High School Football
Pro Bowl Sting
By: Colin Lacy
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The NFL world flocked to Orlando last weekend to watch the game’s best in the 2025 Pro Bowl Games. The “game’s best” applies in a couple of different scenarios.
The obvious is that of Jared Goff, Fred Warner and Bijan Robinson, some of the best in the NFL, but also applies to the names Jaci Kitchings and Jadyn Williams.
Jaci and Jadyn are two seniors that wrapped up their careers at Southeast Bulloch with the school’s fourth consecutive state championship back in December but represented the NFC squad in the first NFL Girls Flag All-Star Game.
The inaugural event put on by the NFL saw thirty high school girls from all over the country (even two from Alaska) which included the two SEB Yellow Jackets competing in a flag football All-Star game to kick off the festivities on Sunday at the 2025 NFL Pro Bowl Games.
The NFL rolled out the red carpet for the Girls Flag Football All-Star Game participants including Kitchings and Williams.
The two Jacket players were flown down to Orlando on Friday before the Sunday afternoon game and not only got gear for the event, but the opportunity to take in some of the local attractions in Orlando and events with the NFL Pro Bowl players.
“They have had the best experience,” said SEB Head Flag Football Coach Marci Cochran. “What a great event by the NFL and I’m super excited they both got to participate.”
Jaci and Jadyn found out that they were named to the thirty-girl roster just before the semifinals of the GHSA state tournament and were ecstatic to get the news but had unfinished business to take care of.
They would find themselves in familiar ground on the stage in Atlanta after an overtime thriller having won their fourth consecutive state championship and capping off an 82-1 record in their SEB careers.
Southeast Bulloch Flag Football burst on the scene in 2021 when the program began (when Kitchings and Williams were freshmen) and have won the state championship each of the first four years of the program’s existence and winning 82 out of 83 games played in program history. The lone loss in program history came this year against the private school sector in Calvary Day out of Savannah.
I got to catch up with SEB Head Coach Marci Cochran as she watched Jadyn and Jaci play in the All-Star game in Orlando and looking back on the last four years she said “After starting four years ago and lost our first game this year which was devastating but in the long run it helped us win another state title. Four in a row which is more than any other team in the state of Georgia. We’re super excited about the growth of our program and adding a middle school program last year which helped us too.”
Coach Cochran has seen every snap that both Jadyn and Jaci have taken in their flag football careers and have become not only trendsetters on the national level at the Pro Bowl Games but also helped set the fantastic foundation of the SEB program.
“They’re the first seniors that have completed all four years, so they’re very special to us and we hate to be losing them,” Cochran said holding back tears. “Jaci has grown so much. Her development and dedication are awesome. Jadyn was always a really good player, but to watch her learn the game and understand the game is fun and to watch both of them grow from freshmen to seniors is really impressive.”
The NFL has made a concerted effort from the NFL League Office all the way down to the different teams investing in the sport of flag football at all levels, but especially at the high school level.
“For the sport as a whole, the Falcons itself sponsor a team in Alabama and there’s a couple other states that they’re starting to dive into to be able to start flag football there,” said Cochran. “Just the money and support they give for all these schools to be able to provide a flag football program without it having to come out of their own pocket is huge. It’s expensive to start a new sport, so their involvement in flag football has been awesome.”
While Kitchings and Williams will get to do it one more time as SEB heads to Canton, Ohio for the National Flag Football High School Tournament, the experience at the NFL Pro Bowl Games really put a nice bow on a historic career for these two and would have been hard to believe a couple years ago said Coach Cochran.
“To see them get to play down here (in Orlando) and see this opportunity. To be in this stadium, to have the game broadcasted on ESPN even with the Goodyear Blimp. Who would have ever thought that four years ago? So, it’s really special to be down here with them.”
The GOAT
By: Michael Spiers
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Legendary Camden County High School football coach Jeff Herron may have hung his whistle up for good at the end of the 2023 season, but those that know this man like I do understand that he has never been one to stand on life’s sideline.
Coach Herron is the living embodiment of “Team First”, but all of us that call Camden home are thrilled to see him get the individual honors that he so justly deserves.
This week the National High School Football Hall of Fame announced that it will induct Jeff Herron into its newest class.
Coach Herron roamed the sideline for 32 years as the head man at high schools in Georgia and South Carolina, compiling an overall record of 334 – 69. His record of 312 – 54 in Georgia alone, a winning percentage of 85.3%, is good enough for second best in the state’s history and 34th best in national high school football history.
