The Bulloch Academy Gators had to hang on for a 19-18 season opening win Saturday against Portal as they start the year 1-0. Head coach Aaron Phillips was pleased with the effort Saturday but feels the Gators hurt themselves in areas that could have made the game an even easier victory.

“The kids showed a lot of heart and I was pleased with the condition our players were in as we didn’t have a lot of guys going down even with missing a week and a scrimmage,” Phillips said. “I liked the way our offensive line played and I think that was the difference in the game for us. We also had some guys really step up running the ball as we went over 300 yards rushing.”

Among the areas Phillips was pleased about is quarterback where sophomore Sam Hubbard was getting his first start under center.

“Sam is just a sophomore and hasn’t ever taken a snap at quarterback, so I felt he played great,” Phillips said. “He hasn’t even turned 16 years-old yet so to start under the lights at Paulson Stadium in his first game and perform the way he did was special. He really exceeded our expectations and made a few key plays with his feet in the game.”

The Gators had two touchdowns from Danye Garvin who returns at running back, but also had over 100 yards rushing from Shemar Jenkins in his first game as a running back.

“Shemar has played his whole career at receiver and we decided he’s too good an athlete to not touch the ball as many times as possible in a game,” Phillips said. “I was really pleased with the way he ran the ball. He showed his speed but he also got some hard yards when we needed it.”

Among the areas Phillps feels the Gators need to improve is field goal protection as well as being able to complete drives. He also mentioned the team needs to improve in tacking.

“I felt like we left points on the board as we put the ball on the ground a few times and didn’t capitalize when we got in the red zone,” Phillips said. “

This week the Gators hit the road to take on another GHSA member as they will be at Claxton Friday night. The Tigers lost to Tattnall County 34-14 in their opener but Phillips is expecting a good matchup Friday.

“Greg Hill and his staff do a great job over there at Claxton,” Phillips said. “They have some pretty good athletes over there and we know they will be well-coached. I feel like when we get going, we are going to be hard to stop. We went up against a pretty big line against Portal and still moved the ball well. We are looking to make a big step forward Friday in Claxton.

Bulloch Academy and Claxton are scheduled for a 7:30 kickoff in Claxton Friday night.