HOUSTON COUNTY, Ga. — The Houston County Bears are opened their season at Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the first time ever.
They demolished the competition, and were led by senior Gavin Kurpis - who hasn't seen much of any field during his HOCO career.
"It was a really awesome experience," Kurpis said. "Once in a lifetime to be able to go up in the Benz. Great privilege to go up there and compete."
Kurpis said he knows it's also a privilege to just be on the field. He's returning from a meniscus and ACL tear that happened midway through last season.
"It was on a punt and I was covering and I planted and my knee just blew out on the 40-yard line," Kurpis said.
This isn't his first time making a comeback. Freshman and sophomore year, he was also in and out with injuries.
"It's just kind of a little mental toll - like, third time getting injured," Kurpis said. "I'm just thinking, 'Why me, again?' But I had to take that upon myself and just get to work."
The work is already paying off. Kurpis had five touchdowns on six touches in the Bears' 57 to 10 win over the Alpharetta Raiders in the Corky Kell Dave Hunter Classic.
Quarterback AJ Hill said they were aggressive from the first whistle.
"Me and my team we were ready - offensive lineman, running backs, receivers, defense did a great job too," Hill said. "We all just executed our game plan, did our job, and we went out there and took the dub."
Head coach Jeremy Edwards said he's proud of their showing on both sides of the ball.
"The name of the game is trying to keep people healthy and I think we did a good job of that," Edwards said.
One reason Edwards wants to keep Kurpis healthy is because the senior can do just about anything on the field.
"We list him as an athlete!" Edwards said. "He can do a lot of things. He can play running back. He can play tight end. He can play receiver if we need him to. He's just a really truly gifted athlete that can do a lot of crazy things with his body."
Edwards said their offense is explosive and revolves around their QB, but Hill said he's just glad to have Kurpis back in their lineup.
"Really, just having him in there [is] a big addition to the team," Hill said. "A big addition to the offense. I mean he's a big part of the offense so I mean just having him makes life easier."