Herron was named Region or Area Coach of the Year 25 times and the Georgia Coach of the Year 9 times in those 32 years. He was the Atlanta Falcons High School Coach of the Year in 2009. He has led 19 region champions, had 10 final four appearances and five state championships.
He is the only head football coach in Georgia High School Association (GHSA) history to win state titles at three different schools. He won his first state championship while at Oconee County in 1999, three at Camden County in 2003, 2008 and 2009, and his final at Grayson High School in 2016. That 2016 team at Grayson went 14-1, winning the GHSA 7A State Championship and the Public-School National Championship.
Coach Herron’s Camden County Wildcat teams also won 12 straight region championships, and hold the state record with a 58-game regular season winning streak, and a 28-game overall winning streak.
During his tenure, the Wildcats were ranked in the USA Today Top 25 six times and selected by ESPN as the program of the decade in Georgia for the 2000-2010 decade.
He also coached Walton (1989), Cedar Shoals (1990-93), Wheeler (1995-96) and Prince Avenue Christian (2013-15) in Georgia, and at T.L. Hanna (2017-18) in South Carolina.
In 2022, Jeff Herron was inducted into the Hall of Fame at Emory & Henry College in Virginia, where he was a starter and four-year letterman.
He was the team captain for the 1981 season when he was named a 2nd Team All Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) player.
In September of 2024 it was announced that Coach Herron will also be inducted as part of the 2025 Georgia Athletic Coaches Association (GACA) Hall of Fame class, which will also include former Charlton County High School head football coach Rich McWhorter, former Dougherty County and Troupe County head coach Charles Flowers, and basketball coaches Anzy Hardman and Rufus McDuffie.
The GACA induction will be on May 31, 2025 in Dalton, Georgia.
Its going to be a busy summer for Coach Herron. Two weeks after the GACA ceremony, he will be inducted into the National High School Football Hall of Fame on June 14th in Canton, Ohio.
All of us in Georgia’s southeasternmost county are eternally grateful for everything Coach Herron has accomplished as a coach, but we are most indebted for his role as a teacher, and a leader of young people when we needed it most.
The best news of all…Jeff Herron goes into the National High School Football Hall of Fame, and into coaching eternity, as a Camden County Wildcat.
Cats QB Ones
By: Jason Bishop
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Let me start by saying there is no quarterback controversy. I repeat there is no QB controversy whatsoever.
Now that we have addressed that what we can say is that the Camden County Wildcats will have great QB play for at least the next three years.
Currently, the Wildcats will have Parks Riendeau returning for his senior season as the signal caller for Camden.
The Cats have also had a talented young QB transfer in. William Jackson is now on campus in Kingsland, GA. Jackson is a four-star recruit that stands at 6’4 196 pounds, has a cannon for an arm, and is a killer in the rushing game.
Jackson transferred into Camden County High School from Winter Park High School in the Orlando area at the beginning of this current Spring Semester.
The great thing for Camden fans is Jackson is only a sophomore. Jackson has offers from Virginia Tech, South Carolina, Arkansas and Marshall to name a few. He has also taken visits to Ohio State, Florida, USF, Auburn, Miami and Florida State. The offer list will only grow over the next few years.
Jackson played in four games as a freshman for Winter Park. He went 18-27 for 145 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions. He also rushed seven times for 68 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
Jackson should thrive when it is his turn in Coach Roland’s Spread offense as Riendeau did as a junior.
Riendeau threw for over 1800 yards and 21 touchdowns. He only threw 5 interceptions all season. At one point, Riendeau led all of 6A in passing yards.
He also led Camden to the GHSA 7A Final Four in 2023 under then Head Coach, Jeff Herron running the Wing-T offense.
Riendeau has been on the varsity roster since he was a freshman.
The Camden County Coaching Staff has told SSE the plan is to have Riendeau lead the Wildcats in 2025 and then have Jackson take over for 2026 and 2027.
Region 1-6A is the region Camden plays in and it is the best region in the state top to bottom. Region 1-6A consists of Camden, Colquitt, Lowndes, Valdosta, Richmond Hill and Tift County.
The future is bright in Kingsland, GA for the Camden County Wildcats.
Pirates Voyage
By: Teddy Bishop
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Brunswick High Pirates 2024 football campaign came to an end at the hands of the Coffee County Trojans in the second round of the AAAAA state playoffs, finishing 10-2 for the season.
