High School Football
The Knights’ Crusade
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Brandon Derrick enters his 8th season as head football coach of the Frederica Academy Knights this fall.
Derrick has built Frederica into one of the elite programs in the Georgia Independent School Association (GISA) by winning the State Championship in 2018.
The Knights finished 4-6 in 2019 as they rebuilt from losing so many seniors from the championship team, but made the playoffs and lost in the first round to Southland Academy.
The 2020 Knights have 14 starters returning from last season and are experienced across the offensive and defensive lines of scrimmage.
Depth could be an issue because the Knights have a total of 31 players on the entire roster. Derrick says “We have a chance to develop and be good if we can avoid injuries”.
Garrett Squires will anchor the offensive line. Derrick says he is versatile and is a team leader in the locker room.
Jacob Triplett will play plug in at right tackle. The defensive line has experience with Will Thompson and Will Counts returning. Counts is a three-year starter at nose guard.
The Knights will run a spread offense that will be more run based. Thomas Veal looks to be the QB and looked good in limited reps in 2019 after he returned late in the season from a preseason injury.
Kyle Perez is up to 185 lbs. and will get the bulk of carries at running back. Watch for Jordan Triplett to break on to the scene this fall at WR/RB.
Josh Meadows and Josh Elliott will lead an experienced linebacker position. Jayden Rose will be one of the better corners in the region.
The schedule/My Predictions/ * Region Game
9/11 @ Valwood: Valwood might as well be the third public school in Lowndes County.
The Valiants cherry pick Valdosta and Lowndes and that makes them a state title contender every season. These two schools have developed a great rivalry over the past 4-5 seasons.
Beating Valwood on the road will be very tough. The Knights play well but fall short 27-20 to go 0-1 on the season, but could see Valwood again in the postseason.
9/18 Calvary: Calvary always has one or two very talented players, but in the home opener Frederica gets it done 28-22 to even its record to 1-1 on the season.
9/25 @Tiftarea: The Knights travel to Chula, which is 10 miles north of Tifton to play the Panthers who went 8-4 in 2019.
This could be another playoff preview game for Frederica. The Knights come up a little short in this one 17-14 to fall to 1-2 on the season.
10/2 Brantley County: The Herons come to St. Simons to play football instead of the entire county coming over for 4th of July Fireworks. Highly anticipated matchup between the schools.
The public school Herons take the private school Knights for granted and get beat 24-18. The Knights go to 2-2 on the season.
10/16: Long County: Long is awful in football. FA wins 27-14 to go to 3-2
10/23: Memorial Day: The Matadors roll to SSI and get blistered 34-6. FA goes to 4-2 on the season.
10/30 @ Bulloch Academy *: The Gators, I’m told, have been recruited hard by Benedictine and lost key players.
The Knights find a way to win the region opener on the road 28-26 to set up a battle with Pinewood for the region crown in two weeks. FA goes to 5-2.
11/6 St. Andrews *: The Knights handle the Lions 34-16 to go to 6-2 and 2-0
11/13 @ Pinewood: The Patriots are loaded and the Knights gave the game away to them in 2019.
FA can win this game in Bellville, which is near Claxton. Due to factors out of their control, if you get my drift, the Knights fall short 27-23 and go to at 6-3 and 2-1 in region play.
11/20: Trinity Christian: The Crusaders roll into St. Simons and crusade out with a 28-14 loss. FA finishes the regular season with a 7-3 record and finish 3-1 in the region.
Frederica is a solid playoff team barring a rash of injuries in 2020.
Be-Deviled
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Last year was great for Marietta. The Blue Devils (14-2) won the 7A state championship. It was their first state title since 1967. They were loaded with talent. The team had 9 seniors ranked in the top 100 prospects in Georgia.
This program is an anomaly because we normally see the same top programs winning championships repeatedly. Marietta is not known as a football powerhouse.
Also, when a school has a talented class, they typically turn that into multiple championships. The Blue Devils were just as talented in 2018 and they were the top team in Georgia in the preseason. They finished the year 5-6 and unranked.
