GMC Prep to close its season at home vs. Glascock

Published 3:26 pm Wednesday, November 6, 2024

A program whose history is comprised almost solely of sub-.500 seasons will try to cement a second consecutive playoff berth in Milledgeville Friday night.

The Glascock County Panthers (1-3 region, 2-7 overall), who made the playoffs for the first time ever last season, control their own destiny in making the GHSA Class A Division II state tournament.

The GMC Prep Bulldogs (0-4, 0-9) are standing in the way.

“They’re going to come in here very motivated,” GMC head coach Gavin Tierce said of this week’s opponent. “It’s going to be a physical football game. They take the weightroom seriously and it seems like they play with a chip on their shoulder.”

Glascock has two wins this season, one over private school Augusta Prep and a blowout over Twiggs. That Twiggs result has put the Panthers in the driver’s seat in securing a seat at the postseason table. It would take a loss at GMC and a highly unlikely Twiggs win over Johnson County to remove Glascock from the playoff picture.

Tierce pointed out that the Panthers, a wing T team, are better than their 2-7 record indicates. They were close to upsetting Wilkinson County, but lost 34-32. Glascock was in its game versus Hancock last week, but wound up losing by two touchdowns.

From the other sideline, the winless GMC Prep team has reached double digits only twice this year, the last time having come the first Friday in October. It’s been tough sledding for the first-year head coach Tierce and his boys. Injuries have marred the campaign. When the team has been close to healthy, execution has been inconsistent.

“Losing like this has definitely affected the morale in the last two weeks or so, but our young kids are still motivated and doing what they can to get better,” said Tierce. “The seniors know this is the last game of their lives. They’ve come in rejuvenated this week. They know what’s at stake.”

The 2024 Bulldogs on Friday will try to avoid the program’s first 0-10 season since 2007, and that’s not all they’ll be looking to dodge. GMC, owner of a 27-4-1 all-time record versus Glascock, has not lost to the Panthers in back-to-back years since ‘07 and ‘08. The playoffs are out of the question for the ‘Dogs, but the head coach wants his guys to play like they have something to prove.

“They’ve got something to prove to themselves,” Tierce said. “They’ve got something to prove to this community. They’ve got something to prove to me.”

A win would remove a whole lot of sour taste from the Bulldogs’ mouths as they head into the first full offseason under Tierce.

“A win brings back the momentum we had all summer,” he said. “I’m hoping we get a lot more kids out next year. I feel like a win would help with that. We need a win, and the kids deserve it. They’ve worked their tails off all year. If I could buy them a win, I would. I want them to be able to reap the benefits of their work.”

Kickoff between GMC Prep and Glascock is set for 7:30 p.m. Friday on Davenport Field.