High School Football
Frederica Gallops Past Valwood
By: Rich Bontrager
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The last time Valwood and Frederica met it was game two of the 2018 football season.
The game was a defensive battle and had to go to overtime to be decided. Eventually, Valwood would defeat the Knights 7-6.
However, that was not the case this week, as the Valiants returned to Frederica Academy in the second round of the GISA football playoffs.
Frederica received the opening kickoff, a rare occurrence this season. Several plays later, Frederica would score on a 5-yard TD pass from Jaylin Simpson (QB) to Harry Veal, who lined up as a secondary receiver. With the extra point made, the Knights led 7-0.
The rest of the first quarter settled into a seesaw battle of defensive stops by both teams, as well as many penalties.
Then in the second quarter, the Knights game plan seemed to emerge and they would score another 20 unanswered points. Many of the points came as Frederica’s defense continued to stop Valwood’s offense and force them to punt.
The offense exploded as Jaylin Simpson connected twice with fellow Auburn commit, Jashawn Sheffield, once on a 33-yard pass completion and then another on a 55-yard pass.
Senior RB Isaiah Jackson would add two other short yard TD scores, one for 2 yards and another for 6 yards.
Most of the offensive production was due to the offensive line producing massive holes for the running backs and exceptional blocking for Simpson to find open receivers.
Head Coach Brandon Derrick had said prior to the game, “For the Knight’s to win, we must get up on Valwood early and not let them find their rhythm”. It was evident that Frederica was doing just that in the first half.
As the Knights kicked off to Valwood to start the second half, they were hoping to build on their 33-0 lead and make a historical statement to one of their most heated rivals. Two costly turnovers early in the 3rd quarter gave the Valiants a fresh blast of energy as they scored off a short TD pass making it 33-7.
Valwood would try an onside kick, but Frederica would recover it and had another series of downs on a short playing field. Isaiah Jackson would add his third TD score, as he rushed for 44 yards. That play was highlighted by a great downfield block Patrick Brunson (WR). Jackson would score a total of six times and help lead the way for the decisive 60 – 27 win.
With this win, Frederica advances to the third round of the GISA playoff and will travel to Heritage Hawks in Newman, GA next Friday night.
If the Knights can defeat the Hawks they will play in the Championship game on November, 30th
Glynn Pitch Forked Out Of Playoffs
By: Jason Bishop
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
In a second-round matchup in the GHSA playoffs, two 6A powerhouses squared off. The Glynn Academy Red Terrors and the Valdosta Wildcats went at it for a berth in the Elite Eight on the line.
Valdosta took an early 7-0 lead in the first quarter. The Red Terrors would respond with a touch down of their own to tie the game at 7-7.
The Red Terrors took their only lead on a field goal in the second, 10-7.
Valdosta would then score two touchdowns to take a 21-10 lead into the half.
The Wildcats would then score a third unanswered touch down on their first possession in the 3rd quarter for a 28-10 lead.
Glynn answered on a long, methodical TD drive to cut the lead to 28-17 with 3 minutes left in the 3rd quarter.
Valdosta punched back with another TD to go ahead 35-17, just before the end of the 3rd quarter.
The Red Terrors would not go away, punching home another TD to stay in the game at 35-24.
The Terrors had an opportunity to pull within a TD with around 3 minutes to go with an attempted field goal. That field goal was blocked and for all intents and purposes that would be it for Glynn’s season.
Valdosta took over on offense and milked the clock away for the win.
Glynn Academy finishes their season with an 8-4 record. The four losses for the Terrors all came to powerhouses within the state; Camden, Wayne, Ware and Valdosta.
This is the first time in the Rocky Hidalgo era that the Red Terrors did not at least make the Elite 8.
Valdosta will take on Dacula in the Elite 8 of the playoffs.
All four teams from Glynn Academy’s region lost at the hands of a team from Region 1 in the second round.
The Red Terrors were a young football team in 2018, having lost 19 seniors from 2017. However, Glynn won their 5th consecutive City Championship and 4th consecutive region championship.
