Southeast Bulloch coach Jared Zito isn’t big on moral victories, but he came away from last week’s 28-24 loss to Calvary thinking his team really showed something against the No. 5 ranked team in Class AAA.

“I think we proved that we belong in the discussion with the best teams in Class AAA,” Zito said. “I am proud of how hard they played and how physical they were. We just took the No. 5 team in the state down to the wire and had a touchdown brought back and a potential score ruled fumbled through the end zone for a touchback. It came down to a couple metal errors and those are definitely fixable.”

Among the positives Zito took from the Calvary game was the play of the offensive line, as well as the first real test for the Jacket secondary.

“I loved the way our secondary played against the pass,” Zito said. “They have some really talented receivers and a quarterback who can throw and run the ball. I also felt like up front on the offensive line and our running backs played really well. Overall, our physicality was impressive.”

This week, the Jackets continue region play as they host Johnson Friday night. The Atomsmashers come in 1-2 overall and 1-1 in region play. Johnson is coming off their first win of the season, as they knocked off Islands, 35-21.

“It’s great to have another home game and we expect to have a great crowd,” Zito said. “Johnson does a great job of coaching their kids up and got a big win last week. They have some good skill position kids and a quarterback Shamari King who is one of the faster players I’ve seen in a while. We have to do a good job of containing him and the biggest thing is getting that bad taste from the loss out of our mouths and get back in the win column.”

Southeast Bulloch and Johnson are scheduled for a 7:30 start Friday at Fred Shaver Field.