Football Recap: Academy of Richmond County Starts Season with Loss at Home + How To Watch

Academy of Richmond County unfortunately couldn't capitalize on their home-field advantage in their season opener. They took a 46-35 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Burke County Bears on Friday. While losing is never fun, the Musketeers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Georgia football rankings (they are ranked 299th, while the Bears are ranked 88th).

Despite the loss, Academy of Richmond County saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Carson Hand threw for 257 yards and three TDs, and also punched in one touchdown on the ground. Ben Wright also helped with two scores in total.

Sean Vandiver was a one-man wrecking crew For Burke County. as he threw for 190 yards and three touchdowns while completing 92.3% of his passes, and also rushed for 57 yards and one TD on only seven carries. Those three passing touchdowns gave Vandiver a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Landen Wright, who gained 91 total yards and a touchdown.

Academy of Richmond County will have a little extra prep time after the defeat as they won't be playing again for a while. They'll take on Thomson at 7:30 p.m. on the 29th. As for Burke County, they wasted no time getting back out on the field and have already played their next contest, a 44-0 win against Cross Creek on the 22nd.