High School Football
Turning The Ship Around
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Let me own up to something, I knew going into the 2018 football season for the Brunswick High Pirates this team was going to struggle.
I knew this team was going to struggle back during spring practice when I went out to watch the team before I wrote the Pirate Spring Preview for the Georgia Sports Edition.
Those who know me well know that I bleed Blue and Gold. I played on the first two football teams John Willis put on the field at Brunswick High School. I am currently the color analyst for the Pirate Radio Broadcast team for the past 12 years, past president of the booster club, and current vice-president of the Brunswick Touchdown Club.
I have been blessed to work closely with former head coaches Maurice Freeman, whom I can out fish any day of the week, Victor Floyd, who was 5-2 against Glynn, Larry Harold, and current head coach Sean Pender, who took me scalloping for the first time this past summer.
My fiancé, Sandra, knows if something were to happen to me that my football coach John Willis is to be seated with my family at my funeral and if he wants to speak then the podium is his. With that being said here are the reasons I knew this team would struggle is 2018:
1)Lack of game experience at key positions.
In 2017 BHS had 15 different players start a game on the defensive side of the ball and when the clock hit zero in that heartbreaking loss to Northside Warner Robins to end a bounce back 7-3 playoff season 13 of those players graduated.
I was positive publicly about the chances of the 2018 Pirates, but I told my close friends in private that this team was going to struggle on defense.
While this team has struggled on defense this season, especially against the run, looking ahead to 2019 the defense will have 8-10 players back that will have started a varsity game on that side of the ball. Those players will bulk up in the offseason strength and conditioning program.
2)Small senior class. The program lost 32 seniors after the 2017 season, many of which were solid contributors. This senior class only has 5-6 players that are solid contributors overall.
BHS has started a freshman at RB, DB, and OL at various times this season. This program will bounce back fine in 2019 with as many as 14-15 starters returning next season. The current 9th and 10th grade classes are stocked with good athletes.
3)Skill position players on offense had to develop on the fly. BHS lost a record setting QB and all starting WR’s, who set some single season records in year one of Sean Pender’s air raid offense.
BHS has good, young talent on offense coming back in 2019. In fact, other than Jaylen Trimmings, the Pirates return everyone in the skill areas in 2019.
Brunswick’s best skill players are freshman and sophomores this season. The biggest development area for young players is between their 10th and 11th grade seasons in high school.
BHS currently sits at 3-6 on the season with a trip to Bradwell this Friday night to close out the regular season.
If Brunswick can win and have Bradwell lose to Glynn and have Richmond Hill lose to Effingham in Springfield then the Pirates get in the playoffs in a down year.
If Effingham loses to Glynn and Richmond Hill, and Bradwell loses to BHS, and Glynn then a tie-breaker scenario kicks in that does not favor BHS.
I saw a disturbing social media post from a guy who does not support the program with his time or money complaining about the defensive coaches over the weekend. That is fine I guess, but it motivated me to write this story because I know the Pirates have quality coaches and players that will turn this around and be contender for a region title in 2019.
Keep in mind, next season with 15 starters will return, BHS plays only one region game away from Glynn County stadium. That game is at Richmond Hill, a place that BHS has never lost. The Pirates also has Coffee and Bartram Trail coming to Glynn County Stadium for non-region games.
Be patient Pirate Fans. The future is bright with this program, regardless of what pot-stirrers say on social media.
Packing Another State Title?
By: Kenneth Harrison Jr.
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The high school football regular season is almost over. The best team in the state of Georgia’s highest classification (7A) is Colquitt County. The Packers are 8-0 and coming off a 38-9 win over Camden County.
It does not look like they will slow down any time soon. I’m going to look at the ranked teams from Gwinnett County and see if any of them have a chance to win the championship.
Over the past 21 years, twelve of the state champions of Georgia’s highest classification have been from Gwinnett County.
The highest ranked team is #3 Grayson (6-2). The Rams were the top ranked team in the preseason and ranked nationally. Despite all of that promise, the team had a mutiny and tried to get head coach Christian Hunnicutt fired.
