Following a 7-4 season in 2017, Bacon County football began a five-year slump that saw the team win just nine games from 2018-2022. The Red Raiders’ best record during that stretch was in 2020, when they finished 5-5. So, with Bacon County at 4-3 through the first seven games of the 2023 campaign, you can understand why fans are excited about their football team again.
“The morale is better, the numbers are up, and the players have really bought in to a new way of doing things,” said Bacon County Touchdown Club president Heath Carver.
Carver credits second-year head coach Mark Wilson as the man responsible for the turnaround.
“Coach Wilson and his staff came in last season, and you could see the team starting to turn the corner,” Carver said. “The players’ attitude and mindset began to change. He really implemented a blue-collar, workhorse mentality within the program, on the field and in the weight room, and it has made a huge difference.”
Following the 2021 season, Bacon County announced that it would seek a new head football coach, and Carver was part of the search committee that interviewed interested candidates. He says this search felt different compared to past efforts to find the right man for the job.
“The [Bacon County School District] administration had whittled it down to a handful of candidates, and during a weekend, each candidate had to go before several different committees,” Carver said. “I had never seen us do anything like that before. They really did their due diligence with this search process.”
Without disclosing any specific candidates, Carver said the search process was thorough, and it attracted several well-known coaches who were interested in the Red Raiders position.
“There were some names, I’ll say that,” he acknowledged.
In the end, it was Wilson who was hired, and so far, it appears Bacon County has found the right guy to lead its football program.
Wilson has already led the Red Raiders to more wins than they had in the last two seasons combined. What has he done to get things turned around in Alma?
The coach said much of the credit should go to the players and the community itself.
“I always felt like this could be a good place,” Wilson told ITG Next. “This community has been very supportive, and they take care of our kids.”
Wilson added that his message at Bacon County is a straightforward approach that includes a lot of hard work on the field and in the weight room.
“I’m old-school, and I believe in letting the kids know right up front that we are going to work ’em hard, but we’re going to love ’em, too,” he said. “That’s the message my coaches and I try to get through to the kids, and they see it. They know where we need to be and where we need to get to.”
Carver and Wilson agree that Bacon County’s improvement starts on the defensive side of the ball.
“We are averaging right at 270 pounds across the defensive line, and they are all seniors,” said Wilson. “That’s where we are setting the tone, up front with those guys.”
That front four includes defensive tackle Terrell Edmond, who is the strongest player on the team, according to Wilson. The next level of the defense includes the team’s leading tackler, junior linebacker Aki Brown.
“Aki has long hair and reminds us of Troy Polamalu,” Carver said.
Wilson said the secondary is the least experienced unit on the defensive side: “We have some really young guys playing back there, and they have taken their lumps.”
Wilson’s offense is a “Shotgun Wing,” with junior Knox Ledbetter lined up at quarterback. The second-year starter rushed for 119 yards and a touchdown through the first six games of the 2023 season, and he completed almost half of his passes (18-of-34) for 267 yards and another score. The Red Raiders rushing attack features two junior RBs, Travion Richardson and DeAthony Green, who combined for 963 yards and 11 touchdowns through six games.
Bacon County’s remaining games are against Brooks County and Irwin County. With the Red Raiders of old, that might have meant an 0-2 finish and a “wait ’til next year” air of resignation. But this isn’t the same old Bacon County football team, and now the Red Raiders have the chance to prove it.
According to Carver, the program has never won a region championship. Could this be the year they finally break through? This Bacon team sure seems to have the sizzle to get it done.