The future looks bright for the Red Terrors moving into 2019. Glynn will be in the mix for a state title in 2019.
All Buzz
By: Mike Anthony
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The 1973 season holds a special place in the hearts of Southeast Bulloch fans as it was the second of consecutive state championships for the Yellow Jackets.
But in modern times, the year has become a spectre. While the Jackets walked of the field as the best in Georgia in 1973, that title game also marks the last time SEB won a state playoff contest.
Unfortunately, for Southeast Bulloch, that winless streak has now reached a full 45 years. The Yellow Jackets mounted an impressive 9-1 mark in the regular season and earned a No. 2 seed and a home game to begin the Class AAA playoffs, but Liberty County wrecked the party, managing a slim lead after one half of play and shutting out the Jackets in the second half en route to a 38-14 triumph.
The first half was a seesaw battle as the Jackets threw the first punch.
With leading running back Jamari Daniel hampered by an ankle injury, SEB was still able to drive down the field and C.J. Coney punched in a 3-yard run to give the Jackets an early lead.
Liberty answered with a 3-yard touchdown run of their own as Kris Coleman scored the first of his four touchdowns on his way to 15 carries for 143 yards on the evening.
In what became a running gag, Liberty missed the ensuing extra point and SEB still led. But the Panthers answered with another touchdown on a 26-yard Coleman run and another missed conversion gave Liberty County a 12-7 advantage.
The teams traded scores over the final minutes of the half to send the Panthers into the locker room with an 18-14 lead.
On the first drive of the second half, SEB appeared to stop Liberty, only to have Coleman strike again. The Panthers’ star running back took a short snap on a fake punt and danced through a pair of tackles on his way to a 44-yard touchdown to extend the Liberty lead.
The Jackets couldn’t answer on their next offensive possession and, following a punt, Liberty began to sink the knife into the Jackets.
Liberty County quarterback Dionte Bowens led his offense on a 12-play, 79-yard drive and Bowens capped off the long trek with a 5-yard touchdown plunge.
A last-gasp from the Jackets’ offense took them all the way to the Liberty County 1, but that’s where the Panther defense made its stand. To add insult to injury, the Panthers drove the length of the field to add on their final score of the night and put the game out of reach.
With the win, Liberty County moves on to the second round of the state playoffs for a fourth consecutive season. The Panthers will travel to Peach County next week.
Meanwhile, another year can be added onto the Jackets’ postseason victory drought.
Playoff Terrors
By: Jason Bishop
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The GHSA playoffs kicked off on Friday night.
The Glynn Academy Red Terrors were matched up with the #4 seed from the Augusta Region, the Evan Knights.
Glynn earned home field for at least the first two rounds of the playoffs and hosted Evans at Glynn County Stadium.
Glynn finished up the regular season with a 7-3 mark, region champs and a #1 seed in the playoffs.
Evans came in with a 3-7 record and earned the #4 seed from the Augusta Region.
Both teams got off to slow starts. However, Evans would put a TD on the board midway through the 1st quarter for a 7-0 lead. The touchdown came on 3 plays that covered 95 yards.
They would not score again. The Evans 7-0 lead would through the remainder of the 1st quarter.
The Red Terrors would respond with a touchdown early in the second quarter going 80 yards to tie the game at 7-7. The score coming on a Nolan Grant 6-yard TD run.
The Terrors would take the lead on a 51-yard TD run by Quany Bostick midway through the 2nd quarter, 14-7. Glynn would add another TD from TJ Lewis, scoring on a 1-yard TD run. That would be good for a 21-7 Red Terror lead in the 2nd quarter. Glynn scored on 11 plays for 78 yards. That score would hold to halftime.
The Terrors defense would stop Evan offense on their first drive of the second half to get the ball back. Glynn would march the ball downfield to put the game away, scoring another touchdown for a 28-7 lead.
