PEMBROKE — Last season, Mark Wilson struggled in his first year as the head coach at Bryan County. Trying to make some changes on a team that was heavy on youth and light on recent success, the Redskins stumbled to a winless 0-10 mark, but this season, a resurgence has Wilson and his team sitting at 2-0 through their first two games.
    Bryan County broke its long losing streak — 11 games dating back to the 2009 season —with a 28-21 win over Long County in the season opener. Not content to stop after just one victory, the Redskins grabbed another last week, taking down Jenkins County by a count of 28-0.
    “These first couple of weeks have been exciting,” said Wilson. “It’s definitely good to get a few wins, and our boys can see the effect it’s having around the school and around town when he have a big crowd cheering us on.”
    Much of the Redskins’ success can be attributed to its players having another year of experience under their belts. Last season, 18 freshman or sophomores saw regular playing time and often took their lumps at the hands of older and more experienced teams.
    Still, just going through the offseason didn’t make Bryan County better. The roster may be a bit older this year, but the key to the improvement lies in what has been worked on since the end of the 2010 campaign.
    “We had an excellent offseason and worked very hard in the weight room to get bigger and stronger,” said Wilson. “During spring practice, we were hitting hard just about the entire time. We might nor run everyone over, but we’re definitely a stronger and more physical team this season.”
    Physical improvement is always a goal during the offseason, but for a team that struggled as mightily as the Redskins did, mental toughness is another necessity.
    Professional athletes who are paid, win or lose, might have an easier time coping with all of the setbacks of a bad season. When it’s a bunch of teenagers playing the game mostly for fun and pride, the sting of a winless season can be far tougher to bounce back from.
    Luckily for BCHS, Wilson looked at his team and saw a winning attitude and a determination to get back on the field and compete.
    “I think our guys understood the situation last season,” said Wilson. “We had a lot of young guys starting for the first time and we took some hits. We’re still young this season, but we’ve grown and improved a lot.”
    That improvement has continued into the 2011 season — not just on the scoreboard, but in the way that Bryan County has responded to in-game challenges.
    In their opener against Long County, the Redskins came out swinging, but slipped a bit in the second half. Trailing 21-14, Bryan County came back to notch a win. Last week, after jumping on Jenkins County early, the Redskins fixed the lapses from the first game and never allowed Jenkins to regroup in a 28-0 shutout victory.
    “We almost let the first game get away,” said Wilson. “It was good to see us not make those same mistakes in the third quarter last week. One of the steps in becoming a better team is learning how to win. I think we’ve started to do that in the first two season and we’re just looking at one game at a time to keep along that path.”

    Mike Anthony can be reached at (912) 489-9404.