Bulloch Academy head football coach Aaron Phillips feels the Gators have shown steady progress from their first scrimmage against Portal to their season opening 36-20-win Friday at Tiftarea. 

Phillips said he thought the long drive to Chula may have accounted for a slow start, but once the Gators got rolling, he liked what he saw particularly from his offense. 

“I think anytime you make a long drive, especially in the beginning of the year it takes a little time to shake off the rust,” Phillips said. “We had the ball inside the ten-yard line twice in the first quarter and couldn’t score. We didn’t have any game film on them and felt our way around early on. They started off in an empty formation and it took us a little to get used to that but I felt like we adjusted nicely. We came through with four turnovers and scored five time in a row starting in the second quarter so that was nice to see.” 

This week the Gators have their home opener against the 1-0 Lions of Augusta Christian. The Lions knocked off Ridge Spring-Monetta 34-18 last week on the road. Last year the Gators fell to the Lions 26-18 on the road in Martinez. This year Augusta Christian is led by quarterback Wilson Donnelly and receiver Dallas Carter who had 119 yards receiving and a pair of touchdowns in last week’s victory. 

“Carter comes in as a transfer from Cedar Grove high school and the quarterback comes over from Greenbrier,” Phillips said. “Carter is already committed to Florida State and is ranked as the No. 2 player in the class of 2026 and is a 5-star commit. He also plays safety and had three interceptions last week. We are going to have to try and come up with ways to try and stop him. They pose some problems but we feel like we are going to be okay up front.” 

Phillips thinks a key to being able to start 2-0 is going to be in the hands of the Gator offense. 

“We feel like we are going to be able to run our offense and have some success,” Phillips said. “If we can shorten the game and keep their offense off the field and not turn it over, we should be alright. We feel like we have already played some pretty good athletes in Portal and Jenkins County and for the most part were able to hold our own. It’s going to be a great atmosphere with our fans excited to finally see some real football so we are ready.” 

Bulloch Academy and Augusta Christian are set for a 7:30 start Friday in Gator Alley.