Their 2020 class was led by five-star tight end Arik Gilbert. He was the Gatorade National Player of the Year, first-team All-American and named Player of the Year for class AAAAAAA. Gilbert committed to LSU. He posted the second-greatest single-season mark for receiving yards in state history with 101 catches for 1,760 yards and 14 touchdowns.
Quarterback Harrison Bailey, defensive lineman B.J. Ojulari, tackle Jake Wray and defensive back Rashad Torrence were four-star prospects.
They don’t have any players ranked in the top 100 state prospects in 2021. After losing so much talent the Blue Devils will come crashing back to earth in 2020.
The season opener is home versus Colquitt County. The Packers were 9-3 last season and they will be a top 10 team this year. Wide receiver Lemeke Brockington is rated as the No. 39 prospect in the state and he’s a three-star recruit. Colquitt will win big.
The second game of the year is against Armwood (FL). They were a semifinalist last season in Florida’s highest classification. This game is probably cancelled because the GHSA announced the season will be pushed back and start September 4th. This game was going to be played August 28th.
Week 3 is at archrival McEachern. The Indians won last year’s meeting and they were the region champs. Star quarterback Carlos Del Rio-Wilson transferred to Grayson but they still have other good players on the team.
Their best player is inside linebacker Ese Dubre, the 68th ranked player in Georgia and a three-star recruit. I expect mighty McEachern to win.
The first road game is a long drive to Camden County. The Wildcats were 8-3 last season and lost in the playoffs to Marietta, 41 – 13.
Tackle Micah Morris is the No. 6 prospect in state and a four-star recruit. He committed to Georgia. Camden also has three-star wide receiver and Nebraska commit Shawn Hardy. The Wildcats will get revenge in a blowout win.
Week 5 is a second consecutive road game at Parkview. The Panthers were 12-2 in 2019 and lost to Marietta 42 – 31 in the semifinals.
Their led by four-star running back Cody Brown. Brown is rated as the No. 14 Georgia prospect and he’s committed to Tennessee. The Panthers will roll.
After a bye week the second half of the season begins with North Paulding at home. This will be the first win of the season.
Hillgrove is the next game. The Hawkss (yes, double s) should win this game.
Harrison has moved up to 7A and they’re in the same region. They were undefeated and won the 6A state championship last year. The Hoyas will win this game.
The final two games are against North Cobb and Walton. They should win one of those games, probably the North Cobb game.
I think Marietta will win two, potentially three games this season. Not very good for defending state champs.
Terrorizing
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The 2020 edition of the Glynn Academy Red Terrors will be a blueprint of what they have been known for in these parts since 2014, which is a consistent winner.
Since Rocky Hidalgo took over on the south end of Brunswick in 2014, The Terrors have gone 55-22 and have appeared in a state title game, won 4 outright region championships, made deep runs in the state playoffs, and have beat rival Brunswick in six straight meetings.
2019 was not up to the standards of Glynn Academy football which has three goals every season and they are the City Championship, Region Championship, and State Championship.
The 2019 Terrors were City Champions, but fell short in the Region to Richmond Hill after winning four straight region championships. Did you know that before Rocky Hidalgo arrived at Glynn Academy that the Red Terrors went 43 years without a region football title?
The win total in 2019 was 6 for a program that is used to winning 8-12 games per season since 2014.
The 2020 Terrors have a chip on their shoulder to regain the region title and make a deep playoff run. The talent is there.
TJ Lewis returns at QB and has some good offers to play college football. Caden Hutchinson will be the featured running back. Some Glynn folks are telling me that Hutchinson will be the best running back in the region that is stacked with quality running backs.
On defense Miles Smith returns at LB. Does it not always seem that Glynn has a linebacker that tackles everything that moves? Jayden Drayton could be the most dynamic play maker in coastal Georgia this fall. This is a talented roster.
Schedule/My Prediction/* Region Contest:
8/21 At Islands: The Red Terrors travel to Savannah to play Islands in what they are calling the I-95 classic. Well Glynn is rolling into Savannah and will whip Islands 35-17 to go 1-0 on the season.
8/28 At Camden County: Glynn will be good but not Camden good, as the Wildcats have 9 or 10 division one football prospects on the roster. Cats beat GA 28-10. GA drops to 1-1.