A large number of players walked out of practice the week before the season opener. An anonymous parent said practice issues date back to last season, Hunnicutt’s first as Rams head coach, citing multiple ambulance trips for heat related issues and full body cramps, multiple players with broken bones in their hands from excessive hitting in practice and players who are injured being called “soft” and being “isolated.”
The 2 losses were against Begen Catholic (New Jersey) and Colquitt County. Texas A&M recruit Kenyon Jackson (6-foot-6, 200 pounds) is the best player on offense. They also have three high-level seniors on the offensive line — Tennessee commit Wanya Morris, Auburn commit Jakai Clark and Michigan commit Trente Jones.
Outside linebacker, Owen Pappoe is the No. 2 recruit in the state. Defensive end Kevin Harris is the No.9 recruit in the state and an Alabama commit. Corner back Kenyatta Watson II is committed to Texas and a three-star recruit. They also have defensive tackle Tru Thompson who is a Florida State commit. On paper they are hands down the most talented team in Georgia.
#4 Parkview (8-0) has played great this season. They just trounced their archrival Brookwood 31-2. The Panthers were a powerhouse in the late 90’s and early 2000’s. They won four state championships from 1997-2002 including a three-peat in 2000-2002.
Their best player is Malik Washington; he’s the No. 81 player in Georgia. He plays wide receiver and free safety. Parkview lacks the talent of some of the other top teams so I think they will struggle in the playoffs.
No. 7 North Gwinnett (7-2) are the defending state champs and the last team to beat Colquitt County.
The Bulldogs lost two close games to Wekiva (FL) and Walton. Walton is the 2nd ranked team in the state and just lost their first game of the season so they are very good.
North Gwinnett has the talent and experience to win again this season. Running back and Iowa commit is Tyler Goodson is the biggest threat on offense. They beat Duluth 41-0 Friday and clinched their second straight Region 6-AAAAAAA championship.
The last ranked team from the county is No. 9 Archer (6-2). They lost the season opener 21-19 against Milton then reeled off five consecutive wins. Then they were clobbered 41-14 by Grayson.
The Tigers have a lot of talent on defense so it was surprising they could not compete with Grayson. They have a corner and safety committed to Clemson, Andrew Booth and Jalyn Phillips. Defensive end Colby Wooden is an Auburn commit.
Colquitt County will be tough to take down this year but I think they will have a rematch with Grayson in the state championship.
Glynn Academy Wins City Championship
By: Jason Bishop
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Glynn Academy Red Terrors won another city championship Friday night against the Brunswick High Pirates.
The Terrors won 17-12 to take home the trophy for the 5th consecutive year. Red Terror Head Coach Rocky Hidalgo has never lost to Brunswick High, a perfect 5-0. The loss for the Pirates marks the 2nd consecutive graduating class that never beat Glynn.
Glynn marched the first drive of the game down the field and scored a touchdown for a 7-0. That lead would hold through the first half and Glynn went into the locker room up 7-0 at the half.
The Red Terrors added a field goal in the 3rd quarter for a 10-0 lead. Then, in the 4th quarter with five minutes and change left in the game, Glynn added another TD to go up 17-0 and it looked like the Terrors would coast to another city championship.
However, the Pirates did not make that easy on the Terrors. Brunswick finally answered and scored a TD of their own to make the score 17-6. The Pirates went for 2 and did not get it.
Brunswick then recovered an on-side kick and would score another touchdown to make the score 17-12. The Pirates would once again go for 2 and once again be unsuccessful.
With under a minute to go the Pirates attempted another onside kick, but this time the Terrors would recover and run out the clock on Brunswick for the 17-12 win.
The win gives back to back wins for Glynn and takes them to 5-3 on the season and 2-0 in the region.
Richmond Hill ended up beating Bradwell Institute, which now leaves the Red Terrors in first place in the region by themselves. The Red Terrors still have to play Effingham and Bradwell in region to close the season.
