High School Football
Brunswick High Pirates Set Sail On Region Play
By: Teddy Bishop
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
After posting a 1-2 non-region record, the Brunswick High Football Pirates are getting ready to roll into Region 1-6A play on September 18.
First year head coach Dr. Byron Slack’s Pirates kicked off the 2026 campaign at home against the Camden County Wildcats, losing 35-21.
In week two, Dr. Slack’s Pirates hosted the Groves Rebels and walked away with a 63-0 shellacking.
Following a bye week, Brunswick High hosted 7-A powerhouse Grayson. Despite being a huge underdog, the Pirates played the Rams tough, even taking the lead in the third quarter before Grayson eventually prevailed, 44-31, giving BHS their 1-2 non-region record.
Coach Slack’s squad begins region play with a four-hour bus trip to the Augusta area to take on the Grovetown Warriors, currently 0-3 on the season. This could be a trap game for the Pirates, as they have sometimes struggled on long road-trip games.
The following Friday (Sept. 25), BHS returns to Glynn County Stadium to host the Greenbrier Wolfpack, another Augusta area school, who is currently 1-2.
On October 2, Coach Slack’s Pirates will travel to Hinesville to clash with the Bradwell Institute Tigers, currently 2-1 in 2026.
Over the years, the Tigers have not fared well against the Pirates, but Bradwell appears to be a much better football team than in recent years.
After their second bye week, Coach Slack’s Pirates will be the home team on October 16 at Glynn County Stadium against the Glynn Academy Red Terrors in the City Championship game. This promises to be a very important region tilt, as well securing local bragging rights for the next twelve months. The Terrors are currently 1-2.
After the City Championship game, the Pirates will host back-to-back games against South Effingham (3-0) and Effingham (1-2). The Mustangs and the Rebels, respectively, will continue a long-standing rivalry against the Pirates.
Brunswick closes out the regular season on November 6 by returning to the Augusta area (another trap game?) to take on Lakeside-Evans. The Panthers stand at 0-3.
Senior quarterback Keygan Walker has stepped into the leadership role very comfortably for the Pirates. In the three non-region games, Walker threw for 430 yards and 7 touchdowns.
At an exclusive coach’s show with The Bishop Media Sports Network, Coach Slack lauded Walker’s performance thus far, “and he’ll continue to get better,” Coach Slack added.
Senior Waseem Murray has been Walker’s favorite receiver with 250 yards receiving and 3 touchdown receptions on the young season. Coach Slack has described Murray as “lightning in a bottle.”
Seniors Nigel Gardner and Josiah Gibbons have anchored the running game for the Pirates, with Gardner closing in on 200 yards rushing for the season, while Gibbons, Murray, and Isreal Henry are the leading scorers with 18 points each.
The Pirates scored 115 points in three non-region games.
Overall, the Pirate defense has played well, despite giving up 79 combined points to Camden and Grayson, as the Wildcats and the Rams will likely be the two best teams Brunswick will face until the playoffs. As previously mentioned, the Pirate D blanked Groves.
The defense has been anchored by Samir Dobbins, Zay Bennett, Zi’yan Rankin, and Chozen Owens, among several others.
Kicker Braxton Davis has been busy kicking extra points and a field goal in the non-region contests.
Following the conclusion of the regular season, the playoffs get underway using a system called the Post Season Rankings Formula, concocted by the Georgia High School Association.
Unless I’m missing something, this is one of the stupidest ideas I’ve ever heard.
Best I can tell, it works like this: Unless you actually win a region championship, you may or may not qualify for post-season play.
Other than winning a region championship, a team’s eligibility for the playoffs depends on its won-lost record, its opponents’ won-lost record, its opponents’ opponents’ won-loss record, and the wind direction on the Ides of March.
Under the old playoff system, of course, the top four teams in each region qualified for post-season play, regardless of the wind.
At any rate, my prediction is as follows: Dr. Coach Byron Slack’s Pirates run the table in region play, winning the city championship as well as the region championship in his first year at Brunswick High, and then makes a playoff run, getting past the second round for the first time since 1999.
Go Pirates!
Richmond Hill Wildcats Coming Out Party
By: Jason Bishop
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Richmond Hill Wildcats have gotten off to a great start in the 2026 season.
Going into Friday night’s game with the Ware County Gators the Wildcats found themselves undefeated on the young season at 3-0.