9/04 At Winder-Barrow: The Bulldogs went 3-7 in 2019. Glynn should take care of business 28-13. GA goes to 2-1 on the season.
9/18 At Coffee: Many chalk this up as a loss, but not me. Glynn will always play good team defense, and Glynn wins these types of games when nobody gives them a shot. Terrors win 17-14 at Coffee to go to 3-1.
9/25 At Brunswick*: Talent is pretty much even, but mentally Glynn owns this series and until Brunswick gets over this mental hump its 7 straight for GA with a 25-22 win over the rival Pirates. GA goes to 4-1.
10/02 Bradwell Institute *: GA owns Bradwell. Terrors go to 5-1 with a 42-14 win.
10/09 At South Effingham*: The Mustangs will be no match for Glynn even home in “The Corral “. Glynn wins 38-17 to go to 6-1 and 3-0 in the region.
10/16 Effingham County*: Effingham is in rebuild mode and that is never a good thing when you play Glynn in a region contest. GA wins at home 42-14 over Effingham. GA goes to 7-1 and 4-0.
10/23 Richmond Hill*: I have gone back and forth with this one. 7A Richmond Hill playing in 6A has more talent on paper, but Glynn has Rocky Hidalgo and everyone is anointing the Wildcats as Region Champions. If Glynn comes into this game with no region losses they won’t lose to the Wildcats. Terrors clinch the region title at home with a 28-24 win over Richmond Hill. GA goes to 8-1 and 5-0
11/06 At Statesboro*: Trap game in Statesboro. I’m putting Glynn on upset alert here. After clinching the region Glynn comes out flat and drops a tough contest to Statesboro at historic Womack Field 24-17 to finish the regular season at 8-2 and 5-1
The Red Terrors will enter the playoffs as the number 1 seed from Region 2-AAAAAA, and makes it to the third round in a huge bounce back season.
Ramming Down the Door
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Grayson is one of the elite programs in Georgia’s largest classification, AAAAAAA.
The Rams won state championships in 2011 and 2016. They hope to return to the top of the GHSA mountain in 2020.
Last season Grayson was expected to compete for the state championship. They beat Marietta by two touchdowns during the regular season. The Blue Devils were the most talented team in Georgia and they went on to win the 7A championship.
The Rams finished 2019 with a 10 – 2 record. They lost in the quarterfinals to Lowndes, 28 – 20. Lowndes advanced to the state championship game.
Grayson has produced a lot of talent. Most notably, Robert Nkemdiche was a five-star recruit and the top player in the class of 2012.
This season is no different. Wide receiver Daejon Reynolds is the 19th ranked player in the state and a four-star recruit. He’s committed to Florida. He’s 6’2 and 190 pounds so he has good size. Reynolds played at Central Gwinnett last season and he had 88 catches for 1,534 yards and 14 touchdowns. He was the Touchdown Club of Gwinnett’s wide receiver of the year for the 2019 season.
Quarterback Carlos Del Rio-Wilson is also a four-star recruit and the 20th ranked player in Georgia. He will join Reynolds in Gainesville. He transferred from McEachern and this is his first season at Grayson. Del Rio-Wilson is 6’3, 205 pounds and he’s a dual threat. He’s in the 2020 Elite 11.
Running back Phil Mafah is the 27th ranked player in the state and another four-star recruit. The 6’1, 220-pound back is committed to Clemson. He missed several games at the beginning of the season due to a broken collarbone. He ran for 676 yards and 9 TD’s.
Defensive end Victoine Brown is a three-star recruit and the 34th ranked player in state. He’s committed to Louisville.
The season begins August 21st versus Creekside. The Seminoles are a 5A team and they were 7 – 5 in 2019. This will be an easy win.
Week 2 is at McEachern. The Indians were 12 – 1 last year and they are a very good team. This will be a close win.
Stephenson comes to town next. The Jaguars were 10 – 2 last season and they were one of the best 4A teams. They can’t compete with 7A talent though and Grayson wins big.
The Rams travel to Archer in Week 4. Last year’s game was very close, a 34 – 31 Grayson win. The Tigers are looking to build off of their momentum from 2019 after finishing 9 – 4. This will be another close game but I give the edge to Grayson.