If the Terrors win both games they will win their 4th consecutive region and claim a #1 seed heading into the GHSA playoffs.
The first round opponent will likely be Mundy’s Hill for Glynn if they did win the region again.
Pirates Sunk By Glynn
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
In a hard fought contest, the Brunswick High Pirates came up on the short end of 17-12 contest to Glynn Academy.
The loss dropped the Pirates to 3-6 on the season and 0-3 in region play. It was also the fifth straight loss in the series to the Red Terrors.
The intensity and effort were the best of the season for BHS. Anthony Mountain and KJ Lee both played well at QB.
Both teams were on the short end of a lot of penalties throughout the contest that killed many big plays by each team. BHS scored 12 points in the final five minutes of the contest, and GA recovered an onside kick with 54 seconds left to seal the victory.
Pirate Report Card:
Offense: C. This was a gutty effort against a very solid defense. Marlon Taylor is a beast and he took over the game at times for Glynn.
Jaylen Trimmings ran hard all night, and Anthony Mountain ran hard between the tackles on the zone read play.
Xavier Bean had a nice TD catch late in the contest. The offensive line blocked well all game, but key flags stalled a huge drive in the 3rd quarter.
I loved the effort and intensity of the unit against a pretty good high school defense. The passing game was off until late, but run game was solid all night long. A lot of positives from this effort.
Defense: B+. This unit came to play and they played like men. Run defense was very good throughout the game and easily the best effort of the season. Freddy Towns made a big time highlight reel interception and the defense really played the option well all night long.
Glynn hit some plays, but good teams are going to make plays. Solid effort and this entire unit deserves a player of the game award.
Special Teams: B. Kick and punt coverage was solid and BHS recovered an onside kick to set up their last TD. What a difference a week makes. Great effort against athletic return units.
Coaching: B. This team was ready to play and the defensive game plan was outstanding.
Offensively the plan was solid, but penalties are drive killers at times. The coaches coached hard and this team grew up tonight. Good solid effort.
Overall: B. Best effort of the year and despite the loss, strides were made tonight.
Glynn is a good football team and this team went toe to toe with them for 48 minutes. The future of this team is very bright. Losing to your rival stings bad, but this team will look back on this as the turning point and will build from this. It was a tough loss but outstanding intensity.
Next up: Bradwell to close out the regular season.
Troubled Waters
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Brunswick High Pirates traveled to Springfield and got run out of the stadium by Effingham County 45-14.
The Pirates trailed 14-6 at half after surviving three first half turnovers and 10 penalty flags they got boat raced in the third quarter 23-0.
A running clock and a last second TD pass and two-point conversion by the Rebels made the final score of 45-14.
The loss drops the Pirates to 3-5 on the season and 0-2 in region play. The Pirates playoff hopes are on life support after last night’s performance.
Pirate Report Card:
Offense: C. KJ Lee turned the football over on three straight possessions in the first half and was replaced by Anthony Mountain.
Mountain came and provided a spark and led the Pirates on a ten play 80-yard TD drive late in the half by completing an 18-yard TD pass to Kyle Patterson.
Jaylen Trimmings ran hard all night long and the run blocking was good. Pass blocking was average and the receivers had too many drops.
Six holding flags tossed by the same official doomed any chances of momentum as they were timely and killed four nice drives in the ball game.
BHS won the holding call battle with Effingham 6-0 as the Rebels were not flagged for a holding all night long. In the end, BHS could not overcome the turnovers and 14 flags on the night.
Defense: D. This unit kept BHS in the game in the first half but came out flat after halftime. Effingham scored on the first possession of the second half on all running plays and BHS never recovered.
Stopping the run is a huge issue for this defense. Octavius Butler made a few impact plays, but the unit got manhandled in the second half.
Special Teams: F. Special teams were awful in Springfield. A missed extra point, big kickoff return, a big punt return set up a touchdown, a blocked punt for a TD by the Rebels on a one man rush and three two-point conversions converted by Effingham made this easily the worst special teams perform ace of the year.
