Greene County will host Business Engineering Science Tech (BEST) Academy at 7:30 in Tiger Stadium for the Tigers’ regular-season opener.
• Series History: Greene County leads the all-time series, 1-0.
• Last Meeting: Greene County defeated BEST Academy 27-6 in 2022.
The Tigers are preparing for their second year under head coach Terrance Banks, who led the team to a 21-point victory over the Eagles in last season’s opener.
In an interview with the Lake Oconee News, Banks described what a normal practice week looks like when getting ready for an opponent.
“We’re pretty much in shells Mondays and Tuesdays after completing study hall, Wednesdays are pretty much no sweat practice days and Thursdays are extended walkthrough days so that we are prepared for Fridays,” Banks said. “We’re trying to get the boys accustomed to the schedule over the next couple of weeks so that they know the routine as we progress through the season.”
It may be tough to transition from off-season workouts to a game almost every Friday, but playing in a comfortable environment certainly helps. For the Tigers, their first two regular-season contests will be in Tiger Stadium.
While Banks is focused on beating the team in front of him, he acknowledged how beneficial starting the year off in the comfort of their own community will be for the players.
“The important thing for us right now is that we focus on BEST. It’s always good when you have home fans in general because it keeps that comfortable schedule,” Banks said. “You get out of school, you don’t feel rushed and you’re just in your routine. Being able to be at home on a Friday night and be able to focus on what’s ahead of us rather than the logistics is huge.”
In last season’s contest, Greene County was able to find the endzone twice through the air and twice on the ground even though they racked up less than 200 total yards.
It was the Tigers’ defense that held the Eagles in check and carried the team to a convincing victory. They had 10 tackles for loss with four sacks on top of intercepting the ball twice.
Greene County only allowed BEST to score one late, fourth-quarter touchdown in a game where they had to travel to Atlanta.
This time around, Banks returns most of the players from last year’s team, and they should be able to use their size and physicality to start the season off strong.