With about 5 minutes left in the game the Red Terrors would pour it on, running the ball down the throat of Evans for another touchdown for a 35-7 lead. With a minute and change Caden Hutchinson would push the ball into the endzone for another TD. Glynn would now lead 42-7 and that would be the final. The Red Terrors scored the final 42 points of the game.
With the win the Terrors improve their record to 8-3 for 2018.
The Red Terrors will host the Valdosta Wildcats in the second round of the playoffs at Glynn County Stadium. The Wildcats, a first round winner over Lovejoy, 63-21.
Glynn played Valdosta in the preseason scrimmage in which the Wildcats beat the Terrors handily.
The Red Terrors have advanced to at least the Elite 8 in every year Coach Rocky Hidalgo has been at the helm.
The Pirates Next Voyage
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The 2018 season ended for the Brunswick High Pirates before Halloween. No playoffs, and a final won loss record of 3-7.
The key factors for the disappointing season were youth and inexperience, and a defense that could stop opposing teams this fall.
Even the most optimistic Pirates like myself saw back before the season started that the season may be a struggle.
The Pirates opened with Coffee, Bartram Trail (Florida), and Camden in the first month of the season and got off to an expected 1-3 start after beating MCA 49-7 in Darien.
Brunswick then beat New Hampstead and Monroe in back to back weeks to even the slate at 3-3 going into region play. The Pirates hosted Richmond Hill in the region opener and got drilled 41-7. They never recovered from that loss and went on to drop region games to Effingham, Glynn, and Bradwell to finish out the season.
Pirate Season Report Card.
Offense: C-. The Pirates averaged 18.8 points a game in 2018 which was far below the record setting offense of the previous year.
This offense failed to score over 14 points in any region game and averaged right at 12 points a game against region rivals.
Jaylen Trimmings had a fine season running the football, but inconsistency at the QB position doomed the offense.
BHS turned the ball over too many times at key moments in contests to get any momentum in key region games down the stretch. Brunswick High loses only 4 starters on offense in 2019 so look for this unit to get back on track next season.
A lot of young skilled talent returns in 2019 most of which will be 10th and 11th graders next fall. BHS played a lot of youth at key positions in 2018.
Defense: D-. The Pirate defense gave up 36 points on average in region play and other than the city title game against Glynn, gave up over 40 points against to the rest of the region.
That won’t get it done on Altama Avenue. Look for some changes on that side of the ball for 2019. The good news is BHS returns 8-9 starters in 2019. Look for the unit to be much improved. BHS must find some size on the defensive line, but will be fine at LB and DB in 2019.
Special Teams: C. Special teams were about average in 2018. The unit did some good things and some not so good things. Consistent kicks into the end zone, which was a luxury every other team in the region had except BHS, are needed.
Coaching: C. With a 3-7 record you can’t give high marks, but game plans and schemes were solid, but execution was not all season.
BHS has a good coaching staff, but things did not go the programs way in 2018. Sean Pender and the BHS offense will be the most productive in Region 2 next fall, you heard it here first.
BHS will have a new attacking style scheme on defense and this season was just a blip on the radar screen.
Overall: D. Brunswick High went 3-7 and the program has not won more than 7 games in a season since 2010 which is also the last time BHS won a playoff game.
Final Thoughts: Sean Pender is building a football program and this was the season to pile it on BHS because roles will start reversing in 2019.
BHS started a freshman at RB, OL, and DB at various times in 2018. The Pirates also started a sophomore QB for most of the season.
The 2019 Pirates will bring back 15-17 kids that started a varsity football game in 2018.
And don’t think for one minute that this group will forget what the Effingham’s of the world did by throwing TD passes with under a minute left in the game up 38-14.
Effingham, Richmond Hill, and Bradwell coaches all know the young talent on the BHS roster, and they better not shed one tear when payback comes their way next fall.
Statesboro Buries Phoenix
By: Mike Anthony
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
A week ago, there were plenty of nerves at Womack Field as the Statesboro Blue Devils gutted out a win over South Effingham to punch their first ticket to the state playoffs since 2013.
