PEMBROKE – Cherard Freeman already was soaking wet from the steady rain when he got a celebratory “Gatorade bath” after host Bryan County’s 34-13 victory over Screven County on Friday night.
No reason not to keep pouring it on. Bryan County had worked four years since Freeman’s arrival for a moment like this. The Redskins had improved from 0-7 in 2020 to 3-7 in 2021 and 6-5 last season, including a playoff appearance for the first time since 2015.
Beating the Gamecocks, who had blanked them 19-0 last season in Sylvania, lifted the Redskins to 7-1 overall and 2-0 this season in GHSA Region 3-A Division I. They’re in position for their first region title since the program began in 1976.
“It was a bumpy road. We were getting punched in the mouth,” said Sean Kelly Hill, a senior quarterback and linebacker. “Coach Freeman kept telling us to stick with it, stick in the weight room, it’s going to get better in four years. We’re going to be playing for a region championship.”
Bryan County has two games remaining, both in the region, at Savannah High on Oct. 27 and at home against Claxton on Nov. 3. While each region contest is important, Freeman sat star running back/linebacker Austin Clemons (1,059 yards, 12 rushing touchdowns in seven games), whom he said has a sprained AC joint in his right shoulder.
Freeman felt confident another senior, Jacari Carney, could “carry the load for us” in a run-first offense that occasionally passes the ball. Hill threw only three times on Friday night, completing one pass for 10 yards.
The 5-foot-7 Carney was a load on Screven County, rushing 34 times for 220 yards, including an 8-yard touchdown. He entered the game having rushed 38 times for a total of 226 yards and three scores in four games as he has been limited by injuries.
“I got tired a couple of times. I just knew I had to push through….,” Carney said of his workload Friday.
“We’ve been waiting for him to have a breakout game; he did tonight,” Freeman said. “It started off kind of shaky with his two fumbles. I don’t know if it was just nerves or what it was. He played good. He came through in the clutch for us. That’s what you’ve got to have in a good football team.”
True, Carney fumbled on his first carry, part of a first-quarter sequence in which Screven County quarterback Gatlin Scott was intercepted by Elijah Mincey; Carney lost the ball on the next play, and the Gamecocks fumbled it back on the next possession.
Nerves or the wet conditions on the ground, both teams struggled early holding onto the slippery ball. Long snaps were a consistent problem for each side. When a snap skidded to Bryan County punter Kris Martin, Kashard Prescott picked it up and returned it for the game’s first score at 5:10 left in the opening quarter.
“I didn’t like the mistakes we made on special teams,” Freeman said. “That was a big touchdown (for Screven County) in a big game. Regardless of the weather, we’ve got to be able to execute if you want to win football games.”
After Screven County punter Luke Hynds’ knee touched the ground as he fielded a grounded snap at his 10-yard line, Bryan County took advantage of the short field. Hill ran 5 yards for the tying touchdown with 10:05 remaining in the second quarter.
Carney grinded out most of the yards on the go-ahead scoring drive culminated in Anddreas McKinney’s 1-yard plunge and Cooper Ennis’ extra point for 14-7 with 2:06 left in the quarter.
Freeman said he talked to his squad at halftime about not letting the weather affect execution.
“We said, ‘Hey, man, it’s raining for both teams. It just doesn’t rain when we’ve got the ball. It’s just not wet when we’ve got the ball,’ ” Freeman said. “We told them that we had to continue to do what we do. Screven’s got a good football team. I’m not going to take nothing from what they do.”
The Redskins went up 21-7 in the third quarter on Carson Nunn’s 8-yard TD run after Carney put in most of the legwork. The Gamecocks (2-5, 0-1) responded almost immediately with Scott’s 77-yard bomb as Ta’Corey Grant got behind the defense for a 21-13 deficit as the kick failed on a bad snap.
Bryan County’s offense continued to wear down its foe, and the physical play of the defense shut down Screven for the rest of the night.
“We tried to take care of the ball,” said Carney, who got in the end zone with 7:50 left in the game. “We had to get everything right. We had to try to minimize mistakes. That’s what we did.”
Hill put the finishing touch on the scoreboard after teammate Tanner Ennis’ pick-6 was erased by penalty for roughing the passer. Hill returned a fumble for a touchdown with 51 seconds left for the 34-13 final.
The celebration and Freeman’s extra hydration would soon follow.
“The 2024 Class of Bryan County has definitely changed the memo around here about the sports programs,” Hill said. “Everybody used to think, ‘It’s just Bryan County. It’s whatever.’ Our class came in, we stuck with it for the last four years and we changed the way people think about Bryan County sports.”
Carney, like Hill one of the 16 freshmen that played for the winless team in 2020, has gotten the memo. The state got the memo when Bryan County opened this season on the road and beat Freeman’s alma mater, then-No. 4 Lincoln County, for the program’s first win over a top-10 team.
“We just think about all the work that we put in and we’ve got to capitalize on everything,” Carney said. “The four years that we’ve been here, we’ve been the ones getting beaten up on. Now, we can actually lay the hammer and beat up on other teams.”
Bryan County 34, Screven County 13
SC | 7 | 0 | 6 | 0 | -- 13
BC | 0 | 14 | 7 | 13 | -- 34
First quarter
SC – Kashard Prescott 37 fumble return (Luke Hynds kick)
Second quarter
BC – Sean Kelly Hill 5 run (Cooper Ennis kick)
BC – Anddreas McKinney 1 run (Ennis kick)
Third quarter
BC – Carson Nunn 7 run (Ennis kick)
SC – Ta’Corey Grant 77 pass from Gatlin Scott (kick failed)
Fourth quarter
BC – Jacari Carney 8 run (Ennis kick)
BC – Hill 10 fumble return (conversion failed)
RECORDS: Bryan County (6-1/1-0), Screven Co. (2-4/0-1)
WEEK #9 FINAL SCORES
Oct. 13, Friday
GHSA 7A -Region 1
Valdosta 24, Richmond Hill 14
GHSA 6A - Region 2
Effingham County 42, Evans 10
South Effingham 22, Lakeside Evans 19
GHSA 5A Region 1
Jenkins 24, Greenbrier0
GHSA 4A Region 3
Benedictine 28, SE Bulloch 7
Burke County 49, Islands 14
Wayne County 21, New Hampstead 16
GHSA 2A Region 3
Appling County 61, Windsor Forest 0
GHSA 1A D1 Region 3
Bryan County 34, Screven County 13
Metter 49, Savannah High 0
SCISA AA Region I
Bethesda 40, Northside Christian 0
PHOTO CREDIT: Bryan County Football Facebook page
FOLLOW the Prep Sports Report on Twitter @PrepSav, Instagram savannahsportsreport, or if you have a story or recap, contact PSR at https://prepsportsreport.com/Contact or kdemasi@prepsportsreport.com
Optim Orthopedics supports Prep Sports and the following schools: Benedictine Military School, Bradwell Institute, Calvary Day School, Liberty County High School, Richmond Hill High School, Savannah Country Day, South Effingham High School, and St. Vincent's athletics. Benedictine Military School, Bradwell Institue, and Liberty County's team doctor is Dr. David Sedory. Dr. David Palmer is the team doctor for Calvary Day School, South Effingham, and Richmond Hill. Savannah Country Day and St. Vincent's team doctor is Dr. Thomas Alexander. Remember, Optim Orthopedics gets you back into the game.