Paul Bryant high school from Alabama comes to town. I don’t know much about the Stampede but I know they can’t compete with Grayson.
Mill Creek is next on the schedule. The Hawks are a very good team and were 10 – 3 in 2019. This will be a battle, but the Rams will win.
Grayson travels to South Gwinnett for the sixth game. The Comets are a bad team and they’ll lose by 30.
After a bye week Parkview is the next game. The Panthers were 12 – 2 last season and they are led by four-star running back Cody Brown. I think Parkview will win.
The final two games are at Brookwood and Newton. They’ll win both games. I think Grayson will make it to the state championship game in 2020. They are the most talented team in Georgia.
Cats On The Hunt
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Camden County Wildcats, in my mind, are a blue blood program in South Georgia.
The Wildcats have won three State titles (2003, 2008, and 2009) this century.
Camden finished the 2019 season with an 8-3 record losing to eventual champion Marietta in the first round.
Bob Sphire is one of the better high school football head coaches in the business, and enters his 4th season as the head coach.
Sphire took over a football program in 2017 that had sunk pretty low from what Jeff Herron built at Camden.
Slowly Sphire has rebuilt this program the right way. His first two seasons he played a lot of young kids, who had to gain their experience in Region 1-AAAAAAA, which I refer to as the SEC of Georgia High School football. The roster has a lot of good quality players that can compete in the highest level in the State.
Micah Morris is the highest ranked recruit on the roster. The 4- star offensive tackle committed to the University of Georgia in April. Morris is 6-4 and 320 pounds and the future looks bright for Morris.
The schedule is brutal with not one cupcake to be found. Can Camden get back to that team that goes 3 rounds or deeper in the playoffs in 2020?
Region Game */ Schedule/My Predictions
8/21 Columbia: Long bus ride to Chris Gillman Stadium spells doom for the visitors historically. I don’t see Columbia pulling off an upset here. The Cats go to 1-0 on the season with a 44-18 win over Columbia.
8/28 Glynn Academy: The Terrors make the 30-minute ride down I-95 South and run into an angry bunch of Wildcats.
Glynn will be a good football team in 2020, but not Camden County good. Camden goes to 2-0 on the season with a 28-10 win over Glynn Academy.
9/04 @ Ribault High School (Florida): Ribault will always have dangerous athletes that could cause some problems, but they won’t have the depth to compete for 4 quarters.
Ribault hits a few big plays on offense, but they will lay a big egg on defense and get drilled by Camden 42-20. Camden goes to 3-0.
9/11 Marietta: Who scheduled this non-region game? This is about as brutal as they come.
The defending state champs travel to Chris Gillman Stadium, which could be factoring in Atlanta traffic a 7-hour bus ride.
Marietta lost a lot, and I’m banking on the bus trip taking its toll on the Blue Devils. Camden finds a way to win 28-24 to go to 4-0 on the season.
9/18 @ Oakleaf High School (Florida): Could this be a trap game? Maybe but if you beat Marietta you will not lose to Oakleaf. The Wildcats go to 5-0 with a 49-14 win.
9/25 Coffee: Remember the brutal schedule comment? Look at these next two games. Coffee drops to 5-A this year and should make some serious noise in football. They will not beat Camden in Kingsland, however. Cats go to 6-0 with a 21-13 win over Coffee.
10/02 @ Warner Robins: Playing at Warner Robins is no picnic. Warner Robins will compete for a state title in 5-A. I see Camden slipping by this one by the skin of their teeth 21-20 to go into region play at 7-0.
10/16 @ Colquitt County *: A win here would be considered an upset at the state level. This schedule takes its toll on the Wildcats and they fall to the Packers 27-20 to drop to 7-1 and 0-1
10/23 Tift County *: You never know what you are going to get with Tift County. Camden wins this region contest 33-21 to go 8-1 and 1-1.
10/30 @ Lowndes *: Can Camden win this one on the road to secure a home playoff game? You have to be special to win at Lowndes these days.
Camden falls short 28-16 to finish 8-2 and 1-2 for the regular season.
Solid playoff team battle tested by a brutal schedule gets them into the second or possibly third round of state playoffs.