On Friday night, the Devils were able to keep the momentum rolling. Statesboro found itself trailing New Hampstead by a count of 21-7 midway through the second quarter, but rallied to score the final four touchdowns of the contest to claim a 35-21 victory.
Statesboro took an early advantage when leading rusher Jaylen Roberson continued his suburb season with a 21-yard touchdown run.
As the second quarter began, the Phoenix answered with a bang. Deyandre Ruffin found open space for a 65-yard scoring run and Justin Mckithen topped that with a 90-yard touchdown run to put New Hampstead on top.
Things appeared to be heading for disaster when the Phoenix blocked and recovered an SHS punt for a touchdown and a 21-7 lead with just a minute remaining in the half, but the Devils got off the mat.
Statesboro responded with a stellar kick return by Will Yawn, another big run by Roberson and a pitch-and-catch from Drake Horton to Ryan Lindsey to reach the red zone.
Horton completed the textbook two-minute drill by finding Corey Gibson for a 10-yard touchdown strike to cut the Devils’ deficit to 21-14 at halftime.
From there on out, it was all Blue Devils.
Roberson found the end zone again midway through the third quarter and the ensuing extra point tied things up. It was Roberson doing the damage again early in the fourth quarter with a 4-yard run on the first play of the final period putting him in the end zone for the third time on the night.
The big plays that had spurred the Phoenix to their early lead were nowhere to be found in the second half as the SHS defense clamped down. And with 1:54 to play, Devardrion Lipsey plunged in from four yards out to wrap things up.
With the win, the Blue Devils improved to 4-6 on the season. More importantly, the Devils and Phoenix entered Friday’s game with identical 1-2 marks in Region 2-AAAAA competition.
The regular season finale turned into a de facto region playoff for seeding. The big win for Statesboro bumped them into the region’s No. 3 seed while New Hampstead was left with the No. 4 seed and will have to tangle with Region 3-AAAAA champion Starr’s Mill in next week’s first round action.
Statesboro will travel to face Griffin next Friday. Ironically, it was a loss at Griffin in the second round of the 2013 playoffs that marks the last time the Blue Devils made an appearance in a state playoff game.
The Blue Devils’ fourth win of the season equaled the total wins for the program over the last three seasons combined and is the most in a single year since a 9-3 mark in the 2013 playoff season.
The team will be a prohibitive underdog at Griffin next week, but now in the second year of the Jeff Kaiser coaching era and with a handful of junior playmakers who have keyed the improvement, Statesboro could be well on its way to reestablishing itself as a perennial playoff participant.
Knights Claim Another Region Title
By: Rich Bontrager
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
In an epic game between two bitter rivals, the Frederica Knights surprised many fans and sports reporters with a spectacular win against Bulloch Academy, 49-12.
Coming into this Region Championship matchup, the series between these two powerhouses stood at 2-2. In each of those four games, the home team had prevailed. This season, the Knights would arrive in Statesboro, GA and dominate in most all areas of the game.
What made the victory extra unique was that Frederica had 6 players not suited up due to injury and Jashawn Sheffield (SR. WR/Safety) was limited to only offensive plays due to a minor injury from last week’s John Milledge loss.
The Knights won the coin toss and elected to start on defense, as they have done all but one game this season. Coach Brandon Derrick trusted his defense to set the tone of the game and create short field position for his offensive squad. The defense did just that.
The Knights would score 14 unanswered points in the first half. First on a 3-yard rushing TD by Jaylin Simpson (Sr. QB) and then again on a 13-yard run by Isaiah Jackson (Sr. RB). Both extra-point kicks were good by Logan Bauer (Sr. K).
In fact, Bauer would kick a perfect game and go 7 for 7, something he had never done all season.
The Knight’s defensive gave Bulloch’s offense moments of frustration. Several times the Gators carried the ball into the “red zone” only to turn the ball over on downs, or miss a field goal.
The Knight’s defense gave up plenty of rushing yards, but always found a way to shut down Bulloch’s offensive machine. Including a big first half-sack by Will Counts (So., DL).