The Wildcats survived a week 1 encounter with the Effingham Rebels 22-21.
In week 2 Richmond Hill flexed their might against the Liberty County Panthers to the tune of a 42-7 win.
In week 3 the Wildcats welcomed a very good Jenkins Warriors team to ‘The Hill’ and outlasted Jenkins; winning 31-27.
Richmond Hill has had the advantage of all three wins being in the friendly confines of ‘The Hill’ at Wildcat Stadium.
In week 4 the Wildcats would not have the advantage of being at home. In fact, they would travel to one of the toughest places to win in the state, Memorial Stadium in Waycross-‘The Swamp’. Many seasons have been ruined and title dreams ended in Waycross at the hands of the Ware County Gators.
This was the task in front of the Richmond Hill Wildcats, to beat Ware in ‘The Swamp’ to remain undefeated. This is a tall order.
Ware came into the game at 1-1. The Gators took down Bainbridge in week 1 22-21 and lost to rival Coffee County in week 2, 27-7.
Ware also was coming off a bye before the Richmond Hill game so the Gators had a full 2 weeks to prepare for the Wildcats.
At first look this seemed like a game that Richmond Hill would suffer their first loss of the season; playing in ‘The Swamp’, it being their first road game of the year, Ware having 2 weeks to prepare and the Gators coming off a loss. Not to mention it was the first home game of the season for the Ware County Gators.
None of these things mattered and what looked like a likely loss instead turned into a coming out party for Richmond Hill.
The Wildcats upended the Gators 13-7 to remain unbeaten and climb to 4-0 on the season. This game was one of the best games of the season.
With time about to expire and the game tied at 7-7, Ware County lined up to kick a game winning field goal.
Instead of the kick sailing through the uprights for a Ware win, the kick was blocked and pick up by Eli Grant and returned 96 yards for a touchdown with no time on the clock giving the dramatic win to Richmond Hill. Literally snatching victory from the jaws of defeat.
DB/WR Eli Grant had a monumental performance to help Richmond Hill win this football game. Grant scored both touchdowns for the Wildcats; one receiving and the other returning the blocked kick. Oh, and also Grant added in an interception just for good measure.
Next up for Richmond Hill is Wando High School out of South Carolina. The Wildcats will be back at home for this contest. Wando is off to a 3-1 start so this will be another tough test for the Wildcats.
Coach Matt LeZotte has the Wildcats off to a great start and they will be a force in region 1-7A.
Bulloch Academy Gators Another Big Win
By: Joseph Stuckey
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Bulloch Academy Gators came into this past Friday’s game with a 3-1 record. This game came the week after the hard-fought loss to John Milledge Academy, 23-35 in Milledgeville.
The good news is the Gators have played a really tough schedule, and their MaxPreps ranking is taking note as they came into this game #2 in the AAAA rankings and #4 in all of GIAA.
With their win on Friday over the Westfield School Hornets out of Perry, GA, the Gators improve to 4-1 and look well on their way to locking up a top seed in the GIAA AAAA playoffs.
Westfield came into the game ranked #2 in AAA and #6 in all of GIAA. This game featured playmakers in all aspects of the game.
The offense was able to control the clock by running the ball consistently and getting big runs when needed from impact players like Connor Perry and quarterback Sam Hubbard.
Hubbard continues to show how impressive his ability to make decisive runs and calculated throws is.
The offensive running game also felt an impact from Rocco Reiss, B.J. Smart, and Nick Eason Jr. The offensive line upfront also continues to show why it is the most consistent group for the Gators year after year.
The Gators’ defense was able to capitalize on the Hornets playing from behind the sticks most of the night. They allowed minimal big plays and implemented a bend-but-don’t-break mentality.
The defense only allowed a couple of big receptions and tried to keep everything in front of them. The defense allowed the Hornets to make mistakes and then capitalized for big stops.
The defense had several playmakers, including Jayce Farmer, Tate Williams, and Colin Grooms.
Also, the quarterback felt pressure all night from Braylon Cone at nose guard and Billy Crider off the edge. Crider also knocked down a pass late in the game to help seal the victory.
On special teams, the Gators relied on good returns from Perry and Crider as well as consistent kickoffs and extra points from Case Woodrum.