Coaching: C. The offensive game plan was very good. If it had been executed properly it would have produced a win.
Defensively, BHS can’t stop the run and other than putting 10 in the box I don’t know what you can do. Also, giving up so many two-point conversions on the same look was troubling.
Overall: D. Let’s face it Pirate fans, the Pirates are not very talented on the defensive side of the ball.
Not enough size and intestinal fortitude to stop downhill running football teams. There is not enough consistency on offense at QB and drops by wide receivers kill drives.
The playoffs would be a miracle at this point. Special teams, lack of execution, turnovers, and penalties put a very winnable game out of reach in the third quarter.
Next up is the City Championship game against Glynn Academy.
BHS has lost four straight in the series and Glynn may not throw a pass next week if BHS does not find some answers on defense.
BHS could salvage the season with a big win next week in a series where the unexpected happens a lot.
Statesboro Gets Chomped By Gators
By: Mike Anthony
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
When Statesboro walked off the field after an overtime loss to a top-10 Wayne County squad on Oct. 5, the Blue Devils had reason to be optimistic.
They had gone toe-to-toe with a stellar opponent and a rival that wasn’t going to overlook them.
So, there was plenty of hope that the Devils could make another bid at an upset when they travelled to No. 8 Ware County Friday night.
And then Mother Nature got involved. Thanks to Hurricane Michael blazing a trail through most of Georgia earlier in the week, the Blue Devils were limited to just two days of practice. And while Ware County was also affected, the Gators were on a bye last week, giving them a huge edge in terms of preparing and installing a game plan.
The preparation – as well as a bunch of talent – was evident on Friday night as Ware County built a 21-0 lead before cruising to a 35-13 victory over Statesboro.
As has been the case all season for the 5-2 Gators, freshman quarterback sensation Thomas Castellanos stole the show.
The ninth-grader directed Ware’s attack with effectiveness and efficiency, passing for 68 yards and a touchdown while also leading the rushing attack with 78 yards on the ground.
Much like last week, Statesboro’s veteran and athletic defense was able to at least slow down a dangerous offense. But unlike the Wayne County game, the Blue Devils’ offense couldn’t hold up its end of the bargain.
Statesboro managed just 156 yards and 8 first downs on 50 offensive plays, only once gaining more than 14 yards on a single snap.
Jaylin Roberson continued to be the go-to guy for the Devils, rushing 24 times for 65 yards and a touchdown while also hauling in a 30-yard reception.
But Castellanos had a rushing touchdown and a passing touchdown already to his name before Statesboro found the scoreboard. And when Roberson punched into the end zone in the third quarter to make it a 21-7 game, Castellanos immediately answered by conducting another touchdown drive that he capped himself with a 3-yard plunge.
Statesboro added another touchdown on an 11-yard strike from Drake Horton to Will Yawn with just under eight minutes to play to make it 28-13.
The Devils held on defense and had a chance to keep the comeback alive, but Michael Mincey picked off Horton and went 58 yards to the house with just under five minutes remaining to seal the deal for Ware County.
With the win, Ware officially began its region schedule – which in the five-team Region 2-AAAAA is essentially a sprint to the finish line over the final month of the season.
The Gators will be prohibitive favorites in each of the next two weeks against South Effingham and New Hampstead before what figures to be a de facto region championship game at Wayne County on the final night of the regular season.
Statesboro now shifts into a bye week before playing its final two games. The Devils stand at 2-6 and their losing streak has now reached half a dozen games, but a win in either of their final two games – vs. South Effingham on Oct. 26 and at New Hampstead on Nov. 2 – will likely be enough to send them to the state playoffs for the first time since 2013.
Glynn Tames Wildcats
By: Jason Bishop
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Glynn Academy Red Terrors entered Friday night’s game coming off a bye week.
The bye week may have come at a good time for the Terrors as the team had dropped three consecutive games; Wayne, Ware and Camden.
