The Bainbridge Bearcats have a strong group of skill players this season and a powerful, yet young, backfield that are making big strides during summer workouts.

“It’s good, because we have a lot of guys we can get the ball to, who can make plays and make stuff happen for us,” said wide receivers coach Blake Cecil. “We feel pretty confident that the ones and twos can get the job done that we need them to do, and do it effectively.”

Cecil said he was especially excited to see Bainbridge’s two senior wide receivers, AJ Cooper and Aaron Spivie, lead a talented group of catchers.

“They are two really good receivers and they are doing a lot of good things here in practice,” said Cecil. “We expect a lot out of them. They have been in the program all four years. They understand the offense and they do what we expect of them. The sky is the limit for those two.”

Michael Ryan, Jaylan Peterson and Coryn Burns are a group of juniors who have put in the work to see significant playing time this season. Two freshman, Braxton Johnson and Deyon Bouie, are also practicing hard and might get playing time as well.

Cecil said the offense is striking a good balance of an air attack with its ground game, which will feature a young backfield with huge potential.

“There’s not even a junior in the backfield this year,” said running backs coach Larry Cosby. “I have all sophomores.”

Two of those sophomores, Rashad Broadnax and Caleb McDowell, will be the feature tailbacks for Bainbridge this season.

McDowell had a big season playing on both sides of the ball in 2017. He played in 10 games, rushing 21 times for 238 yards and three touchdowns.

Broadnax had a big career at Bainbridge Middle School, but unfortunately suffered an injury early in his freshman season that put him out for the rest of the year. Now that he’s healed up and ready to play, Broadnax and McDowell are pushing each other every day in practice.

“Rashad and Caleb have both been putting in a lot of hard work,” said Cosby. “They come to practice every day and correct each other. They are very energetic on the practice field. It makes my job easier when they are helping each other out.”

Cosby is also coaching two sophomores who are new to the fullback position: Ridge Baggett and Javon Lee. He said both are learning the offense and developing nicely.

Check next edition for a look at Bainbridge’s 2018 linebackers and defensive backs.