While the Knights would miss yet another scoring opportunity just before halftime, they scored on the first offensive play of the second half as Denver Anthony (Jr., RB) scored on a 60-yard rushing play.
A few plays later, Harry Veal (Sr., LB) recovered a bad lateral by Don Aarons of the Gators. Moments later, Denver Anthony ran for his second TD (16 yds) in less than 2 minutes of the third quarter play. Those scores put Frederica up 28-0.
The defense continued to set up the offense well as Josh Meadow’s made a big 4th down stop on Bulloch and Will Thompson would sack QB Don Aarons.
In total the Knights scored 21 points in the third quarter, and an additional 14 in the fourth.
One of the of most significant factors in getting such a disproportionate win over such
an intense rival like Bulloch was the “team’s unity”, said Coach Brandon Derrick after the game. “Yes, we made mental mistakes late in the game, but our team played extremely well as a unit, and for one another”, he said.
With the Region Championship title, Frederica will enjoy a bye week before beginning playoff action at home on, Friday, November, 16th.
The Knights will have home field advantage throughout the regional play. Along with home field advantage, Frederica will be able to get the six injured and sick players healed up as the “March to Mercer” officially gets underway.
With this win, the Knights conclude the regular season with a record of 7-3, and 4-0 in region play.
Playoff Terrors
By: Jason Bishop
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Glynn Academy Red Terrors have won their 4th straight Region Championship.
Glynn beat the Bradwell Tigers 42-21.
The Red Terrors took a 7-0 lead on their second possession of the game. Bradwell tied the game up at 7-7 early in the 2nd quarter.
Glynn took charge of the game with two unanswered touchdowns before the half to take a 21-7 advantage into halftime.
Glynn Academy put the game away midway through the 3rd quarter on a 1-yard TD run by TJ Lewis, giving Glynn a 28-7 lead.
The Terrors would pour it on by adding another score late in the 3rd quarter, via a 15-yard TD run by Quany Bostick for a 35-7 lead.
Bradwell would score early in the 4th to make it a 35-14 game. The Red Terrors would respond would score a rushing TD to go up 42-14 mid way through the 4th. The Tigers would score a TD late in the 4th quarter to make the score a little more respectable, 42-21. That would be the final
Glynn Academy picked a great time to play their best of the year, heading into the playoffs.
Bradwell had a chance to win the #1 seed if they could beat Glynn and gotten a favorable scenario in a tie breaker, pending the outcome of the Richmond Hill/Effingham game.
However, with the Terrors win that tie breaker scenario was void and the Red Terrors secured the #1 seed.
The Red Terrors will play Lakeside Evans in the first round of the playoffs. Lakeside Evans won the #4 seed from region 3-6A. That game will be played next week at Glynn County Stadium. With the loss Bradwell falls to the 4th seed.
Glynn Academy finishes the regular season at 7-3. It was a weird regular season for the Red Terrors. It was a season that saw Glynn Academy benefit from a forfeit win by Fort Dorchester, lose three games in a row in the middle of the season and then rebound to win four in row to close the season, all region wins.
Pirates Voyage Over
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Brunswick High’s season came to an end as Kevin Harris and the Bradwell Tigers beat Brunswick High 41-14 in front of a small crowd in Hinesville.
Harris scored 5 TD’s on the night for the Tigers as the Pirate run defense struggled once again with a solid running football team.
The loss ended the Pirates season. The Pirates finished the 2018 season at 3-7.
Bradwell now plays Glynn next Friday in Hinesville with a share of the region title on the line.
The 2018 season ended in disappointing fashion for the Pirates as the defense got shredded by Harris and the Tiger offense as they exposed the Pirates run defense all night long. I’m almost afraid to looked at the final rushing stats for Bradwell, but let’s just say it was a large number.
Pirate Report Card: Offense: C. BHS started Anthony Mountain at QB and the offense came out clicking with a score on the opening drive with a 25-yard TD run.
