The Long County High School and First Presbyterian Christian Academy football teams are in action this weekend. Here’s a look at each game:

Long County back at home
The Long County High School football team is back tonight in the friendly confines of Ludowici after spending last Friday on the road.
The Blue Tide hosts the Bryan County Redskins in a matchup that has become quite a rivalry. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. at Veterans Field.
Bryan County holds the better record in the series with a 5-3 mark, which includes last year’s narrow 28-21 victory. This year, the Redskins are struggling with a 1-3 record, which includes last week’s 35-13 loss to McIntosh County.  However, their lone win was an impressive 29-0 win over Jeff Davis. Bryan County is averaging 14.8 points a game while allowing 20.5. In the Region 2-AA standings, the Redskins are tied for third with two other teams, including Long County.
For the Blue Tide, tonight’s game is an opportunity for redemption. The Tide want to avenge last year’s loss to the Redskins, but more importantly, they want to pick up their second region win of the season and third win overall. Last week,
 the Tide looked impressive in a lopsided 47-6 victory over Atkinson County.  Long County comes into tonight’s game with a 2-2 record, but their two losses have come at the hands of two of the toughest opponents in 2-AA: undefeated, fourth-ranked Vidalia and former AAAAA program Benedictine Military School.  For the Tide to win tonight, they will need to keep their running attack in gear. Senior Josh Berry and junior Vanda Vareen lead that attack. On defense, Long County will need senior Jeffery Hall to continue wreaking havoc on opposing quarterbacks.  The Tide is averaging 20.8 points a game on offense while allowing 22.8 points.
    Tonight’s game also is “Rec Night,” with all Long County Recreation Department players, cheerleaders and coaches admitted free if they are in uniform and arrive before kickoff.  

FPCA at Memorial Day
First Presbyterian Christian Academy will be able to catch some local football action Friday night before hitting the field Saturday night against Memorial Day in Savannah.
FPCA coach Andy Yanzetich said it will be a challenge facing a Matador team that averages 413 total yards of offense and 36 points per game.
Last week, the Highlanders lost to David Emanuel, 46-29, in Stillmore. Yanzetich said the Highlanders need to adjust their strategy to get the most out of their players, specifically for the second half of the game.
“We’ve had the lead in the last three games at halftime,” Yanzetich said, adding they were down, 10-0, against David Emanuel before scoring 15 unanswered points.
“We had four turnovers in the second half, and it all boils down to conditioning and doing the right things,” he said. “Against a team like Memorial, you can’t make any mistakes. We have to stay on task, do what we can do successfully and avoid turning the ball over. We need to keep the defense off the field because we have the same players going both ways. If we can keep our offense out there and the chains moving … running and throwing and keep things unpredictable, we may be able to keep them off balance.”
The Highlanders have yet to back down from their opponents and have scored 83 points in four games. Their refusal to give up has carried the team through the school’s first year of football.
“I’ve talked to a lot of people around the community, and they are impressed that our first-year program is capable of staying with teams,” Yanzetich said. “Right now, I am pleased with what we are doing, but with more success you want more and more, and it gets tougher that way.”