Special teams seem to be an area where the Gators find an advantage over other teams, and with a little fine-tuning, it could become their best aspect of their team.
The game against the Hornets basically ran at a 2-score deficit most of the night; even though they scored a late touchdown, which made the score look closer, the Gators controlled the game from start to finish.
Westfield also had a failed 2-point conversion towards the end of the game, which all but put the final nail in the coffin, as the Gators offense was able to run out the clock.
Outside of a few minor errors and slip-ups, the Gators seem to have rebounded well from the loss to JMA and look to have their eyes set on going for the big GIAA prize.
Now that this game is in the book, the Gators will travel next week to Robert Toombs in Lyons and hope to avoid a 3-overtime marathon game like last season. After that, the Gators will travel to Strong Rock Christian in Locust Grove for their biggest AAAA regular-season matchups of the season.
Valdosta Wildcats Strong Start
By: Ron Reagin
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Opening the season on the road is never easy, especially with a young defense and a lightning delay that pushed kickoff all the way to 9:20 p.m. Valdosta handled both challenges Friday night and came away with a solid 52-14 win at Jones County.
The Wildcats treated the game like a business trip. They went on the road, took care of business, and left with a victory despite the late start and the usual early-season social media noise.
The offense looked ready from the start. With most of its key pieces returning, Valdosta rolled up 426 yards of total offense — 251 through the air and 175 on the ground. Marquis Fennell and Deron Foster once again formed one of the most dangerous backfield combinations in the state.
Fennell scored four touchdowns just about every way a running back can. He rushed for the game’s first points, caught touchdown passes from two different quarterbacks, and returned a punt 55 yards for another score. He finished with eight catches for 143 yards and two receiving touchdowns, plus nine carries for 48 yards and a rushing score.
Special teams for the Wildcats was solid as well. Along with Fennell’s punt return touchdown, sophomore kicker Alans Garcia handled the kickoffs and made a 36-yard field goal with plenty of distance to spare. New punter Freddy Poole had two punts and averaged 30 yards per punt, with veteran Troy commit long snapper William Mosley handling all the snaps flawlessly.
Oregon State commit Deron Foster did the lion’s share on the ground, carrying 18 times for 107 yards and a touchdown. Senior center Austin Spray and the experienced offensive line helped create running lanes and gave the quarterbacks time to work.
Speaking of the quarterbacks, Tripp Perry delivered the best game of his career. He completed 9 of 12 passes for 158 yards and two touchdowns while showing the leadership and command he has displayed throughout the offseason.
When sophomore Lamar Thomas got his opportunity, he answered with a sharp 5-of-8 performance for 84 yards and two touchdowns of his own.
Sophomore Quincy Hunt added a hard-running 30 yards on five carries, and senior wideout Jamarian Mingo hauled in five catches for 87 yards, scoring from both quarterbacks.
Before the game, head coach Shelton Felton was asked what he wanted to see from his young defense. His answer was clear: “I want to see a physical, fast and detailed defense. They could make mistakes but make them full speed… new season, want them to have fun and run to the football.”
Outside of a couple of missed fits on run defense that led to long runs, the defense answered the call. Jones County finished with just 14 points and 245 total yards.
After the game, Coach Felton praised the unit for making adjustments at halftime. When asked how he sees them growing, he said, “One play at a time, one week at a time and one game at a time… gotta stay with us. Growing pains. A lot of guys this is their first time playing big-time football.”
It was not a perfect night, but it was a professional one. The Wildcats did what they were supposed to do on the road in Week 1.
Next Friday night they return to the friendly confines of Bazemore-Hyder Stadium for the home opener against Howard.
After a businesslike start on the road, the Cats will look to keep the momentum going in front of the home crowd over this 5 game home stand.
1-7A Week One
By: Michael Spiers
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
If the opening weekend of Georgia high school football told us anything about Region 1-7A, it’s that nobody should expect many easy Friday nights once region play begins.
Camden County, Valdosta, Lowndes and Richmond Hill all opened with victories, while Colquitt County suffered the region’s lone defeat. That makes Region 1-7A a combined 4-1 after week one.
Of course, we’re only talking about one game. Nobody wins a region championship in August. But first impressions are still important, and each of the five teams gave us something to think about.
Let’s start close to home with Camden County. The Wildcats’ 35-21 victory at Brunswick might have told us something about Tucker Pruitt’s first Camden team that won’t show up in the box score.