Glynn kicked off their region schedule Friday night hosting the Richmond Hill Wildcats. Richmond Hill was coming off of a 41-7 blowout win over Brunswick High and was sitting in first place in the region.
The Wildcats had lost their starting running back in week 2 and had struggled scoring points ever since, until the 41-point explosion against the Pirates.
Richmond Hill entered the game at 3-3 and the Red Terrors also entered Friday night’s contest at 3-3.
The Red Terrors had not lost four straight in the Rocky Hidalgo era. Speaking of Coach Hidalgo, the Red Terrors head coach made change at QB. Senior Sam Wagner got the start under center.
The Glynn defense and special teams dominated the first half. A pick six gave the Red Terrors a 7-0 lead. GA would extend the lead on a returned missed field goal for a 14-0 lead. The Terrors would add a second pick six for 21-0 2nd quarter lead.
Glynn would take that lead in the locker room at the half.
The Red Terrors would then go into clock chewing mode, which is something Glynn has always done under Rocky Hidalgo.
The Wildcats would make a long field goal to get point on the board in the 3rd quarter.
That score would be the score heading into the 4th, 21-3.
Glynn QB Sam Wagner would score a late touchdown diving into the end zone from the one-yard line.
The Red Terrors would close out Richmond Hill 28-3.
With the win the Red Terrors improve to 4-3 on the season and take first place in the region at 1-0.
Next week Glynn Academy will play a desperate Brunswick High Pirate team for the City Championship. BHS has lost to both Richmond Hill and Effingham in the region and will be in “must win mode” to make the playoffs.
Shipwrecked
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The BHS Pirates were destroyed by Richmond Hill in the first region game of the season 41-7 at home in front of a sparse crowd at Glynn County Stadium.
The loss dropped the Pirates to 3-4 on the season and 0-1 in region play.
Nothing went right for BHS all night as they were only able to muster a 16 play 80-yard TD drive for the only score of the night on the first play of the second quarter.
Richmond Hill’s offense dominated the Pirate defense all night long which led to a running clock in the 4th quarter of a home region football game.
The Pirates travel to Effingham next Friday to try and regroup against the Rebels from Springfield.
This performance was very disappointing coming off back to back wins against New Hampstead and Monroe.
Pirate Report Card.
Offense: F. Other than one drive the offense didn’t do much on the evening.
QB KJ Lee was ineffective and the offensive line got beat consistently by the Wildcat front 7. Wide Receivers had too many drops. It was just an overall bad effort by BHS on the offensive side.
Defense: F. This was the worst defensive effort I have witnessed watching BHS football in recent memory.
There were penalties, missed tackles, physically whipped up front, couldn’t get off blocks, blown assignments in the secondary, and the list goes on.
F is the lowest grade on the grading scale, but if a Y or Z could be issued it would have been earned in this contest. The effort was lacking and this unit just looked bad.
Special Teams: C. Mitchell Richburg punted all night from inside his own 20-yard line. Translation that’s not good. The punt coverage was good. It may have been the only bright spot of the night.
Coaching: D. The game plan if executed would have been good enough to win, but this one is one the players not the coaches. However, when you get beat 41-7 at home the grade can’t be much higher than this on the coaching scale.
Overall: F. The players mailed it in at the half. That pretty much sums it up. You can’t sugarcoat lack of effort. This team never showed up in this contest. Very disappointing effort by the football team in this contest.
Next up Effingham on the road in what looks like a must win for Brunswick’s playoff hopes.
Frederica Academy Knights Trot To Win
By: Rich Bontrager
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
For the second consecutive week the Frederica Knights enjoyed “running clock” the entire second half of their game and claimed a 48-2 victory of Westfield School.
With the atmosphere extra charged up for Homecoming ceremonies, the Frederica Knights Football squad came extra prepared to make sure the crowd enjoyed a complete celebration.
Frederica would once again receive the coin flip and elect to start on defense.
Westfield’s first possession only lasted four plays before he had to punt to the Knights.