Mountain went down with a knee injury on an option pitch and the offense struggled for remainder of the first half.
KJ Lee came in and played ok for rest of the game. Jaylen Trimmings capped off his BHS career with a 100-yard performance to go out in style. The offensive line blocked fine but the Pirates got too far behind as Bradwell scored every time they had the football in the first half.
Defense: D-. This unit struggled all night long and all season. The run defense and tackling were poor, and the unit could not get off the field.
Anytime you give up 5 rushing touchdowns to a player that is worthy of an F, but I’m in a generous mood today. BHS needs defensive lineman and the search begins immediately.
Special Teams: C. The Pirates had two fake punts that resulted in first downs that kept drives alive. The kickoffs must improve next season as kicks need to travel close to the end zone.
Coaching: C. Nice game plan on offense and nice calls on the fake punts, but the defense looked helpless at times trying to stop Harris and company. Sean Pender will get things fixed on that side of the ball this off-season, but coaches can’t get out there and tackle and make plays for the players.
Overall: D. This team, while young at spots, had a chance to reach playoffs with a win but could not tackle Mr. Harris and the game got out of hand in the third quarter.
Up Next: Off season program as young talent needs to develop minds and bodies to compete for a region run in 2019.
I’m eager to see who steps up as a leader in the locker room this off-season. Since the 2010 football season the Pirates have only made the playoffs twice in 8 seasons.
This was a rebuilding season and Sean Pender will get this team back on track in 2019.
Playoff Bound
By: Mike Anthony
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
For the first time in five years, the Statesboro Blue Devils will have a spot waiting for them in the GHSA state football playoffs.
Facing a South Effingham squad that eliminated them from postseason contention on the final night of the 2017 regular season, Statesboro ground out an early touchdown and extended its lead with another late score to hang on for a 12-7 victory.
Only five teams compete in Region 2-AAAAA, with four being awarded spots in the state playoffs. That has been the case for the last three seasons, but the Blue Devils ended both 2016 and 2017 in last place and were forced to watch from the sidelines in the postseason.
Heading into Friday night’s game at Womack Field, the stakes were clear. South Effingham was playing its final game of the regular season and had lost its first three region games while Statesboro was 0-2 in region play with another game awaiting next week. A Statesboro win would guarantee a finish ahead of the Mustangs and a playoff berth.
The Blue Devils answered the call as Jaylin Roberson rushed for 218 yards and a pair of touchdowns while the SHS defense held tight throughout the night.
Roberson raced to the left side and turned the corner, stepping through a pair of tackles while tightrope walking the sideline on his way to a 46-yard touchdown to give the Devils an early 6-0 lead following a failed PAT.
Statesboro’s defense stifled South Effingham all night, allowing just 152 total yards. But the biggest defensive stop of the night may have come from the SHS offense.
The Devils drove inside the SEHS red zone late in the second quarter and threatened to extend the lead, only to see Davardrion Lipsey cough up the ball.
The fumble was scooped up by a Mustang defender and SHS linemen weren’t able to keep pace, but Roberson covered both the length and the width of the entire field to make a tackle at the SHS 3 yard line.
A pair of penalties backed the Mustangs farther from the end zone and Michael Dixon stepped in front of a Zach Taylor pass for an interception that maintained the SHS lead into halftime.
While the Devil defense continued to shut down the Mustangs in the second half, the lead remained at a precarious six points well into the final quarter.
Roberson once again rose to the occasion to seal the victory, ripping off a 63-yard run with under five minutes to play and finding the end zone once again three plays later.
South Effingham reached the end zone on its next possession. However, the score came with less than a minute remaining and the ensuing onside kick attempt bounced out of bounds, allowing the Devils to run out the final seconds.
The win guarantees the Devils of at least a fourth place finish in region play, but they could move to third with a win at New Hampstead in next week’s regular season finale.
Depending on their finish, the Devils will head to the South metro-Atlanta area to take on either Riverdale or Starr’s Mill in the first round of the Class AAAAA state playoffs in two weeks.