Camden led 14-7 Friday night when lightning interrupted the game. After a lengthy delay, the decision was made to suspend play and resume Saturday morning.
Think about that from a high school player’s perspective. You prepare all week, travel to a rival’s stadium, get yourself emotionally ready, play one quarter….. and then go home. A few hours later, you’re getting up, loading the buses and doing it all over again.
Brunswick tied the game at 14 before halftime Saturday, but Camden responded by taking control in the second half.
That’s a pretty good first test for a new coaching staff.
Valdosta probably made the loudest statement of anybody in the region. The Wildcats went on the road and absolutely dismantled Jones County, 52-14.
It’s only Week One, but putting 52 points on the scoreboard away from home gets my attention. If anyone wondered whether Valdosta would once again be a serious factor in Region 1-7A, the first answer appears to be yes.
Lowndes wasn’t quite as explosive, but the Vikings did exactly what good football teams are supposed to do.
Jenkins scored first, but Lowndes responded with 31 unanswered points and cruised to a 31-6 victory.
The game itself was delayed nearly two hours by lightning, so apparently Mother Nature decided everybody in South Georgia needed a little extra adversity on opening night.
Richmond Hill had a much more stressful evening. The Wildcats escaped Effingham County with a 22-21 victory after Effingham scored on a long touchdown run with just over two minutes remaining. The potential tying extra point was blocked, allowing Richmond Hill to survive.
It wasn’t pretty, but I’ve never seen a standings column that asks how pretty the win was.
And then there’s Colquitt County. The Packers drew easily the toughest opening assignment of anyone in the region, facing defending Class 5A state champion Thomas County Central. Still, I don’t think anybody expected a 57-21 final score.
I’m certainly not ready to write off Colquitt after one game against one of Georgia’s best programs. The Packers have earned far too much respect over the years for that kind of overreaction. But 57-21 is still 57-21.
So what did we learn? Maybe nothing. It’s August. But we did get our first clues.
Camden showed resilience. Valdosta showed firepower. Lowndes took care of business. Richmond Hill found a way to survive. And Colquitt discovered it has some work to do.
The best part is that none of these teams have played each other yet. Eventually they will. And judging by the first weekend, Region 1-7A might be every bit the fight we expected it to be.
Pack Of Wolves
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
This is my favorite time of year, the beginning of football season. Let’s take a look at the top program in 7A and see how they started the season.
#1 Buford: The Wolves were undefeated in 2025 and won the national championship. They won the 6A state championship against Carrolton, 28-21.
Georgia has reintroduced the 7A classification this season and Buford is starting ranked at the top.
They did lose a lot of talent from that team. Some of the key players that graduated were starting quarterback Dayton Raiola, four-star safety and running back Tyriq “Ty Boogie” Green and leading rusher and three-star RB Dylan McCoy
“The biggest goal is being able to reset from last year with us being national champions,” said DJ Hunter, Buford’s starting quarterback and James Madison commit. “We want to create our own team instead of living off of the success from last year.”
There are some players with limited playing time that are expected to step up this season. Seniors Jameer Cantrell and Silas Nuckles bring some experience in the ground game. Cantrell, an Arkansas commit, had 43 carries for 303 yards and three touchdowns, while he also had 41 tackles as a defensive back in 2025.
Junior WR Braylon Williams is expected to be a top target for Hunter. He had 199 yards and four receiving touchdowns in seven games last year before missing the rest of the season due to injury.
Some additional highly ranked recruits on the roster are: LB Brayden Watson (Michigan), LB Ethan Hauser (Vanderbilt), S Jameer Cantrell (Arkansas), DE Luke Nabors (Offers from Auburn, Florida State, Miami (FL), Penn State and Georgia), DL Krystian Walcott (Boston College) and OL Noah Nixon (Pitt).
“They’re doing a good job of not making it all about what we did last year, because last year is not going to help us right now,” said head coach Bryant Appling. “So, I’m excited for the fact that they’re trying to be their own entity within the realm of beautiful football and start this campaign off the right way.”
They opened the season last week against the #3 team in 6A, Gainesville with a nationally televised game on ESPN. The Red Elephants advanced to the 5A state championship game last season.
