seasons.
The Wildcats finished 7-3 but had the misfortune of playing in Region 1-6A which is considered to be one of the strongest, if not the strongest, regions in the state. It’s only the third time in LeZotte’s tenure his team has failed to advance to the postseason.
The fact Bryan County missed the playoffs after going 4-6 overall and 3-5 in Region 3A-DII is news speaks volumes about how far the program has come under Coach Cherard Freeman who just finished his fifth year.
In years past a 4-6 finish would have been acceptable, but that’s no longer the case. Expectations have changed under Freeman and his staff of veteran coaches who guided the Redskins to a 12-2 record and the Class A-DI Final Four a year ago.
“We played some good football but we didn’t have the consistency and not doing the little things correctly hurt us all year,” Freeman said. “We had a lack of leadership, too. Once we got bogged down, we didn’t have someone step up and push us over that hump. We didn’t have that difference maker.
“But Bryan County football is not the laughing stock of the state anymore,” Freeman said. “I feel like this coaching staff has done a great job in building up the program.”
While the finish to the season and missing out on post-season play was a huge disappointment Freeman expressed optimism about next season. He sees no reason why the Redskins can’t be competitive in a region which saw four teams win seven or more games. Metter enters the playoffs ranked No. 9 in the state and Jenkins County is ranked No. 10.
“We’re going to be okay going into next year,” Freeman said. “We’ve got a good group of juniors and sophomores. I gave them a week off after the Metter game and it was back in the weight room.
“We’re going to come back faster and stronger,” Freeman said. “It’s the same thing I’ve said every year but we’re going to take it up a notch. This sophomore class is a special group and we had several freshmen who got a lot of playing time, too.
“It all depends on how much commitment they want to put in in the off-season,” Freeman said. “We’ve bought some new speed sleds which will help us get better and stronger.
Freeman defined little things as stepping with the right foot, pointing in the right direction, understanding down and distance, etc. Another problem was untimely penalties that either negated a big play, put the offense behind the sticks or kept an opponent’s drive alive. Ball security was another issue.
“We spent a lot of time working on those things,” Freeman said. “We had 17 seniors but a lot of them were playing football for the first time and they didn’t fully understand it’s the little things, attention to detail, not the big things, that win football games. When you step on the field it’s a whole lot different.”
Nearly all of the Redskins’ statistical leaders were underclassmen with junior running back Anddreas McKinny finishing as the second leading rusher in the state in Class A-DII with 1,214 yards. McKinny also doubled up as a defensive back.
McKinny, who was limited to four games as a sophomore following a knee injury, had eight games where he gained 100 or more yards and when he was not running the ball junior Ger’bravion Collins was. A three-year starter at defensive back, Collins had 523 yards.
Junior lineman Zane Renteria, who also excels in wrestling, led the Redskins in tackles with 57 and sophomore Corey Collier had 42 stops. Junior cornerback Landon Cash was much improved over the second half of the season and had 34 tackles.
Freshman Gunner Ennis was the backup quarterback and he will go into pre-season next August as the favorite to start although Collins could also get a look.