PEMBROKE – When the clock struck midnight, host Bryan County had a season-opening 21-6 victory and the Johnson High football team could wonder what might have been in muddy, wet conditions on Friday night.
A two-hour delay from the scheduled 7:30 p.m. kickoff because of lightning in the area added another layer of difficulty when Week 1 games typically are marred by penalties and turnovers as offenses try to get in sync.
“It was an ugly ballgame; it started so late,” Bryan County Redskins coach Cherard Freeman said. “(The Redskins) didn’t come out flat. They came out ready to play football.
“It was a good win, but we’ll take an ugly win over a pretty loss any day,” he continued. “I’m just excited that (the Atomsmashers) played our style of football. If you’ve been around us long enough, (you know) we want to pound it. We want to run the football and we want to be physical.”
The Redskin had freshman quarterback Jamariyan Cosey attempt only two passes (both incompletions) in his debut, instead putting the burden on a stable of runners led by all-state back Anddreas McKinny and fellow senior Ger’bravion Collins. Both of them, however, had to sit out plays after getting “banged up,” Freeman said, on a hard-hitting night all around when cramping also was an issue for both teams.
It actually was a sophomore, Gerome Lee, who scored the game’s first points on his first carry of the season, a 46-yard run in which he broke a tackle at the line, kept his balance, and outsprinted the defense to the end zone. Will Summerford made the first of his three extra-point kicks for 7-0 with 9:23 left in the second quarter.
Freshman defensive back Roderick Stephens gave Bryan County a short field when he intercepted Johnson quarterback Shamari King and returned the ball to the Atomsmashers’ 35.
Collins culminated the nine-play drive with a 9-yard touchdown run with 43 seconds remaining before halftime to forge a 14-0 lead.
Johnson coach Steven Smith didn’t blame the delay for his squad’s slow start.
“I don’t want to use it as an excuse,” Smith said. “I think they were ready to play. We played solid on defense. We gave them short fields.”
More to the point, Smith said, were the Atomsmashers’ turnovers. In addition to the interception, they lost three fumbles (two recovered by Bryan County linebacker Gunner Ennis) and kept a fourth, which was erased by a holding penalty on the play.
“It’s almost impossible to do that, to turn the ball over multiple times and come out on top,” said Smith, who felt his team played a solid second half. “We’ve got to figure out what we need to do to protect the ball better and move forward. We’re playing better defense down the line. We’ve got to be more stout on defense.”
Also deflating was the second play of the second quarter, when the Atomsmashers’ Dezrin Davis ran 45 yards for first-and-goal at the Redskins’ 3-yard line. A penalty erased the play and a golden scoring opportunity in a tight game.
The third quarter was the opposite of textbook for the offenses, as Bryan fumbled away its first two possessions, and Johnson turned it over on downs and then fumbled.
The Redskins then failed to take advantage of a short field by being stopped on fourth down, and the Atomsmashers then fumbled on a fourth-down play in a scoreless third quarter.
Bryan County, which had four fumbles and lost two, punted to the Johnson 17 with 8:41 remaining in the game. The Atomsmashers needed to strike fast, and King covered those 83 yards in a hurry on first down. He faked a handoff, got to the corner, and raced up the left sideline for the score. A failed snap and hold on the extra-point attempt kept the deficit 14-6.
“We worried about him all week,” Freeman said of junior King, a second-year starter. “The coaches, that’s all we talked about. We worked on the counter all week.”
Freeman said the bootleg-counter-reverse could “be a problem for us” against his team’s aggressive style on defense, and the coaches were right. King had 10 carries for 138 yards, including sacks/tackles for loss, with the TD run doing the most damage. King was 6-for-16 passing for 32 yards and the interception.
“It’s good to know we have a coaching staff that knows our weaknesses, knows our strengths, and that was our weakness this week,” Freeman said.
Johnson’s coach also praised King’s effort, but in the context of the loss, Smith said, “He’s been a leader, but we’ve got to go back to the drawing board and figure out how to move the ball on offense.”
Down one score, the Atomsmashers could have gotten the ball back on the Redskins’ next possession. Junior Eli Koskela gained rugged yards off-tackle to supplement Bryan County’s run game, but his fumble with under seven minutes remaining could have been costly.
Two Johnson defenders appeared to pounce on the football, but Bryan County offensive lineman Reese Smith emerged with the ball out of the pile.
“That’s the attitude that we want to have: to fight and to work,” Freeman said. “We call ourselves blue-collar workers. We just get up there and want to go to work. We want to do all the dirty work. We’ve got some linemen that want to do the dirty work.”
The Redskins won’t try to out-finesse or use trick plays on an opponent, Freeman said, and though he’s confident in Cosey’s ability as a passer, Friday was not the night to throw it all over the (slick) field. The offense is powered by the run.
“We’re coming and if you stop us, you win,” Freeman said.
Keeping the recovered fumble gave Bryan County an 18-yard gain and a first down. Koskela and Collins shared carries and grinded out more first downs. Collins went in for his second touchdown from 2 yards out for a 21-6 advantage with 3:58 remaining in regulation, and a defensive stop sealed the victory.
“We faced a lot of adversity with the weather and those fumbles, but we continued to fight through it,” said Bryan County senior Zane Renteria, a starting right guard and defensive end who rarely came off the field.
Renteria said that after last season and scrimmages this month, the coaches were looking for the Class of 2026 to step up as leaders.
“This win definitely builds a lot of confidence for our freshman,” Renteria said. “It shows us what we’re capable of. It shows us that our seniors are able to lead.”
BRYAN COUNTY 21, JOHNSON 6
| Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Total |
| Johnson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| Bryan County | 0 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
|
Records—Johnson 0-1, Bryan County 1-0. |
|||||
Second Quarter
Bryan—Gerome Lee 46 run (Will Summerford kick)
Bryan—Ger’bravion Collins 9 run (Summerford kick)
Fourth Quarter
Johnson—Shamari King 83 run (kick failed)
Bryan—Collins 2 run (Summerford kick)
Records—Johnson 0-1, Bryan County 1-0.
2025 Week 1 Schedule Final Scores
Aug. 15
Bradwell at Liberty County moved to August 16 10 a.m.
New Hampstead 14, South Effingham 6
Colquitt County 27, Benedictine 24
MCA 43, Islands 20
Lowndes 43, Jenkins 21
Bryan County 21, Johnson 6
Savannah Christian 38, Whitefield Academy 28
Charlotte Country Day 28, Savannah Country Day 10
Frederica Academy 34, Savannah High 0
Edmund Burke Academy 30, St. Andrew's 6
Aug. 16, Saturday
Bradwell at Liberty County 10 a.m.
Calvary Day vs. Beach at Georgia Southern, 6 p.m.
Photo: Courtesy Nathan Dominitz
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