Speak Of The Blue Devils
By: Mike Anthony
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
It has been a decade since the Statesboro Blue Devils have been considered a state power on the football field, but the program’s ongoing trudge back from some dark times aims to take another step forward this fall.
Now four years removed from the only 0-10 season in school history, Statesboro head coach Jeff Kaiser – who was announced as head coach ahead of the 2017 season – has his team steadily improving.
The Devils have qualified for the state playoffs in each of the last two seasons and got back to the .500 mark last fall for the first time since 2014.
As has been the case for teams all around the country, this summer’s training has been significantly hindered by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
School was called off more than a month before the scheduled spring practices for Statesboro and simply getting students – football players or otherwise – through the academic year will be tough.
Kaiser and his staff continued to communicate to the team through texts, emails and phone calls, with players left to their own devices to continue to study playbooks and stay in shape.
When June rolled around, word came from both the GHSA and Bulloch County that there would be a slow roll-out of parameters for practices that will gradually include more football-related activities with more players allowed at each practice.
All of the virus-related restraints on team activities are just one facet of what will be a challenging 2020 for the Devils.
While they have made the state playoffs two years running, Statesboro played those seasons in a five-team Class-AAAAA region. With Ware County and Wayne County dominating the region, the Devils’ postseason prospect essentially boiled down to a two-game season with games against New Hampstead and South Effingham, with any of the teams able to clinch a playoff berth with as little as one region win.
That will change this fall as Statesboro bumps up to Class-AAAAAA and will join a region with more teams that features plenty of old rivals.
South Effingham joins Statesboro in the move up and they will group in with Brunswick, Glynn Academy, Effingham County, Richmond Hill and Bradwell Institute.
The Devils have been region rivals with all of these teams at some point in their past, most notably with Brunswick, which traded region championships with SHS for three consecutive seasons at the turn of the last decade.
The Devils lose relatively little in total personnel from last year’s squad, but still have some big holes to fill.
Always a run-first team, Statesboro will have to fill the shoes of running backs Jaylin Roberson and Davardrian Lipsey.
Also departed is Corey McCullough, who anchored the linebacker corps and also served as a stellar blocker and short-yardage back on offense.
If Statesboro is to continue its track record of improvement, it will stem from both lines.
The Devils were forced to play with inexperienced and – at times – undersized linemen over the last few seasons. But a more veteran crew this season that has taken to Kaiser’s emphasis on growing in the weight room should now provide the Devils with a formidable presence up front whether attacking an opposing quarterback or paving a clean path for their own runners.
Statesboro is slated to kick off the season against former region rival Wayne County in the Erk Russell Classic at Georgia Southern’s Paulson Stadium.
The Devils will also take on Swainsboro, Houston County and Jenkins before spending all of October and November in their region slate.
The Pack
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Buford Wolves are a traditional football powerhouse in Georgia.
Last season they won the 5A state championship 17 – 14 against Warner Robins, another great program. The win gave No. 5 Buford (14-1) their 12th state championship and first since 2014.
Buford became the first team in GHSA history to win a state football championship in five different classifications. Buford has won titles at Class A, AA, AAA, AAAA and AAAAA. The Wolves move up to AAAAAA next season.
2019 was the first season for head coach Bryant Appling. He gained a lot of experience and he should be a better coach going into his second season.
This 2020 team is not as talented as teams of the past, but they have some good players. I expect them to be a good team and play well together.
Their best player is senior running back Gabe Ervin. The 6-foot, 205-pound Erwin is ranked as a three-star recruit and the No. 66 rising senior in Georgia.
He had offers from close to 20 Power Five programs. He committed to Nebraska. Last season he rushed for 1,210 and 13 touchdowns, while splitting time in the backfield.
Senior safety Amari Wansley is the second-best player on the team. He’s also a three-star recruit with offers from Arizona State, Iowa, Indiana, Maryland and Georgia State.
Linebacker Tommy Beuglas has committed to Furman. The 6-foot-1, 220-pound linebacker was a second-team, all-county selection by the Touchdown Club of Gwinnett. He made 102 tackles in 2019.
Defensive back Ace Sanders committed to Georgia Southern and guard Malone VanGorder committed to Bowling Green. VanGorder started 28 straight games on the Wolves’ offensive line the past two seasons. The 6-foot-2, 255-pounder’s father is longtime college coach Brian VanGorder, now Bowling Green’s defensive coordinator.
