Running back Brycen Gault had 320 all-purpose yards to lead Evans past Harlem High School 37-20 on Friday, Aug. 21, in the two teams’ season-opener.
The host Knights got 246 yards rushing from Gault, a junior. He added two touchdowns, one on a 20-yard run and the other on a 74-yard interception return.
Evans Coach Lee Hutto knew Gault would continue the fine play he showed in 2025.
“Brycen had a good season for us last year as a sophomore, especially late in the year,” the Knights’ coach said. “He really worked hard in the offseason, put on some weight, has gotten bigger, got stronger, so I am really, really proud of him and the way he performed and the way he led today. Now I am so excited about the rest of the year with him.”
Hutto also praised his team for playing a well-balanced opener against the Bulldogs.
“The kids were really locked in and focused,” Hutto said despite the fact that thunder rumbled in Evans much of the afternoon—with a chance the game might have to be postponed. “They had a great game playing in all three phases. I am really proud of our staff, who did an awesome job, and we just came out and executed.”
The Knights finished 429 yards in total offense with 20 first downs. Most of that came on the ground. Evans totaled 357 yards rushing, with Saintwain Roberts adding 71 yards and Alejandro Moss chipping in another 55.
Place-kicker Nick Farmer made three field goals for the Knights, from 39, 30 and 20 yards—and all in the first half, which found Evans up 16-14 at intermission.
Hutto did find a few things that need fixing going into next week’s home tilt with Greenbrier.
“We kicked three field goals and had another one partially blocked; those need to be touchdowns,” the Evans coach said. “We also need to eliminate allowing explosive plays on defense and limiting our penalties on offense.”
The first half had seen both teams kick off the 2026 season with high-octane football.
Evans was dominant on the ground, totaling 144 yards on 22 attempts. This came through a group effort in the backfield, with Gault accounting for 94 yards on 10 carries; Roberts, Moss and quarterback Grant Deal also contributed with 58, 21, and 32 yards, respectively.
The Bulldogs were led by quarterback Hayden Youmans who fired three touchdown passes on a night when he completed 17-of-33 passes for 186 yards. However, he had three picks, including two by Gault.
The second half saw Evans continue to dominate with its ground attack, as Gault rushed for a monstrous 152 second-half yards and a touchdown in eight touches, bringing his total for the day to 246 yards on 19 attempts. Moss, the Evans senior, also made his presence known, carving out a nice bell-cow role on strong runs up the middle, and Roberts had two massive chunk runs. Their efforts nicely complemented Gault’s big night.
Meanwhile, Harlem, falling behind quickly in the second half, didn’t attempt to run the ball much, and so senior Finn Martin finished with 51 yards on 17 carries.
While the Knights didn’t attempt much passing, the Bulldogs did. However, they were plagued by drops, and Youmans was only able to connect on 11 of his 22 second-half attempts for 109 yards. A late touchdown by the Bulldogs brought the score to 30-20 with a minute and 45 seconds left.
Although the Bulldogs were unable to convert on their two-point conversion, Harlem looked as though it might stage a late-game comeback upon recovering an onside kick. Then Gault added to his already-impressive day with the 74-yard pick-six to effectively seal the game.
Bulldogs coach Mark Boiter was impressed with Evans.
“We didn’t have much to go on with each other,” Boiter said. “They weren’t able to play their scrimmage game, but Coach Hutto and his staff are a really, really strong staff as well. You would never know they didn’t play a scrimmage game the way they were able to execute in all three phases of the game. They’re going to have a really good year.” Harlem will host the Grovetown High School Warriors next Friday, while Evans will play at home again against the Greenbrier Wolfpack
Cooper Brady is an Augusta University student. Sign up for the Augusta Good News free weekly newsletter here.