Frederica would respond by scoring the first of 2 first-quarter touchdowns. First running back, Denver Anthony, scored from 22 yards out and a few moments later, Jaylin Simpson (QB) to Josh Meadows (WR) 24-yard pass reception.
William Brock made both of his point-after kicks making it 14-0 after one-quarter of play.
The Knight’s defense would effectively shut down the Hornets offense all night long, while Frederica’s offense worked at sizzling pace and scored almost at will.
By the end of the first half, Frederica controlled all aspects of the game and found themselves up 41-3.
One exciting play was when Jaylin Simpson stepped forward and intercepted Christin Corbett’s pass attempt. Simpson would run it back 56 yards for yet another Frederica touchdown.
In the first half, Simpson connected on a 55-yard TD pass to senior receiver, Jashawn Sheffield.
Coach Brandon Derrick not only celebrated his team’s 5th consecutive win, but he also stood by as his daughter was crowned homecoming Queen for 2018.
“In all, this was a great night for everyone,” Coach Derrick stated after the game.
With a running clock the entire second half, Frederica was once again able to rest many of their starters and allow many underclassmen to gain more real game time experience.
The ability to groom the younger players at this stage of the season only adds to the strength and depth of an already powerhouse Knights team, as the Knights advanced to 5-2 in the season, only three regular season games remain.
Fans and coaches are beginning to look ahead to the much anticipated final game against Bulloch Academy. The Gators suffered their first loss of the season, 29-15, to John Milledge Academy.
The table is being set for an exciting finish to the season, as the March to Mercer heats up.
Next week, the Knights remain at home and welcome, Trinity Christian to the island.
Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. on the Frederica Academy Campus
Frederica Blast Patriots
By: Rich Bontrager
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Frederica Academy Knights kicked off the second half of the season with a bang as they entered region play.
Friday night the Knights traveled to Bellville, GA to play the Pinewood Christian Patriots.
For the first time all season, the Knights would receive the opening kickoff and start on offense.
Jaylin Simpson (Sr) would start at QB for the first time since his injury in the second game of the season.
Denver Anthony (QB) reportedly had a minor injury to his throwing arm and was used primarily as a running back and receiver throughout the game.
With the Knights coming off a bye week, the team was back at full strength with several other injured players back in the line up as well.
Frederica’s offense would go “no-huddle” and uptempo most of the night and frustrated Pinewood to no end.
The Knights would score twice in the first quarter, three times in the second and lead 32-0 at halftime.
Scoring highlights in the first-half included an impressive 33-yard rushing touchdown by Isaiah Jackson (RB), and Denver Anthony running in both a 7 yard and 22 yard TD.
“I think our offense really ran things well most of the night,” said Coach Brandon Derrick. “I was very pleased that we kept our pace all night.”
By half-time, the Patriots had only gained close to 50-yards in total offense, as the Knights defense swarmed to the ball and made it tough for Mic Wasson (Fr, QB) to have any time to set up well in the pocket and throw the ball.
It was a rough Homecoming game for the Patriot fans to watch as the offense fumbled the ball, threw an interception and had no offense until the second half.
The second half was on a running clock and saw many line up changes for the Frederica Knights.
JT Elliot and Thomas Veal both saw action at QB before Simpson was put back in to seal the victory.
With the change in lineup, the Knights defense gave up two TD’s to Pinewood and to two 2-point conversions to avoid a shutout.
The Knights would tack on one more score when Avery Cobb rushed down the near side of the field and scored on a 52-yard rushing play.
The score was made possible by a big surge of the Knight’s offensive line. A line produced big holes and great passing protection all night long.
“The kids played extremely well, and yet we gave two scores that cost us the shutout,” commented Coach Derrick. “Right now, it’s just the small details that we need to focus in on and tighten up on. But overall we are looking great for a big finish.”
The Knights now stand at 4-2 after getting the 39-16 win and spoiling another team’s Homecoming celebration.
Next week, Frederica will celebrate their Homecoming and host Westfield School on Saint Simons Island.
