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The Charles Henderson Trojans and Pike County Bulldogs will get the 2024 football season started this Friday, Aug. 23, at Bulldog Stadium in Brundidge for the annual preseason jamboree between the county foes.

Charles Henderson has had a unique fall camp this season after head coach Quinn Hambrite missed the first two weeks due to coming down with COVID-19.

“We still have a lot of learning to do but (practices) are going well,” he said. “I’m overall pleased with the effort we’ve been putting in. The first week of practice for me was two weeks ago because I had COVID. I was only there Monday and Tuesday of the first week and then Tuesday afternoon on I was out.”

Hambrite said the way his coaching staff handled his absence showed what the program means to them.

“I wasn’t able to be at practice but I was sitting on the hill in my truck watching everything and those guys were flying around. That’s what I want to see out of our coaches,” he emphasized. “Coaches should do what they ask the kids to do. If the kids aren’t walking then coaches shouldn’t be out there walking and our guys were flying around practice. They were coaching the guys up and executing the plan at hand and they were doing an extremely good job. That’s a testament to their commitment to this program.”

It may be a new year but Hambrite said he expects to see more of the same from Pike County; a tough, gritty football team.

“I expect them to be Pike County,” he flatly said. “They’ll be a physical football team. They’re always physical and play hard, no matter what. They’re always a team with grit, ever since I played them in high school they’ve been like that. Nothing has changed in that realm. It’s just a matter of staying focused and staying committed to the cause and being disciplined in all three phases of the game. I expect (Pike County) to play hard and to play to win and I wouldn’t expect anything else from those guys.”

Hambrite said he wants to see his Trojans match that physicality.

“I want to see our guys play hard and play physical and play with high emotion but not play emotional,” he continued. “We have to be disciplined across the board and if we do that we have a chance. The coaching staff has done an excellent job preparing our guys and I’m really proud of that and I’m proud of the way the players have bought into the staff.”

Pike County comes into the preseason with a young football team and also dealing with some injuries.

“We’re a lot further along than we were this time last year in terms of being in the system and knowing what to do,” PCHS Head Coach Mark Hurt said. “We still have a lot of new and young players in different places and we have some guys banged up, but things have gone well so far.”

A unique aspect of this season’s game will be a few former Bulldogs now on the Trojan sideline. Brothers Nemo and Bubba Williams transferred from Pike County to Charles Henderson during the offseason. The Williams brothers both earned All-Messenger honors last season and Nemo Williams rushed for more than 1,000 yards in just seven games.

Both Charles Henderson and Pike County also boast new offensive coordinators this season.

“They have the same defensive coordinator but a new offensive coordinator, so we really have to prepare for everything because we have no idea what they’re going to do on offense,” Hurt said of Charles Henderson. “We have to be fundamentally sound, more than anything, on defense. On offense we also have a new system, so we have to make sure we keep it simple so that our guys can execute out there.”

Charles Henderson and Pike County will kickoff at 7 p.m. on Friday at Bulldog Stadium in Brundidge.