Quarterbacks Ashton Daniels and Jarvis Evans also return for the 2020 season. They both played last season and helped lead the team to the championship.
The season opens at home against Wren (South Carolina). The Hurricanes won the AAAA state championship in South Carolina in 2019, so they are pretty good.
Week 2 is against Clarke Central. The Gladiators were the only team that beat Buford last year. They were 9-4 so they are a pretty good team. The Wolves want to avenge that loss and I believe they will.
Lithonia comes to town after that. The Bulldogs won 6 games last season and got in the playoffs. They still won’t be a match for Buford.
The Wolves face another team from South Carolina, Ridge View. The Blazers lost the AAAA state championship game to Wren in 2019.
Central Gwinnett made the playoffs last season, but they only won 3 games. The Black Knights are the Week 5 opponent and they will get disposed of quickly.
Buford finally has their first road game to start October against Habersham Central. The Raiders are coming off of a 3-7 season and they are outmatched in every way.
After a much-needed bye week the Wolves are on the road against another Gwinnett county opponent, Shiloh. The Generals won 7 games and made the playoffs in 2019. Buford will still win easily.
The Wolves have their third consecutive road game at Lanier. The Longhorns are coming off of a 10-2 season and they are a tough opponent.
The day before Halloween Buford returns home to face Winder-Barrow. This is a blowout victory.
The season finale is against Dacula. The Falcons were 13-1 last year. This will be hard fought game.
I think Buford will do well in their first 6A season and make the playoffs.
Plundering Pirates
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The 2020 Brunswick High Pirates on paper have a chance to be a pretty good football team this fall.
Sean Pender enters his 4th season as head coach of the Pirates and the Pirate faithful are excited about this upcoming football season.
The Pirates have some solid returning talent coming back in 2020 from a 6-6 season in 2019 that saw Brunswick win their first playoff game since 2010 before falling to eventual State Champion Harrison in the second round of the playoffs.
The BHS offense will be led by the two headed monster at running back Chukobe Hill and Khamori Simmons. This running back group for the Pirates refers to themselves as the “Wolfpack” and will be the best RB group in the region. Hill and Simmons combined for 1,600 rushing yards as sophomores in 2019 with Hill rushing for 1,058.
The offensive line has two 300-pound athletes that will open holes in senior Caleb Cook and Kanaya Charlton. Both athletes are generating a lot of recruiting buzz. Cook is impressive in the weight room and can squat over 500 lbs.
Xavier Bean will lead a deep group of wide receivers and KJ Lee will be back for his senior season at QB.
Lee is the wild card for BHS. Lee has put in the work, trimmed down and looks good for the 2020 season. Lee led BHS to a huge comeback win at New Hampstead last year that saved the 2019 season.
On defense the Pirates have size and athletic ability on the defensive line with players like Kayshawn Thomas.
Camron Crump is a huge producer at linebacker returns for his senior season.
Amarion Whitfield moves to corner from WR this fall and looks good so far.
Devonte Gadson and Derrick Smith both had solid 2019 seasons in the secondary.
Breakout player this season will be AJ Wilson. Wilson has bulked up to 225 pounds this offseason and is ready to be an all-star candidate at LB for BHS.
Schedule and Predictions: * Region Game
8/21: @ Windsor Forest (Savannah, GA): Pirates go on the road and unleash the Wolfpack on the Knights. Pirates 34-7 go to 1-0
8/28: McIntosh County Academy (Darien, GA): The Bucs come to Glynn County Stadium and fight hard, but don’t have the depth to beat BHS. Pirates win 35-14 to go to 2-0
9/4: Beach (Savannah, GA): BHS goes to 3-0 with a 38-8 win over Beach.
9/10: @ New Hampstead (Savannah, GA): New Hampstead will have athletes. BHS and The Phoenix played a classic in 2019, but BHS has all of their playmakers returning on offense in 2020. BHS wins 40-18 to go to 4-0
9/25: Glynn Academy *: First region game is the City Championship against the Terrors.
BHS is the home team and has lost 6 straight in the series. Glynn won in 2019 with a walk off field goal, 24-21.