Gainesville also added former Grayson head coach, Santavious Bryant. He coached the Rams from 2023-25 and led them to the 6A state championship in 2024. They were the top team in the state for most of 2025 until they lost to Carrolton in the playoffs and finished the season 12-1.
Buford won the game, 39-19. The Wolves pulled away in the second half. Gainesville turned the ball over five times and Buford scored 29 unanswered points.
Gainesville allowed two special teams touchdowns because of bad snaps that its punter could not catch, and both times Buford recovered in the end zone. They also had a third special teams’ turnover when their kick returner, Legend Wilmont fumbled during a punt return.
This was a big win and a great start to the season. Somehow, things got even better for them after that.
The nation’s No. 1 defensive lineman and No.4 overall recruit for the class of 2027, Jalen Brewster announced he’s transferring to Buford over the weekend. The 6’3, 300 lbs. Texas Tech commit is transferring from Cedar Hill (TX).
The only other tough game on the schedule appeared to be the September 18th matchup at #2 Grayson before the season started. The Rams are 0-2 so now that looks like a cakewalk.
I expect Buford to repeat as national champs.
South Georgia Friday Night Lights
By: Jason Bishop
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The High School Football season is now in full tilt. Both the GISA and GHSA are fully underway for the 2026 season.
Some games this past weekend that caught my eye are the following:
Calvary Day @ Glynn Academy: Despite Calvary Day being a AA team and Glynn Academy residing in 6A most experts thought that Calvary Day would come out victorious.
However, the Red Terrors led the Cavaliers 22-7 with under 2 minutes to go in the first half and had really stymied Calvary Day’s high powered offense to that point.
The Cavaliers put up a touchdown right before the half and the Red Terrors carried a 22-13 lead into the locker room at the half.
However, from that point on it would be all Calvary Day. The Cavaliers outscored the Terrors in the second half 36-0 and closed with 42 unanswered points on their way to a 49-22 defeat of the Glynn Academy in the opener for both teams.
Frederica Academy @ Pinewood: Both the Knights and Patriots entered week 2 of the GISA season with blowout losses from the previous week.
Frederica was dropped at home by Bethesda 55-7 and Pinewood fell to Bulloch Academy 44-6 on the road.
The Knights traveled to Bellville to take on the Patriots with both hoping to get their season back on track. It was Frederica that succeeded in that getting a big performance from several key players to blow out the Patriots 42-6.
Camden @ Brunswick High: The Pirates and Wildcats took the field Friday Night in a premier game in south Georgia.
Both programs debuted new coaches and new quarterbacks. Tucker Pruitt took over as the head man for Camden and Byron Slack took over for the Pirates.
The game was postponed early in the 2nd quarter due to lightning and both teams had to come back to Glynn County Stadium to finish the game on Saturday morning.
The Wildcats led at stoppage of play 14-7 with 11:35 left in the 2nd quarter.
When play resumed on Saturday morning the Pirates tied the game at 14-14. With the game tied at 21, the Wildcats scored the last 14 points giving Tucker Pruitt his first win as Camden County Head Coach 35-21.
Some other interesting results from across the state were as follows:
The Coffee County Trojans traveled up to Atlanta to play the Parkview Panthers and completely dominated the Panthers 49-14.
The Toombs County Bulldogs took the trip to Savannah to take on the Benedictine Cadets. Despite the Cadets being a 5A school and Toombs only being 3A, Toombs pulled away from Benedictine for a convincing 58-21 victory.
One of the premier games of the night saw Thomas County Central hosting the Colquitt County Packers. Both are power houses and everyone expected a very competitive game. This was not the case.
The Yellow Jackets blasted the Packers 57-21 in game that was never really close.
The Pierce County Bears took a trip over to Alabama to take on the Coosa Christian Conquerors. Most expected a very tight game between these two power houses. However, the Bears woodshedded the Conquerors 55-0.
Bulloch Academy Gator Chomp
By: Joseph Stuckey
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Bulloch Academy Gators have started their 2026 football campaign with a 2-0 start.
In the first game of the regular season, the Gators handled their rival Pinewood Christian Academy in The Battle for I-16, winning 44-6. For this senior class, this makes them 4-0 in the rivalry series.
This past Friday, after an extensive rain delay (9:17pm start time), the Gators rallied back to beat Brentwood. Brentwood led 33-14 in the 3rd quarter before the Gators scored 22 unanswered points to move to 2-0 (final score: BA 36-Brentwood 33).