The Pirates opened the season with a loss to Camden County, but then reeled off 10 consecutive wins before losing to Coffee.
The 10 wins included a region championship (with a perfect 8-0 region record), a City Championship (beating Glynn Academy, 49-7), and a #1 seed in the state playoffs.
Coach Garrett Grady’s BHS Pirates scored victories over Wayne County, Effingham County, Evans County, Greenbrier, Glynn, Statesboro, Lakeside, South Effingham County, Bradwell Institute, and Villa Rica (1st round of playoffs).
Accolades and awards were also plentiful for the 2024 Pirates.
This year’s squad set a BHS regular season scoring record with 460 points (that’s 46 points per game), eclipsing the 459 scored by the 1999 Pirates, which made it to the state championship game before losing to Lowndes.
1999 was also the last time Brunswick High made it past the second round of the state playoffs.
Including Brunswick’s two playoff games, Coach Grady’s 2024 Pirates scored 517 points—more than 43 per game.
Defensively, BHS gave up 237 points—fewer than 20 per game.
More than a dozen Pirates were named First Team All-region.
Unofficial stats show senior running back William Heck was the leading rusher for BHS, running for 1417 yards.
Junior quarterback Grant Moore passed for 2191 yards and 21 touchdowns, with only 3 interceptions.
Tight end Hezekiah Kent, also a junior, was Moore’s favorite target with 36 receptions totaling 680 yards.
Other All-region selections on offense included senior Jamarious Towns and sophomore Waseem Murray. Towns had 33 receptions for 635 yards. Murray totaled 31 catches for 642 yards.
Juniors Chase Richardson and Kasiyah Charlton anchored the offensive line and also earned All-region honors.
Senior linebacker J’Shawn Towns was selected as the Defensive Player of the Year in region 1-5A. Towns was the leading tackler for the Pirates, recording 111.
Other All-Region Pirates on defense include senior linebackers Caleb Butler, Jeremiah Robbins, and Gregg Richardson; senior defensive lineman Lance Brown; senior defensive back Sehki Ashley; and junior defensive back Aviyon Addison.
Butler recorded 84 tackles for the Pirates, and Robbins had twelve tackles for losses.
The BHS defense scored eleven touchdowns this season.
Coach Grady noted that interceptions returned for touchdowns and fumbles returned for touchdowns were keys to the Pirates success.
Selections to the All-Region second team included: Nigel Gardner, Josiah Gibbons, Aiden Watford, Garrett Wiggins, and Chris Wingster on offense; Chris Kimp, Antwan Kirk, Zay Knowles, Chozen Owens, Josh White, and Adrian Volland on defense.
Gardner, a sophomore, rushed for 874 yards and seven touchdowns.
Gibbons, also a sophomore, scored eight touchdowns while averaging over 14 yards per carry.
Pirates noted for Honorable Mention in region play included Evan Ali, Chris Cullins, Samir Dobbins, Xavier James, Jack Kennedy, Trent Lee, Tyler Ray, Andrew Riley, Antwan Thomuse, Nick Wisneski, and Jeremiah Woodward.
Even with all of the accomplishments, Coach Grady acknowledged the loss to Coffee “kind of leaves a bad taste in your mouth.”
Still, 10 wins is a good season, and Coach Grady lauded the hard work of his coaching staff and players and are already working hard for next season.
“We have to hit the weight room and improve in the trenches,” Coach Grady commented.
It says here the Pirates will do even better next season than they did this season, making a deep run in the state playoffs.
Final Four
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The state semifinals for Georgia high school football is this weekend. Let’s take a look at the 6A matchups.
The top four teams in the preseason have made it; #1 Buford, #2 Carrolton, #3 Grayson and #4 Douglas County. Those rankings changed during the season, with Buford (12-1) trading spots with Carrolton (13-0) after they lost their season opener. Douglas County (11-2) is now #4 and Grayson (12-1) is #6.
Douglas County at Grayson
This game is at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Grayson Community Stadium in Loganville. This is the first meeting between these teams.
Grayson’s only loss was the season opener to #5 Collins Hill. The Rams avenged that loss by beating them in the quarterfinals 38-14.
Douglas County’s two losses were to Buford and Carrolton. The Tigers beat West Forsyth 20-14 in the quarterfinals. In that game James Johnson (committed to USC) rushed for 100 yards and scored three touchdowns, one receiving.