The teams look even on paper, but until BHS has a lead on a scoreboard that reads 0:00 then Glynn is the pick here. GA wins 25-22. Pirates drop to 4-1 and 0-1.
10/2: @ South Effingham (Guyton, GA)*: The Mustangs move back up to 6A after a playoff berth in 2019. Pirates go to the Corral and win 34-17 to go 5-1 and 1-1.
10/9: Statesboro (Statesboro, GA)*: The Blue Devils are also back in 6A. Statesboro made the playoffs in 2019 and have been a massive rebuild for the last few seasons. Pirates win at home 28-20 to go to 6-1 and 2-1.
10/16: @ Richmond Hill (Richmond Hill, GA)*: The Wildcats, with 7A numbers, stayed in 6A after getting a waiver from the GHSA.
The Wildcats should be the region favorites and BHS has lost two straight to them. Make it 3. Richmond Hill wins 24-20. BHS drops to 6-2 and 2-2.
10/30: @ Bradwell Institute (Hinesville, GA)*: Interesting fact is BHS has lost the last two times they have played the Tigers in Hinesville. That streak won’t reach three. BHS wins 35-13. Pirates go to 7-2 and 3-2 in region play.
11/6: Effingham County (Springfield, GA)*: Effingham County is in rebuild mode. Pirates win 40-17 to finish the regular season at 8-2 and 4-2 in the region.
BHS will be a solid playoff team in 2020.
Setting Sail
By: Jason Bishop
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
High football fast approaches and many hope we will not lose the season to CoVid-19.
One person in particular that hopes the 2020 season will kick off is the head coach of the McIntosh County Academy Buccaneers, Bradley Warren.
The Bucs appear to have found their long-term answer at the head coaching position of the football team.
Warren took over the program last season and got the Bucs into the playoffs; an accomplishment very few expected from MCA in 2019.
The Bucs fell to region foe, Emanuel County Institute 28-23 in the first round of the GHSA A Playoffs.
MCA returns in 2020 with a team that will be battled tested. The Bucs were considered to be young in 2019 and were in every game, even against teams that most thought would beat MCA handily.
The region also changes for the Buccaneers and will see new and old enemies in region 3-A. The Bucs will be joined by Metter, Bryan County, Claxton, ECI, Jenkins County, Portal and Screven County. This is a very winnable region and the Bucs may be the best team in the region.
In my opinion, region 3-A will be come down to ECI and MCA. The winner of that game may very well end up winning the region.
This is what MCA’s season looks like for 2020.
MCA @ Brunswick High-August 28: The Bucs will make the short trip over to Glynn County Stadium to take on the 6A Brunswick High Pirates. MCA will look good early, but BHS has too many athletes and spoils the season opener.
Windsor Forest @ MCA-September 4: The Bucs will welcome the Windsor Forest Knights to The Ship in Darien and show everyone how good they are. Look for MCA to win handily here.
MCA @ Charlton-September 11: This is a game in which 2 programs are heading in opposite directions. Charlton County, a perennial power, finds itself in a bit of a rebuild, while MCA will be very good. The Bucs will win this game, but nothing ever comes easy down in The Swamp.
MCA @ Bryan County-September 18: The Bucs will head up to Pembroke a 2-1 football team and the momentum will continue against Bryan County. MCA gets to 3-1 on the season and gets an important region win over the Redskins.
Claxton @ MCA-September 25: This is the beginning a tough and important three game stretch for the Bucs. MCA welcomes Claxton to the ship and will earn a hard-fought win at home to stay undefeated in the region and go 4-1 on the season.
MCA @ ECI-October 2: This game will likely determine the winner of the region. I think MCA has a more talented team than ECI, but with the Bulldogs will be at home and this will be the sixth straight game for the Bucs. I am not sure they will come out on top here.
Plus, ECI’s schedule is brutal. Especially, the first half. Thus, ECI will almost have to get this game. I really think this contest could go either way.
Metter @ MCA-October 16: The Buccaneers get a much-deserved off week before the Metter Tigers pay a visit to The Ship. Metter can score and score quickly. This will be a great test for the MCA defense.
The Bucs defense will be up to that test and hold off the Tigers in a high scoring affair.