Both Pinewood and Brentwood compete in 2-A in the GIAA; Brentwood is the defending back-to-back AA State Champions.
Over these first couple of games, there have been a few standout Gators I want to make note of.
First, running back B.J. Smart really has filled into the starting role nicely and seems to be capable of helping the Gators run all the way to the playoffs.
The next 2 are what I call Swiss Army knives, meaning they are very versatile and make plays all over the field.
Connor Perry is very shifty and can make defenders miss in the open field. Rocco Reiss is a tough runner but can also be a deep-pass threat, as he had a 50+ yard touchdown reception this past Friday. Maddox Lee is also one of the very versatile players who the Gators will look to throughout the season.
Sam Hubbard, as we have seen for the past couple of years, is a very capable quarterback and shows he has ice in his veins and can take off and run for big gains when needed. He is committed to play baseball for Georgia Southern.
Nick Eason Jr. has also been playing exceptionally well on the offensive side of the ball and as a key defensive back, making several touchdown-saving pass breakups. He also had an interception against Brentwood.
Georgia Southern commit Billy Crider came into the season known for his catching ability, but he has also found success as a return man on special teams and a quick edge on the defensive line.
The offensive line up front has led the way to the Gators putting up 80 points over their first 2 games. Some of the key guys up front are Griff Sumner, Bryce Parish, Bo Crider, James Lee, and Slayton Roberts.
On the defensive side of the ball, the guys up front are rounding into mid-season form. Colin Grooms had a game-changing 15-yard tackle for loss against Brentwood. Kennesaw State commit Braylon Cone is taking command of the nose-guard position and basically eliminating any up-the-middle runs.
Whit Olliff has really impressed me so far this season; he has been a vocal leader on defense and has made impactful plays over these first 2 games.
I also want to mention sophomore Cannon Vickery, who is a spark plug for the Gators whenever he is in the game and brings a lot of energy to his teammates.
The 2-0 Gators will travel next week to take on fellow unbeaten team Tattnall Square Academy in Macon.
With a win next week, it will set up what many have dubbed the GIAA game of the year in Milledgeville on 9/4 between defending AAA State Champs John Milledge Academy and the Gators, who are one of the AAAA State Title favorites.
There are still a few things the Gators would like to sharpen up, as well as reduce the number of penalties as they continue the season, but so far this has been a positive start for the Gators.
Gators Are For Real
By: Joseph Stuckey
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
To start off the 2026 football season, the Bulloch Academy Gators took on the Jenkins County War Eagles in a scrimmage game in Millen, GA, on Friday, 8/7.
Jenkins County is a GHSA school that plays in 1-A Region 5 against teams like Johnson County and Twiggs County.
I always like to use the term “watered-down” when talking about a scrimmage game because plays are normally scripted, coaches are sometimes on the field, most of the key players don’t play the entire game, and there are some odd elements in the kicking game.
There were a few minor things the Gators may need to sharpen as we head into the regular season, but for the most part it was business as usual.
Quarterback Sam Hubbard hit Georgia Southern commit Billy Crider for a long touchdown pass, as it looks like the Gators may try to slip in a few more passing plays than in years past.
Running back Danye Garvin has graduated out and is now a part of the Wingate University football team. So, one of the big questions this offseason was who would be taking the lead role running the ball in the Gators’ Wing-T offense.
B.J. Smart answered that question as he looked like a strong and capable running back to carry the ball for the Gators this season.
I expect the running game to take center stage again this year as we look to have a very solid offensive line consisting of: James Lee, Griff Sumner, Bo Crider, Slayton Roberts, and Bryce Parrish. A strong offensive line is very crucial for the Gators to do what they want to do on offense this season.
On the defensive side of the ball, a few names stood out to me; of course, Collin Grooms and Kennesaw State commit Braylon Cone were a part of several big stops for the Gators.
Whitt Oliff made his presence known throughout the scrimmage, and Nick Eason Jr. displayed his speed chasing down a ball carrier, thus saving a touchdown. Billy Crider also took some snaps as an edge rusher and looked very solid.
The Gators also have quite a few very versatile guys that you will see making plays in several different aspects of the game, including: Cannon Vickery, Jace Farmer, Rhett Morgan, Maddox Lee, J.B. Roach, and Rocco Reiss.
