New Bradwell Institute head football coach Greg Hill will lead the Tigers on Friday into a home game against Statesboro, where he once served as an assistant coach.
The Blue Devils come in sporting a dismal 1-5 season and a 1-3 mark in Region 3-AAAAA.
The offense for the winless Tigers received a spark last week after former Liberty County High School backup quarterback Michael Moore’s eligibility was approved, placing him in a Tigers’ uniform for his first snaps of the season. Moore tossed three straight completions and finished 4 for 9 for 25 yards. Offensively, Bradwell is averaging 235.2 all-purpose yards per game.
The Tigers’ defense has been strong this season. Against Effingham, Lorenzo Brinson notched two interceptions for 73 yards returned, including a pick-six. Seniors Jeff Andrew and Isiah Barnes led in total tackles with 10 and nine, respectively. The duo, along with Stephen Felton and Stephon Green, also each had one tackle for loss.
The Rebels zeroed in on BI’s leading rusher, Luther Echols, who was held to a total of 17 yards. But Deangelo Smith, doing much better after recovering from an ankle injury earlier this season, had 81 yards on eight carries for Bradwell.
Junior Trevon McCoy didn’t put up the usual big numbers on rushing yards last week, but the one yard he did notch mattered as it was for the Tigers’ second touchdown.
As Hill said after last week’s loss, the Tigers are showing improvement “in spurts.” The coach is looking to piece together a complete game. As he has stated through the season, the Tigers fight for every inch but need more consistency. With senior leadership stepping in on offense, the Tigers will try and gain the advantage in the series, in which each team has won 15 times, according to the Georgia High School Football Historians Association.
Statesboro, which doesn’t have any season stats posted on maxpreps.com for the season, is coming off its first win of the season, beating Richmond Hill, 14-13, last week in a televised game. It’s been a tough year for coach Steve Pennington, yet an even harder one for Hill, who said he has yet to see the ball bounce his way in a game this season.