Some other key Douglas County players are QB D.J. Bordeaux (2,645 yards passing), RB Zamarcus Lindley (1,183 yards rushing), WR Devin Carter (top-40 national junior prospect), WR Aaron Gregory (Texas A&M), LB Michael Hastie (Region 2 defensive player of the year committed to West Virginia) and DE/LB Jordan Carter (Texas A&M).
Grayson’s key players are QB Tyler Burgess (1,823 yards passing, 535 rushing), wide receiver Alexander-Sanchez (three-star prospect), LB Tyler Atkinson (five-star junior prospect, team’s leading tackler), LB Anthony Davis (four-star junior prospect) and DE Andre Fuller (Georgia Tech).
Grayson is in the semifinals for the 6th time in 10 seasons, the most in that time among any school in the highest class, and won state titles in 2020, 2016 and 2011.
Douglas County was in the semifinals last season in 6A but it was the second-highest classification at that time. This is their first time making it to the semifinals in the highest classification.
I believe Grayson will win this game.
Carrolton at Buford
The game is at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Tom Riden Stadium in Buford.
The last meeting between these teams was in 2021 in the 6A semifinals. The Wolves won 21-6.
Both of these teams have been dominant in the playoffs. This is the true state championship game because these are the two most talented teams in the state. They are both top 25 teams in national polls.
Both of these teams joined the highest classification in 2022. Buford is 34-4 in that time and the Trojans are 38-3.
They are still looking to win a title at the highest classification. Carrolton’s last state championship win was in 1998. They did play in the 7A state title game in 2022. Buford has won 13 state championships since 2000.
Buford has beaten seven top-10 teams during its 12-game winning streak. The Wolves key contributors are Dayton Raiola (1,717 yards passing), Justin Baker (889 yards rushing) and Jordan Allen (771 yards receiving). They have 10 seniors committed to major Division 1 schools. They also have 3 juniors who are top-300 national prospects.
The top offensive players for Carrolton are Julian Lewis (3,272 yards passing), Kimauri Farmer (1,142 yards rushing) and Peyton Zachary (821 yards receiving). Lewis was injured early the week before against Hillgrove in the quarterfinals and he did not return. We do not know his status going into this game. If he cannot play the Trojans don’t have a chance.
I think Buford wins this game and they will win the state championship the following week.
Wild Season For Wildcats
By: Michael Spiers
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The 2024 football season came to an end for the Camden County Wildcats recently.
New head coach Travis Roland finished his first year in Kingsland with a 7-4 overall record following a 28-7 loss to North Cobb High School in the first round of the GHSA 6A state playoffs.
Coach Roland brought a new attitude and a new playing style to Camden. Offensive Coordinator Grant Alford, also in his first season with the Wildcats, installed a new pro-style offense and in infusion of RPO (run-pass option) schemes.
Second-year starting quarterback Parks Riendeau, a junior, took to the new offense enthusiastically and posted stats not seen by a Camden quarterback since Brice Ramsey in 2013.
Riendeau finished the season with 131 completions on 224 attempts, tossing 21 touchdowns to just 6 interceptions.
Reindeau’s top target, senior tight end/wide receiver Elyiss Williams, put up dominating performances all season and displayed all of the talent you would expect from an athlete committed to play at the next level for Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs. Williams hauled in 54 passes for 789 yards and 11 touchdowns.
The Wildcats cruised through their non-region schedule and found themselves at 5-0, averaging 54.4 points and 420 yards of offense per contest.
Those five contests included victories over Brunswick 51-41; East Lake (Tarpon Springs, FL) 60-15; West Broward (Pembroke Pines, FL) 52-29; Ribault (Jacksonville) 62-6; and Spruce Creek (Port Orange, FL) 47-20.
As expected, things got much tougher when Camden began region play.
The first Region 1-6A contest was delayed due to Hurricane Helene and required the Wildcats to travel to Bazemore-Hyder Stadium on a Saturday to tangle with the Valdosta Wildcats. Camden was sent home with a 56-37 loss.
The Blue Wildcats returned home the following week and rebounded by playing their most complete game of the season, a 28-10 victory against Richmond Hill. Camden County pushed their overall record to 6-1, but found themselves just 1-1 in Region 1-6A.
Another trip to Valdosta followed in week 8, but this time it was on to the Concrete Palace to face the Lowndes Vikings, which resulted in a 33-7 loss.
