The Georgia Military College Bulldogs (1-1) are eager to get back on the field and compete following a bye and a week filled with distractions due to the weather.

They will get their wish Sunday as the team is set to travel to take on the Avengers of ASA College-New York (2-0). The game will be played on the campus of James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Va. just like last season to help cut travel costs for the two junior colleges. 

Like just about every football program in the state, college and high school, GMC’s routine had to be tweaked due to Tropical Storm Irma. The Dogs were unable to practice both Monday and Tuesday since campus was shut down in the face of the storm. The team returned Tuesday night to get settled back in and return to a somewhat normal schedule. Something different about this week’s matchup from the state’s high school games is that both teams were not affected by Irma. ASA-NY last played Sunday and got to resume normal operations throughout the week. Although everything may seem a little off kilter for the 18th-ranked Bulldogs head coach Bert Williams said he was encouraged by the way his players slid right back into their normal schedule Wednesday.

“Any time you have a five- or six-day break in the middle of the season it always makes you a little nervous, but coming back in [Wednesday] we had a good day of work and it really was not as disjointed as I thought it might be with the long layoff,” he said. “That was heartening, and we just hope to back it up with good work again [Thursday] and [Friday].”

The coaching staff had been hoping last week’s bye would serve as extra preparation for the Avengers, but as it turns out the three practices were necessary with the weather affecting the early portion of this week.

“I think it went well,” Williams said of the bye week. “We got three days of good work. I felt like we were able to build on some of the things we improved on against Middle Georgia offensively, especially.”

Two major pluses for GMC are that two players who sustained injuries before the season even started are expected to be a full-go this weekend. Center Tristin Sellers and starting cornerback A.J. Beach will both take the field for the first time in 2017.

Last time the Dogs competed they ran and threw all over Middle Georgia State College in a 71-0 win Sept. 2. Sophomore quarterback Garrel Quainton threw to nine different receivers and accumulated 141 yards on 13-of-16 passing and two touchdowns. Reginald Davenport led the way for GMC on the ground with 114 yards on only five carries and three trips to pay dirt. Defensively on coordinator Rob Manchester’s unit, the Dogs had nine tackles for loss, forced five fumbles, and picked off a pass in the shutout victory. 

This week’s opponent ASA-NY is expected to be a bit of a step up from Middle Georgia. The Avengers have won their first two games this season by a combined score of 119-0, so if the Dogs are going to win they’ll need to put an end to ASA’s two-game shutout streak. Last season GMC came out on top of their meeting with ASA 61-10. 

“They’re always really good defensively in the box,” Williams said of the Avengers. “Their defensive linemen and their ‘backers year in and year out tend to be one of the better groups that we play.”

In comparing ASA to Navarro’s defense, Williams said ASA may be bigger and stronger, but not as fast as GMC’s week one opponent. 

“It’ll be a stern challenge for sure and a little bit different challenge than what we faced in game one,” he said.

The GMC head coach said the keys to winning this weekend will be to continue improvement shown on the offensive side in communication and execution. Defensively he wants to see his guys pressure the Avenger offense and get off the field on third down.

“If we can do those things I think we’ve got a chance to have a good day on Sunday,” said Williams.

The Bulldogs and Avengers will kick off from James Madison University Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m.