Bainbridge Bearcats head football coach Ed Pilcher expressed concern about turnovers following his team’s 28-19 Region 1AAAA loss to the Jones County Greyhounds Friday night at Centennial Field.

“We had four turnovers, two lost fumbles and two interceptions, and they all stopped drives,” the Bearcats head coach said. “One of the interceptions was tipped. To their credit, Jones County did a good job of taking advantage of our turnovers.”

The coach added, “Jones County’s outstanding senior running back Terrance Gore was as good as advertised, but we should have done a better job of tackling him.”

Pilcher said the missed extra point following quarterback Rohan Gaines’ four-yard touchdown run that cut the Greyhounds lead to 7-6 with 33 seconds left in the second quarter, was the result of a bad snap.

“Quarterback Steven Bench, who was holding for kicker Keenan Adams, had no choice but to pick up the ball and try to run it in for a two-point conversion,” Pilcher said.

“When Jeremy Harper ran six yards for a touchdown to put us ahead 12-7 early in the third quarter, I decided to kick the extra point rather than go for two. It gave us a six-point lead at 13-7 and that was important at that time. If it had been later in the game I would have gone for two points. We have an open date this week, and it couldn’t come at a better time.”

Junior wide receiver, defensive back and punt and kickoff returner Shawn Samuels is recovering from a separated shoulder suffered against Westside Macon, and junior offensive guard Jim Griffin is sick with meningitis, which Pilcher said he hopes Griffin will be back for the Oct. 16 Region 1AAAA game against Hardaway in Columbus.

“This is finals week. I called off practice Monday because I wanted the players to study and do well on their finals. We will practice Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. On Friday our coaches will go out scouting our future opponents,” Pilcher said.

“Our last four regular season games with Hardaway, Upson-Lee, Americus-Sumter County and Thomas County Central will be very important in determining the Region 1AAAA playoff picture,” Pilcher said.

The top four teams from the nine-team Region 1AAAA will all go to the playoffs. The first- and second-place teams will host first-round games against third- and fourth-place teams from another Class AAAA Region, and the third- and fourth-place teams will play first- and second-place teams from another Class AAAA Region on the road.

Individual Statistics

Rushing—Thomas Smiley, 11-60; Jeremy Harper, 13-36 and a touchdown; Rohan Gaines, 9-13 and a touchdown.

Passing—Rohan Gaines, 10-19-150.

Receiving—James Hudson, 3-31; Thomas Smiley, 2-19; Jeremy Harper, 3-76 and a touchdown; Markieth Chrispen, 1-17; Devanta Johnson, 1-7.

Punt Returns—Jeremy Harper, 1-5; Justin Harris, 1-0.

Kickoff Returns—James Hudson, 1-13; Justin Harris, 1-11; Devonta Johnson, 1-0.