The next week the Wildcats returned home again, and suffered their second straight region loss, this time to Colquitt County by a score of 54-41.
Camden County was now 6-3 overall and 1-3 in region play, needing a victory in the final week against Tift County AND a Colquitt victory over Richmond Hill just to make the playoffs.
As fate would have it, Camden beat Tift 38-28, and Colquitt took care of Richmond Hill, which earned the Wildcats the fourth seed out of Region 1.
This set the stage for the matchup with the North Cobb Warriors, the top seed out of Region 5.
The Region 5 champion Warriors (11-0) capitalized on mistakes by the Wildcats (7-4), securing a 28-7 victory in the first round of the Class 6A playoffs.
All of North Cobb’s scoring occurred in the second and third quarters, with two Camden turnovers turning into points.
Senior RB Jordan Hardy finished the season with 997 yards rushing and 17 touchdowns.
Camden County had multiple players recognized as all-region standouts for their efforts this season, including Elyiss Williams, who was named the Region 1-6A Offensive Player of the Year, and junior cornerback/wideout/return specialist David Coleman, who was named the Region 1-6A Athlete of the Year.
All-region first team offensive nods were given to junior QB Parks Riendeu, senior OL and University of Cincinnati commit Zack Taylor, and sophomore wideout Sean Green.
All-region first team defensive selections from Camden included junior inside linebacker Xavier Brown, senior outside linebacker Wayne Austell, and senior safety Ja’maric Daley.
Terrors Downed
By: Joe Delaney
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Glynn Academy Red Terrors saw their 2024 season come to an end.
After a long 7-hour bus trip to Rome, the Terrors ran into a bunch of hungry Wolves and the outcome wasn’t pretty. The turnover plagued Terrors fell 49-17 and it really wasn’t that close. The number 1 seeded Wolves feasted on those Terror turnovers early and often.
While the Terrors had shown resiliency and fight throughout a tough season, this one was over quickly.
The superior Wolves broke a 47-yard touchdown in the first minute of the contest. It was 7-0 before everyone had gotten into their seats.
Two Red Terror turnovers on the next two Terror possessions in the first quarter doomed the Terrors as Rome quickly went on scoring drives breaking off chunks of yardage and going up 21-0.
By halftime the Terrors had fallen into a 42-3 hole and the second half was played with mostly Rome second teamers.
While the Terrors were outgunned and outclassed they never quit against a much better team and put two scores on the board in the second half.
The first was on a blocked punt. Cooper Reiss blocked the punt and scoop and scored to put Glynn on the board and then T. Y. Chisolm scored on a determined 33-yard run in the final minute to put the final points on the board.
The first-round playoff loss left the Terrors with a final 6-5 record and a long bus ride home.
The Terrors final record included wins Wayne County, Bradwell Institute, Statesboro, South Effingham, Greenbrier, and Evans.
The losses were to Richmond Hill, Lakeside Evans, Brunswick, Effingham County, and the Wolves.
The win over Wayne County was a milestone as the Red Terrors became the 25th school in the state of Georgia history to win 600 games! Yes that’s SIX HUNDRED!
The Glynn seniors ended up going 20-13 for their 3 years and will be sorely missed.
The Red Terrors of 2024 showed remarkable poise and determination.
They were knocked down and always got back up. Having a winning season and making the playoffs for the 17th season in a row was a testament to the grit, determination, and hard work of the boys and the coaching staff.
When you reach the playoffs in any sport for over 15 years in a row, it says something about your team and program.
In the Rome Wolves, the Terrors took on a hot team. After losing their first 2 games, the Wolves had been on a 7-game winning streak, now 8.
The Wolves are prolific on offense scoring 59, 28, 70, 63, 35, and 50 in their last 6 games going into the 1st round matchup with the Red Terrors in the first round of the GHSA 5A playoffs.
Defensively in those six games, they’ve given up 35 points total. The Terrors definitely hand their hands full.
After a long season full of highlights and a few lowlights the Terrors can begin looking toward the 2025 season.
The old adage that says winners never quit and quitters never win was never more appropriate than with this outfit. So now the Terrors will look to off season workouts and start laying the foundation for the 2025 edition.
Bucs Voyage Ended
By: Jason Bishop
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The 2024 season has come to an end for McIntosh County Academy Buccaneers.
Once again the Bucs made the playoffs under head coach Bradley Warren.
