MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. — The 2016 football season was a step in the right direction for the Georgia Military College Prep School Bulldogs.

The Bulldogs improved upon their 1-9 2015 season to post a 4-6 record this year. Although they’ll say goodbye to 10 seniors, head coach Steven Simpson was able to get a lot of underclassmen some valuable playing experience on both sides of the football.

“We’re not where we want to be, but better than we were so that’s a positive for us,” said Simpson. “It was a building year. Offensively I was pleasantly surprised with the growth in the offense as the year went on. I’m really looking forward to year two in the wing T. We knew it would take us about a year or so to get everything in so now that we have most of it in it’ll be interesting to see how it takes off.

“Defensively I’d say we still have to work to do, but the most positive thing about the defensive side is we played quite a few young kids. We only had three seniors on defense so we’re bringing a lot back. We started two freshmen and three sophomores so we’re looking forward to that because that’s pretty exciting.”

GMC Prep opened the season with consecutive road games that they split and were happy when week three came around when they got to play within the friendly confines of Davenport Field. The home field mojo was working for the Bulldogs as they rolled over Fulton Leadership Academy by a final score of 38-6. GMC Prep outgained the Gryphons 327-113 in total yardage on the night, including a 50-yard touchdown run by the team’s leading rusher Michael Skinner who Simpson lauded as one of the team’s top performers in 2016.

The Dogs split their next two at home against Schley and Oglethorpe counties before dropping a close one on the road at Temple. The following week had a matchup in store that the city of Milledgeville had not seen in 30 years as GMC Prep made the short trip to John Milledge Academy to face the Trojans. Down a head coach who was out due to being ejected from a junior varsity game and a few players from injury, the Dogs fell to eventual GISA state champion Trojans 44-10. The two teams will meet again next year, this time on Davenport Field.

Coach Simpson’s team was in need of a pick-me-up and got just that when Glascock came calling on homecoming night. The dogs averaged more than 13 yards per carry on the ground as they finished the night with 445 yards on 34 carries.

“I would say the homecoming game against Glascock was a highlight because we were able to win the ballgame, but one of the best things about it was the older kids took care of business early like they were supposed to and then we had time for a lot of the younger kids to really get a lot of experience,” Simpson said. “Chase Cheely scored a touchdown and I think the other really positive thing was Hunter Moody as an underclassman to see him be successful as he was that was a very positive moment for us.”

The head coach added that the 49-7 win over Glascock showed how well his team responded to the adversity of losing two starters to injury the prior week.

The Bulldogs’ non-region schedule did not allow for any players to be chosen for postseason accolades by the GHSA, but the team did have six players selected as the U-R Athlete of the Week. Alex Easley, Forrest Hobbs, Cory Bivins, Hunter Moody, Chase Sheffield, and Malik Foston were all selected by readers to be featured in the paper.

Foston, only a sophomore, was praised by his coach for his play in all three phases of the game.

“From an underclassmen standpoint I think Malik Foston had an outstanding season for us,” said Simpson. “Offensively, defensively, and he was a big part of special teams by making a lot of tackles for us on that unit.”

Foston was joined by classmate Jalen Milner in the defensive backfield and Simpson stated that Milner was a good surprise for the 2016 Bulldogs.

“One of the most pleasant surprises for us was Jalen Milner. It was his first time ever playing football and started all 10 games at free safety for us. He was probably our third or fourth leading tackler. He was right in the mix anytime we had something happening defense.”

Moody fought back from a bad ankle injury he suffered in 2015 to be one of GMC Prep’s biggest contributors in the run game.

“Hunter Moody was coming back from a serious ankle injury and we weren’t even sure if he’d get the chance to play,” Simpson said. “He ended up being one of our most productive runners late in the season. He had some really good games from an offensive standpoint.”

Of course the skill players can’t run, catch, or throw without a little help from the big guys up front and Simpson picked out one of his seniors as a reason why the run game was so successful.

“I thought Grayson Goodwin played extremely well on the offensive and defensive lines. The end of the season Grayson’s offensive line average grade was an 80, which is pretty impressive for us.”

Depth is a big issue for a lot of the smaller schools in GHSA, and Simpson says that his team was no exception.

“Along the offensive line we didn’t really have a ton of seasoned backups so to speak. Our depth in the skill positions was pretty good but it was musical chairs if one kid got hurt you had to move a bunch of them around to get somebody in. Defensively depth at the linebacker spot was a huge concern for us and we rolled a bunch of guys through those positions to try to fill them. Most of them were underclassmen, which is going to be an advantage in the long run.”

With so many young guys with experience under their belts returning in 2017, the Bulldogs hope to keep improving and compete in every game.