HINESVILLE – When presented with knowing what opportunity lies ahead for his football program, Bradwell Institute coach Deshon Brock was overcome with emotion.

The Tigers, who have not been to the state playoffs since 2019 and recently went three calendar years between wins, took a giant step toward returning to the postseason with a dramatic 28-25 win Friday night at Olvey Field/Hokey Jackson Stadium against long-time rival Statesboro.

With the win, the Tigers improved to 3-5 on the season and 1-2 in Region 1-AAAAA. Statesboro fell to 2-6 on the season and 1-2 in the region. 

Bradwell faces Jenkins (2-6, 1-2) on Saturday night and ends the regular season at home against Greenbrier (0-8, 0-3). A win against either team almost certainly secures a postseason date for the Tigers.

“It would mean a lot,” Brock said. 

The drama that unfolded Friday night set the stage for the Tigers’ potential return to the playoffs.

Chris Garrett scored on a 1-yard run with 1:04 left to put BI in front for good and Wade Cobb added a two-point conversion. Garrett’s fourth-down run to the nose of the goal line kept Bradwell alive, setting up his game-winning score.

“It means everything,” Garrett said of the victory. “It’s, what, our first region home win in four years? It means everything to me.”

The Tigers jumped out to a 13-0 lead but the Devils scored three times in the final 2:08 of the first half to take a 19-13 lead.

On the Tigers’ first play of the game Garrett hit speedster Tyon Jones on a 63-yard post pattern, putting BI in front 6-0.

Garrett scored on an 11-yard keeper midway through the second quarter for a 13-0 advantage.

Ty Chambers’ 22-yard dash on a fake punt set up his 14-yard TD run with 2:08 to go in the half. The Blue Devils put in a fake on the extra point try too, as holder Randon Gay flipped a shuttle pass to Jovon Gibson for a two-point conversion.

Another special teams play set up the next Statesboro score. The Tigers failed to corral the ensuing kickoff and the Devils recovered at the 24. That led to Kam Mikell’s 31-yard touchdown strike to Kyan McCollum. Mikell ran in the two-point conversion for a 16-13 lead with 53.4 seconds left in the half. 

Statesboro turned another special teams play into points, blocking a Tigers punt and recovering at the Bradwell 17. Keith Howard’s resulting 38-yard field goal on the final play put Statesboro in front 19-13.

With 7:01 to go in the game, Garrett hit Bryant Thomas on a 51-yard touchdown pass and the extra point put the Tigers in front 20-19. 

Mikell, who made two acrobatic plays to keep the Blue Devils’ last-gasp drive going, picked up a dropped snap and darted 7 yards with 3:29 to go, capping a nine-play, 56-yard drive. 

Zay Thomas’ return, plus two major penalties on the Blue Devils, set the Tigers up at the 12 with under two minutes left. On fourth down from the 10, Garrett scrambled and was stopped just short of the goal line. He got to the goal line before getting stood up on the next snap.

“I knew I was going to get it,” Garrett said of his fourth-down run. “I knew I was running it. I just had that confidence.”

Mikell scooped up a botched reverse pass attempt for a 10-yard gain to convert a fourth down and later wriggled away from three Tiger defenders and out of a sack before nearly completing a 17-yard pass. On fourth down, his final pass of the game hit the ground at Olvey Field as the clock expired, sending the Tigers into a frenzied celebration. 

“I thought the defense played a heckuva game,” Brock said. “They performed their tails off. Offensively, we were sloppy. Offensively, we’ve got to do better. We put them in some compromising situations with special teams. But the defense showed up tonight. The defense held it down for us.” 

Garrett finished with 199 yards passing. Bryant Thomas had 66 yards on three receptions, Jones had five catches for 103 yards and Zay Thomas had two catches for 30 yards. Cobb ran 16 times for 70 yards, Davyion Tillman had two carries for 30 yards and Garrett added 32 yards and 18 rushing attempts. 

The Blue Devils were held to 256 total yards of offense, and Mikell, touted by recruiting services as a four-star athlete, was held to 30 yards rushing. 

The Tigers were assessed 115 yards on 12 accepted penalties, and the Blue Devils committed 18 penalties, costing them 171 yards and an apparent 72-yard Mikell touchdown run in the third quarter. 

“We stopped ourselves,” Brock said. “Take nothing away from Statesboro – but we made a lot of mental errors and mistakes. But to have the fortitude to pull it out, I’m proud of them for that.”

The Tigers have a chance to not only finish at .500 – they have not had a winning record since 2017 and snapped a 30-game losing streak in last year’s season finale – but end their playoff drought in the next two weeks.

“It’s been a while. We’re more than ready,” Garrett said.