Unfortunately for Bucs fans MCA made a first-round exit from the playoffs for the second season in a row, this year falling to Wilcox County 9-0 on the road.
Last season, the Bucs went down to rival Clinch County 38-14 in the first round of the GHSA playoffs.
Despite the early exit this season huge strides were made from last season.
In 2023, MCA finished the season w a 4-7 record. 2024 saw the Bucs improve to a 7-4 mark and earn a three seed in region 3-A Division II with a 6-2 region record.
The 2024 schedule was a tough one with tough region play. The Bucs had the Metter Tigers, the Jenkins County War Eagles, the ECI Bulldogs, the Bryan County Redskins, the Portal Panthers, the Screven County Gamecocks, the Claxton Tigers and the Savannah Blue Jackets all in region.
MCA started the season on the road against the Islands Sharks and showed right away a dominant defense, beating the Sharks 22-0 to start the season on the right foot.
Week two was the home opener at ‘The Ship’ in Darien against the Charlton County Indians and while the defense played well, the offense stumbled and the Bucs took a 19-0 loss to Charlton.
The Bucs would open region play against the ECI Bulldogs after a week three bye in week four. The Bucs defense would once again show up, limiting ECI to only 6 points. This led to a 7-6 MCA win to get back over .500 at 2-1.
The Bucs hosted Claxton in week 5 in a ‘get right’ game for the offense, throttling the Tigers 48-6. MCA improved to 3-1.
In week 6 the Bucs traveled to Sylvania to take on Screven County. They would continue to roll, beating the Gamecocks 32-14.
The 4-1 Bucs hosted Jenkins County with first place in the region on the line. Bradley Warren’s team would fall short against the War Eagles 37-19. MCA would fall to 4-2 taking their first region loss of the season. Jenkins County went on to claim the 2 seed in the region.
MCA would rebound the following week on the road beating Bryan County 36-14 and improving to 5-2 on the season and 4-1 in the region.
The Metter Tigers visited Darien the next week taking down the Bucs 12-6 in a defensive struggle. Metter went on to win the region.
MCA trekked up to Savannah the next week and beat the struggling Savannah Blue Jackets 46-6 to get things back on the right track, improving to 6-3 on the season and 5-2 in region.
The season finale was a home game against the Portal Panthers where the Bucs played a complete game beating the Panthers 40-0.
With the win over Portal, MCA earned a 3 seed in the region with a 7-3 regular season and 6-2 in region.
Unfortunately, Gus Bradley’s team got a tough first round draw and had to head to Rochelle, GA to play the Wilcox County Patriots. After a hard fought 9-0 loss the season had ended with a 7-4 record for MCA.
Coach Warren continues to be successful in Darien and will look to once again be a playoff team next season.
Knights Journey Ends
By: Jeff Doke
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
During the offseason leading up to the 2024 football season, the speculation regarding the Frederica Academy Knights was that this would be a team in serious rebuilding mode.
When All-Time State Rushing Leader Jordan Triplett graduated last year, he took over 90% of the Knights’ offensive production with him. Many observers expected this year’s squad to suffer some serious growing pains.
While it’s difficult to replace a legend, the 2024 Knights made a valiant attempt. So much so that longing for the glory days of “The River” turned out to be an afterthought.
Opening week against the hapless Savannah High Blue Jackets set the expectations for the season higher than originally expected.
Sophomore QB Stanton Beverly proved effective thru the air and on the ground, rushing for three touchdowns and throwing for another two. Beverly’s running style drew comparisons to Stetson Bennett, and he continued to be the team’s rushing leader on and off throughout the season – and at one point, he was also the leading rusher in the region as well.
While the first game of the season was encouraging, the next four were anything but. Two lopsided losses to an oversized West Nassau team and the defending state champion Valwood Valiants were followed by two frustratingly close defeats at Tiftarea and Stratford, and Coach Brandon Derrick’s squad found themselves at 1-4.
The second half of the season went much better as the Knights flipped the script and went 4-1 for the back half of the year.
While the lone loss that came at the hands of hated rivals Bulloch Academy cost them another region title, the four victories were quite satisfying.
The Knights were able to notch payback victories against Brookwood and Pinewood, as well as recording their first shut-out since the 2020 season – a 42-0 shellacking of Robert Toombs Christian Academy.