MCA @ Screven County-October 23: Another region road game for MCA. The Bucs will be flying high off the Metter win and will ride that momentum to another victory. 6-2 for MCA.
Portal @ MCA-October 30: Portal pays a Halloween visit to Darien. There won’t be much tricking done by the Portal Panthers in this game. Instead the Buccaneers will be treating themselves to a 7-2 record.
Jenkins County @ MCA-November 6: Seeding will be on the line as MCA will be making a back to back trip to the playoffs. The Bucs will finish 8-2 on the season and will be a force to be contended with in the GHSA A Playoffs.
Names you will need to know if you are an MCA fan: Senior RB Trenton Johnson, Senior QB Dalton McClellan and Junior QB Austin Crosby. Both QB’s will see time.
Don’t be surprised if you see the MCA Buccaneers playing on TV in December.
Job Well Done
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Glynn County Athletic Director Steve Waters is a friend of mine. I’m honored to say that.
In the world we live in today friends matter when you are dealing with adversity.
My friend Steve Waters is dealing with the most gut wrenching grief you can have as an adult and that is the loss of a child.
Family and friends will gather this week to honor his son Bennett, who is now suffering no more.
Steve Waters will go down as one the best athletic directors in Glynn County history.
He is invested in this community and really loves his job and the results show it.
When you grow up in Glynn County and attend public schools you are either going to graduate from Brunswick High, or Glynn Academy. I graduated from Brunswick High and Steve graduated from Glynn Academy. Like I said you have to attend one or the other. The county is split right down the middle you either bleed Blue and Gold or Red and White. You come to expect that and that is how great rivalries are generated.
When Steve took over the AD position, almost a decade ago, the entire county was in need of huge facility upgrades. Steve had a vision to make Glynn County second to none in the area of facilities, and the first place this Glynn Academy graduate started was at Brunswick High School.
Yes, you read that correctly Brunswick High School. Let’s take a look at the BHS athletic facilities we love today.
- Bud Couch Field: A state of the art high school baseball stadium built on the site of the old BHS campus facing Habersham Street where this old Pirate attended classes back in the day. Covered stadium seats, press box, batting cages, concession stands, is one of the two best high school baseball stadiums in all of Georgia with the other being on the south end of town called Adam Wainwright Stadium for Glynn Academy also constructed under the watchful eye of Steve Waters.
- The Brunswick High Gymnasium affectionately known as Brunswick Square Garden: The finest arena for high school basketball in this part of the state. This happened under the watch of Steve Waters. There is also a 2015 State Championship banner on full display there that happened under the watch of Steve Waters.
- Brand new million dollar track at BHS: Athletes and the local community enjoy on Altama Avenue
- State of the art girls softball stadium: On the campus of BHS that is so nice the local college uses it on occasion.
- Brand new field house for the Brunswick High football program: Has two brand new locker rooms, a multipurpose room, kitchen, and new coach’s offices.
Most of these things above were done before facility upgrades at Glynn Academy were done. Glynn has a new baseball field, girls’ softball field, new multipurpose football facility all under the Waters watch. At the middle school level, new baseball fields at all middle schools and other great things.
The crown jewel of facilities in Glynn County is Glynn County Stadium.
There upgrades done there like new Jumbo Tron scoreboard, parking lots, and the end zone addition of new locker room, stadium overlook, and private boxes, athletic department offices.
The great thing is great things are still on the drawing board for upgrades all around the county. Those are the things we can see.
The things we can’t see is the willingness to do what is needed to promote Glynn County Athletics on a broader scale across the state.
The coaching searches are done professionally and Glynn County now attracts and keeps the best coaches in their profession in all sports.
As the Waters family deals with loss I wanted to put into writing how much I personally, and a grateful community appreciates a job well done by our Athletic Director Steve Waters.
Our community is there for you Steve and from a Pirate graduate to a Red Terror graduate, I appreciate you my man.
Over the past decade nobody has done more for BHS Athletics on a grand scale than Steve Waters.
He not only bleeds red and white, but he also bleeds blue and gold and has earned the right to be called a Pirate, and most importantly a true friend.
Thanks Steve Waters for a job well done from a grateful community.
