Bulloch Academy and Portal are both coming off impressive 2023 seasons. The Panthers finished 8-4 and won their first state playoff game since 2006. The Gators were 10-0 in the regular season and advanced to the semifinals of the playoffs for the first time since 2008. Saturday the two teams square off in the nitecap of the Erk Russell Classic which is scheduled for a 9 p.m. start at Paulson Stadium.

The Gators and Panthers both lost some important pieces from last year’s squads and were disappointed they missed a week of practice and scrimmages after the flooding closed schools last week. Both coaches expressed their concern for those who experienced hardships from the week and know neither team has an advantage as both schools were out.

“We were grateful some of our players took it upon themselves to get together and do some conditioning off campus last week,” said Gator coach Aaron Phillips. “We were able to get in a practice early Monday before the storm hit and we feel as good as can be expected heading into Saturday night.”

Portal coach Jason McEachin hated to have a week off but feels like his team was in a pretty good spot before then and thinks they have adjusted well coming back this week.

“We started getting into a rhythm and a flow, with guys getting comfortable doing what they need to be doing and then we had to put the brakes on,” McEachin said. “It is not ideal, but the team we are playing is in the same boat and I think we did a pretty good job picking things up this week despite missing those five days and a scrimmage.”

Among the Gators losses were a starting quarterback and a pair of starters at receiver and running back. Coach Phillips is counting on his size and strength up front to offset those losses until the new starters can get up to speed.

“We feel like our offensive and defensive lines are going to carry us until the skill positions catch up" Phillips said. "I feel confident with who we have at our sill positions, it just may take a game or so to get up to game speed. We have a lot of depth and our players are just very anxious to finally get a chance to show what they can do under the lights against a different opponent."

For the Panthers the starters no longer on the team included a few players playing on the college level including quarterback Elijah Coleman and receiver Amir Jackson. McEachin is confident about the players stepping into new roles and feels his depth could be something that helps the team this year.

“We are currently only have two guys who are playing on both offense and defense,” McEachin said. “That is depth that we haven’t had here in a while. I think we have size up front and some pretty athletic players at the skill positions. We don’t just have those one or two players that will be the focus of every defense, but I think we make up for that a lot with a lot more balance than we have had in a while.”

Last year the two teams played a scrimmage at Paulson Stadium where the Gators jumped out to a good lead before the Panthers hit their stride in the second half and won 27-21. This time around the game counts in the regular season and Phillips feels his team is up for the challenge.

“We are hoping to build a little in county rivalry with Portal,” Phillips said. “We know how well they played last year and even though they don’t have the same personnel we know they are going to be fired up and ready to play. Last year we were up by 14 against them and I think they wore us down in the second half. We have emphasized getting in better shape this year and I hope we learned some things after last year.”

McEachin also expects a battle with the Gators and is excited about being a part of the Erk Russel Classic as well.

“Everyone around these parts knows what coach Russel did for football at Georgia and Georgia Southern, and to play in a game named for him means so much,” McEachin said. “Bulloch Academy is well-coached and disciplined and we know they have some size up front, but we think we match up pretty well. It is going to be exciting for our guys to go up against a good team like that under the lights Saturday.”