Although Frederica was clicking at the right time, a deep run into the playoffs was not meant to be. For the second year in a row, the Knights’ season ended on the campus of Valwood Academy, this time in the opening round instead of the semi-finals.
One would think that considering the up-and-down nature of this first post-Triplett season that Frederica would be thankful to have gotten that far. Surprisingly enough, that’s not the case.
This didn’t feel like a season that was destined to end this quickly. The offense was finally starting to click with Jayden Gibson finding running lanes on the inside that simply weren’t there and Jaylin Baldwin adding a jet sweep in the Apache/Cherokee formations that were faster than what we’ve seen since another notable Jaylin roamed the Frederica sideline.
JC Wessel was finally starting to knock off the rust of almost a decade of not playing football and Braxton Sykes was proving valuable as a receiver as well as the backup quarterback.
The twin kickers of Mary Ford Fitzjurls and Noah Restrepo were as reliable as they come.
But alas, a deep run was not meant to be. True, the fact that there are 18 starters from this year’s squad set to come back next year should offer a fair amount of hope to the Frederica Faithful, but you just can’t help but wish that there could have been more for this year’s senior class.
Hayes Carter, Esai Hernandez, Tucker McLain, and Will Johnson had been through so much since their freshman campaign.
The final survivors of the infamous “Mean Nineteen” year, their contributions on both sides of the ball were instrumental in the record setting seasons of the previous three years.
You just can’t help but wish we could have seen them together for another two weeks.
2025 promises to be another step up the ladder for the Knights, perhaps even another trophy to hoist could be in the cards.
Terror Character
By: Joe Delaney
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
When you reach the playoffs in any sport for over 15 years in a row, it says something about your team and program.
That was all on the line last Friday night for the Glynn Academy Red Terrors.
After an up and down season, the Terrors found themselves down 24-21 late in the fourth quarter to the Evans Knights.
It was literally win and you’re in or lose and close but no cigar. The winner would be the region’s last team in and the loser could start pumping up basketballs.
With under 6 minutes to go in the game and trailing, the Red Terrors reached down and found that little extra they needed. They stood up and took charge of a game that they had made close with some crucial mistakes in the 3 ½ quarters before.
Behind the play of T. Y. Chisholm, Da’Sean Howard and Sean Wallace on offense and Tae Green on defense the Terrors came back to take a 28-24 victory and win a trip to take a six-hour bus ride to take on the Rome Wolves in the first round of the state playoffs.
In those final 6 minutes the Terrors showed the character of a team full of winners.
First, Howard put the team on his back and carried the ball on pretty much the same play three times in a row. The third one, a tackle breaking run went for 39 yards and the go-ahead touchdown. Tuck Tuckers extra point made it 28-24.
That left it up to the Red Terror D that had played well all night but had given up several big plays for scores.
They responded by making interceptions the last two times Evans had the ball. The last by Ervan Rowe on a 4th down and 28 Hail Mary pass. That 4th and 28 was set up by Tae Greens’ SIXTH sack of the night. The guy was a true Terror, all over the field.
Coach Rocky Hidalgo was “relieved” that the Red Terrors had won but bemoaned the errors that his Terrors had made.
All teams make errors and nobody is perfect but character stands out. In the last 6 minutes with the season on the line the Red Terrors showed character.
Can they stand up to the 5A #1 seed Rome Wolves? We will see. But the Terrors definitely have the right attitude and it begins with Coach Hidalgo’s comments following the game.
He stressed that the Terrors had to be ready not only for next Friday night in Rome but on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday on the Glynn practice field. That’s why the Terrors are in the playoffs for the 16th consecutive season.
In the Rome Wolves, the Terrors will take on a hot team. After losing their first 2 games, the Wolves have been on a 7-game winning streak.
The latest being a 50-3 pasting of Kennesaw Mountain. The Wolves are prolific on offense scoring 59, 28, 70, 63, 35, and 50 in their last 6 games.
Defensively in those six games, they’ve given up 35 points total. The Terrors definitely will have to play their absolute best to hang with Rome.
If they make crucial errors at times in this game they could get hammered. The Terrors will head into the game at 6-4 and the regions 4th seed.
After a long season full of highlights and a few lowlights the Terrors can head up north knowing they are big underdogs.
The official website for Rome says they are playing the GLYNN COUNTY SCHOOLS. They evidently don’t even know who Glynn Academy is! Glynn should go and let it all hang out.
As the old saying goes, they’ve really got nothing to lose.