Overall, I think the Gators are really going to make a run at the GIAA 4-A State Title this year, but now their attention must turn to the Battle for I-16. The Pinewood Patriots will make their way to the Swamp on Friday 8/14, where regular season play will kick off under the lights in Statesboro.
Normally this matchup takes place at the end of the year during region play, but with Pinewood moving down to GIAA 2-A, these two teams will no longer be region opponents.
Anytime a team comes down from a larger classification, they always have to get other teams’ attention, so I would not be surprised if Pinewood makes a playoff push later this season and finds themselves on the 2-A playoff bracket.
The Gators have been the better team for the last couple of years, winning both at home and on the road in Bellville. However, the BA/Pinewood games always come down to the wire, and I don’t expect this year’s matchup to be any different.
Top Receiver Transfers To Camden County Wildcats
By: Michael Spiers
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The excitement surrounding Camden County football has continued to build throughout the offseason, and the Wildcats may have just added another major piece to the puzzle.
Sophomore wide receiver Ayden “Pocket” Robinson has officially transferred from Sumter County High School to Camden County, giving first-year head coach Tucker Pruitt another explosive weapon as he begins his first season in Kingsland.
According to Sumter County head coach Will Rogers, Robinson’s transfer is the result of a bona fide family move, as a member of Robinson’s family accepted an employment opportunity in the Brunswick area.
Regardless of how he arrived, there’s little question that Robinson immediately upgrades an already intriguing Camden County offense.
Standing 6-foot-2 and 190 pounds, Robinson is an impressive physical presence for a player who will only be a sophomore this fall.
Last season as a freshman at Sumter County, he wasted little time showing why many believe he has a bright future.
In 10 varsity games, Robinson hauled in 27 receptions for 356 yards and six touchdowns, averaging 13.2 yards per catch. He also contributed on special teams, finishing with 379 all-purpose yards during his freshman campaign.
Those numbers are impressive on their own, but they become even more intriguing when considering Robinson was producing against varsity competition as a ninth grader.
His combination of size, athleticism, and ability to find the end zone gives Camden County another legitimate playmaker on the outside.
And perhaps the most exciting part for Wildcat fans is who he’ll be lining up alongside.
Robinson joins a receiving corps already headlined by Sean Green, one of Georgia’s top receiving prospects and a Florida State commitment.
Green has developed into one of the most dangerous receivers in the state with his ability to stretch the field, make contested catches, and create explosive plays after the catch.
Now, opposing defenses will have to account for both Green and Robinson. That challenge becomes even greater when you factor in another major offseason addition.
Transfer quarterback Xavier Collins arrives in Kingsland after throwing for more than 2,000 yards and 16 touchdowns last season at Columbia High School in Florida.
Collins gives Camden County an experienced signal caller with the arm strength and confidence to distribute the football all over the field.
On paper, it’s a combination that should fit perfectly into Tucker Pruitt’s offensive philosophy.
Since taking over the Wildcats program, Pruitt has emphasized playing fast, physical football while creating opportunities for his athletes to make plays in space.
His offenses have consistently featured balance, but they’ve never been afraid to attack defenses vertically when the opportunity presents itself.
With Collins delivering the football and Green and Robinson stretching defenses on the perimeter, Camden County suddenly possesses the kind of offensive firepower that can force opposing defensive coordinators into difficult decisions.
Double-team Green, and Robinson could find himself in favorable one-on-one matchups. Roll coverage toward Robinson, and Green becomes even more dangerous. Play too many defensive backs, and Pruitt’s offense can attack with the running game. That’s the kind of balance every coach hopes to build.
Of course, Robinson is still just a sophomore, and expectations should remain realistic. There will undoubtedly be an adjustment period as he learns a new offense, develops chemistry with Collins, and settles into a new school. But his potential is undeniable.
When you combine Robinson’s arrival with Collins at quarterback, Green’s star power at wide receiver, and Pruitt’s reputation for developing productive offenses, it’s easy to understand why optimism continues to grow around Camden County football.
The Wildcats have undergone significant changes since last season, but each new addition appears to move the program one step closer to becoming a serious contender once again.
If Robinson develops the way many expect, Camden County may have landed one of the biggest impact transfers in South Georgia, and one that could help shape the future of the Wildcats’ offense for years to come.
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