Long County High School celebrates homecoming tonight and the football team would like nothing more than to please the returning alumni with a win over Brantley County High School.

The Herons bring a 2-4 overall record into the game, having defeated the Berrien Rebels and the Pierce County Bears. Though Brantley County lost four of its six games, the losses do not stem from a lack of offensive production. The Herons are the No. 1 scoring team in Region 2-AA, averaging 29 points a game; however, they also are giving up an average of 32 points a game, which is the worst in the region.

The Herons are coming off a tough 20-34 loss to the region’s No. 1 team, Tattnall County, so they’re looking to bounce back with a win over the Blue Tide.

Long County has dropped five games in a row, including a 7-32 loss last Friday to the Pierce County Bears. The score was lopsided at the end, but the Blue Tide played well through three quarters until the Bears’ 22 unanswered points put the game out of reach. The Blue Tide is averaging 7 points a game, which is last in Region 2-AA. They are allowing 31 points, which is only 1 point better than Brantley.

"Our defense has got to step up and get pressure on their quarterback. He and a couple of their receivers have been putting up a lot of points and we have got to find a way to stop them," Long County head coach Kyle Wilson said.

"On offense, we just have to stick to our plan and execute. We’re pretty healthy now, but we lack experience … we’ve found the guys on the team who want to play. We just have to make sure they don’t lose their confidence," he said.

Brantley County beat Long County last year, but the Tide won two of the last three matches against the Herons.

During halftime at tonight’s game, the 2010 LCHS homecoming queen will be crowned. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. in Ludowici.