By: Jeff Doke

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

McIntosh County Academy Head Coach Bradley Warren is about to start his 7^th consecutive/10^th overall season with the Buccaneers.

I was able to get a few minutes of his time to talk about what to expect from the upcoming season.

JD: The Bucs went 7-3 in the regular season but had a tough 9-0 loss in the first round of the playoffs. Is this year’s team using that loss as motivation or have they turned the page & started fresh?

Coach Warren: It’s for sure  a turn the page & start fresh year. We graduated 18 seniors, eight of them were three-year starters. This will definitely be a fresh new look for the Buccaneers.

JD: Your starting quarterback from last year graduated. Who do you expect will take over as starter and what style of play does he have?

Coach Warren: Mekhi Jackson will be the starter. Big, powerful quarterback  6’3” 200lbs. He’s fairly fast and has got a good arm. He’s also an All-State Linebacker. He’s one of the toughest kids in the state.

Blake McMahan is a rising sophomore. He’s a good starting quarterback as well. When Mekhi needs a rest, Blake is going to come in. He’s also the starting Free Safety right now, so they’re going to have to tag-team the quarterback position.

We also have a rising freshman Jackson Shirah who can manage the game if called upon.

JD: You had some serious contributors graduate last year. Apart from Earnest McIntosh, who can fans look for to make an impact on the offense this year?

Coach Warren: We feel really good about the running back stable that we have. We have Earnest, we’re getting Demarien McNear back, he was out all last year with a knee injury.

He’s really good. We have Jayden Lotson who’s tough as well. Then there’s rising freshman Tyren Cummings. We’ve got four backs that can go 80 yards on you.

JD: Like last year’s squad, the 2025 Buccaneers are loaded with upperclassmen. How does that impact the locker room?

Coach Warren: This last senior class we had one exceptional leader on it in Nehemiah West. His presence, not being here has been felt. We’re a little bit struggling at leadership right now, but not in a bad way. We’ve got some guys that are being given the opportunity to lead and they’re having to grow up. We’re not where we want to be but we’re definitely headed in the right direction.

JD: Apart from Mekhi Jackson, who can we expect to be top contributors on defense?

Coach Warren: Javonte Cummings is an All-State defensive lineman. He’s very good. We feel like we’re going to be really competitive on the front, but we graduated our entire secondary.

We’ve had some kids that have had a really good summer there, but we’re really an untested secondary. We’re going to have to see what they look like.

JD: Earnest McIntosh was your leading rusher last year with 688 yards. Has he set a goal for himself for this year?

Coach Warren: I’m sure his goal is not to get injured. He’s gotten derailed with some just minor things the last two seasons.

He’s had a really great summer; I’ve been really pleased with him. He’s going to be a definite factor in the backfield and on defense.

JD: You finished 3^rd in the region last year with two losses to region champs Metter & 2^nd place Jenkins County. How do you think the 2025 Bucs will stack up to the Tigers & War Eagles?

Coach Warren: Metter graduated a lot on their front, but they’ve got a lot of skill kids back including their QB & RB. They’ll be tough.

Jenkins County has roughly the same thing. They graduated a lot on the front. They’ve got their quarterback back and some really good skill kids back.

There are 6 teams in the region that have the possibility of making the playoffs and two teams sitting at home, so we’re going to have to really play well to not get bumped.

This year’s team is going to have a lot of new faces and is going to get better as the season rolls along. I just hope that we can grow up and can develop our identity before it’s too late.