Today’s interviewee is Bryan County coach Cherard Freeman, whose team defeated then-No. 4 Lincoln County of Class A Division II 28-16 last week. It was Bryan County’s first victory over a top-10 team since the program’s start in 1976. The Redskins had been 0-69 in games vs. top-10 teams. Freeman, a former star running back at Lincoln County, was the coach at Warren County in 2018 when Warren ended a 43-game losing streak to Lincoln. Bryan County was on a 16-game losing streak when it hired Freeman in 2020. The Redskins made the playoffs last season for the first time since 2015.
1. What were the key moments in the game last week? “The turning point to me was when we snapped the ball over our punter’s head and they scored one play later, but they kicked off to us, and my boys responded. We drove the ball right down the field for a score. We never dropped our heads. We just showed maturity. Two years ago, we would’ve dropped our heads and had no fight in us. Then later we fumbled again and they had the ball inside our 20 and we held them. It was just a great effort by our defense. We held them to under 100 yards.”
2. What was the significance of this win? “The significance of this win started three years ago. I told the boys when we were going through that winless season – we went 0-10 and were getting waxed by everybody – I told them this day will come, we won’t be puppies for long, but we have to grow up and get stronger. We have to win in the weight room. We’ve committed ourselves every summer. When you walk into our weight room, on one side of the door it says, ‘You can’t win under these lights’ with a picture of a football field. On the other side, it says, ‘Unless you win under these lights,’ and there’s a picture of the weight room. The boys committed themselves.”
3. How did it feel as a Lincoln County alumnus to play and win in Lincolnton? “It was fun. All my classmates were there. My mom and grandparents and uncles and friends were there. They said, ‘We’re going to cheer for you, but we want you to lose.’ But they told us what a great job we did. I like for our players to see the type of tradition that I came from. We’re trying to instill that type of Friday night atmosphere in Bryan County. In Lincolnton, it’s a big deal. Everybody looks forward to the game. We had a good crowd come from Bryan County. They’re starting to feel that buzz of what football is supposed to feel like on Friday nights.”
4. What would you want people to know about this year’s Bryan County team? “If they watched us play, they’d know we’re a physical football team. We play an aggressive style of defense. Sometimes we give up a big play because of the chances we take, but we’re going to be aggressive. On offense, we’re going to run the football. That’s what I was accustomed to at Lincoln County with [coaches] Larry Campbell and Howard Ellis. That’s what south Georgia football is all about. Play hard-nosed, physical football. As for players, we’ve got Austin Clemons. He’s a senior who broke his leg the third game of last season. He rushed for 181 Friday night. He’s 210 pounds. He’s a 3.9 GPA kid. We’ve got Tanner Ennis. He was a preseason all-state defensive back. And there’s Sean Kelly Hill. He’s our quarterback, linebacker, safety. Wherever we need him to play, he’ll go play. That’s the motor of our football team. Those three make it go.”
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