File PhotoLanier County's Ashton McNeil runs with the ball in a training camp practice in Lakeland.

VALDOSTA — Lanier County has spent the past two seasons in the developmental stages of its plan to rebuild the football program.

Today, the Bulldogs begin searching for wins, starting with a trip to Nashville for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff against the Berrien Rebels at Raymond Jones Memorial Stadium.

“I think our kids will be ready to strap it on and say, ‘All right, look, it’s time for us to see where we stack up, where we measure up,’” said Lanier County head coach Carl Parker.

Parker arrived in Lakeland two years ago, and although the head coach has struggled to find victories — Lanier County is just 2-18 over that span — he’s built the Bulldogs into a program that kids want to play for.

The numbers are up at Lanier County, from 26 when Parker took over to 56 entering in to the 2017 season, but so is the overall talent level.

Players like Ashton McNeil, James Green and Willie Robertson have grown from simply just players into playmakers that can help the Bulldogs win on Friday nights.

But part of creating a new football experience at Lanier County meant dialing back some of the physical grind of summers and training camps past. The result has been a larger team, albeit one with some questions about its toughness.

Any questions about the Bulldogs’ toughness should be answered in their season opener Friday against the Rebels.

Berrien’s veer offense will force Lanier County defenders to lower their pad level and make stop after stop in the run game against an attack spearheaded by quarterback Monteo Brooks.

“That’s one of the things that our kids have got to step up and answer,” Parker said. “We play in a region that does that. From Clinch to Irwin, it’s a physical game.”

Berrien’s run game stalled last week against Irwin County en route to a 31-0 loss in its season opener.

However, two weeks ago the Rebels shut out perennial GISA power Valwood 34-0, holding the Valiants to 192 yards of offense.

Lanier County’s offense will offer Berrien a different challenge than one either Irwin or Valwood with quarterback Noah Tuten leading its spread attack.

“At the end of the day, we’re probably the one outside of the box,” Parker said. “We’re a lot more spread and passing it around, so we give people more headaches they have to prepare for than the other way around.”

Derrick Davis is the sports editor at the Valdosta Daily Times.