High School Football
Terrors Trample Harrison
By: Christian Goeckel
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
I’m going to ask everyone to do me a favor. I know, you’re still full from Thanksgiving and tired from Friday Night’s game, but hang with me.
I want everyone to think way back to the beginning of the school year. All the way back to week one, when Josh Anderson went viral for doing the worm from his tackle position (It actually worked). Glynn fell to Benedictine that day 31-8. The Terrors looked like a team that had lost it’s 5-Star Quarterback and Benedictine looked like it’s State Champion self.
Fast forward to Friday night, the day after Thanksgiving. Both of those teams had advanced to the Elite Eight in their respective divisions. One advanced to the Final 4, can you guess which?
Glynn Academy demolished Harrison 31-7, advancing to the Final 4 for the second time in 3 years. Behind one of the top defenses in the state and a devastating option attack, Glynn has an absolutely real chance to bring a title to the Golden Isles.
So why the trip down memory lane? Well, Glynn did not look like a contender in week one, but the old adage is that a season is a “marathon not a sprint”.
The Terrors started the year hurt, young, and starting a ton of guys at new spots. Since that time they’ve gotten stronger, in what Coach Hidalgo calls the greatest in season growth in weight room strength he’s ever seen.
They’ve become much more comfortable at their positions. At this time last year Randon Jernigan was a slot receiver and Caine Crews was in the secondary. Instead, Jernigan led a clean option attack, while Crews led the backfield with 30 carries for 173 yards and 2 touchdowns against Harrison.
The final few weeks of this season, this team has found itself. It may not be as flashy as last year, but it’s better.
You’ll be hard pressed to find a team that can move the ball on this defense consistently. Names like Marlon Taylor, Hunter Hall, and Marvin Dallas would all be 3 or 4 stars in North Georgia, but still put on their hard hats and lay the wood to opponents week in and week out.
Harrison High School was just the latest to run into the buzzsaw that has begun spinning in Brunswick.
Sure, the Hoyas were without the best player in the Country in Justin Fields, but I doubt it would’ve made a huge difference on Friday night.
See, you actually need the football to be successful as a quarterback and Glynn put a stranglehold on the time of possession with drives lasting 15, 7, 10, and 8 plays respectively.
The Hoyas started the 4th quarter with a 3 and Out and didn’t see the ball until their were five minutes left on the game clock. Harrison simply couldn’t get the Terrors off the field.
Harrison also added a new wrinkle in how to attempt to stop Glynn, when they decided to just not cover Glynn’s receivers. Glynn was able to connect on one deep pass, and should’ve had another walk-in touchdown.
If these Terrors are to continue on to the Mercedes Benz Stadium, they must clear one final hurdle and it’s their biggest one to date.
For the first time in the playoffs, Glynn must pack up and hit the road as they head over to Lee County High School for their Final 4 matchup.
The Trojans are a very good football team, sitting at 12-1 on the season. Though their one loss did come against a Valdosta team that Glynn dominated to start the playoffs. To be fair, Lee beat Richmond Hill, but we aren’t going to talk about the Richmond Hill game.
So, the road to the Benz is very simple: beat Lee and you’re there. The Terrors are ready, are you?
Gold Standard For Red Terrors
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Glynn Academy has been educating students in Glynn County since 1788. Glynn Academy has been playing football since 1913, but history is being made currently with this current batch of Red Terror seniors.
This senior class led by Hunter Hall, Randon Jernigan, Andrew Delaney, Tyler Grant, and the rest of this fabulous class has compiled a 40-12 record on the football field. This makes this senior group the most successful senior class in the proud 105 year history of Red Terror football.
This program with four straight elite eight appearances in the second highest classification in the GHSA makes it the gold standard in coastal Georgia for public schools.
It all starts at the top with Head Coach Rocky Hidalgo, who is a master motivator and just doesn’t get caught up in the hype. He coaches up his kids to play fast and with confidence.
Hidalgo’s confidence in his kids reminds me a lot of Steve Spurrier in his Florida days. From day one walking in the door in 2014 at GA the plan has not changed and that is:
Win the City championship, which the Red Terrors have done every year he has been here.
Win the Region Championship, which the Red Terrors have done in 2015-2017.
Win the State Championship, which the program was State runner up in 2015. That goal is still in play for 2017.
Someone asked me recently what is the difference between the local high schools? All three are very talented on the football field and my answer was the following:
Brunswick and Frederica Academy hope to win when they play teams of equal or better talent and Glynn Academy knows and expects to win in the same situation. Guess who is still playing on Thanksgiving?
Glynn plays a very talented Lee County team this Friday on the road, but I can guarantee you this Glynn expects to beat the Trojans.
The Red Terrors have some quality players. Hunter Hall is the most productive linebacker I have ever seen in person roam the football field in Glynn County in my lifetime. The kid is just a great football player and I know he has an offer from West Georgia, and at 6’0 195 for the life of me I just can’t understand why he doesn’t have 40 offers to play college football. This kid is an awesome football player.
Outside of Darius Slay of the Detroit Lions I have never seen a faster or better overall athlete than Randon Jernigan in my lifetime in Glynn County. The kid is a special once in a generation athlete. The 87-yard TD run against Valdosta in the first round is a treat to watch.
I saw the great Valdosta teams of the 1980’s in person as a student at Valdosta State College and my old college friends who still reside in the Valdosta area tell me they have never seen anyone run away from their Cats like Jernigan did on that TD run.
They love their football in Valdosta. In case you live outside of Glynn County, Jernigan signed a baseball scholarship to play for the University of Georgia recently. He will suit up for the Dawgs then will play professional baseball when his time at UGA is complete.
This is a special group of seniors on this Glynn football team. They just keep winning and winning and deep runs in the State playoffs is now part of the culture at Glynn Academy.
I encourage Glynn County to go out and watch this record breaking group this Friday night at Glynn County stadium.
Before the season many pundits said this would be a rebuilding year at GA. I guess rebuilding now is defined as Final Four appearances. I usually wear blue and gold on Friday nights. I’ll be wearing Red and White this Friday.
Go Terrors! Bring home a State Football Championship.
Look Back At Knights’ Crusade
By: Alex Mathis
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Knights season ended in the semi-finals in heartbreaking fashion.
Many are wondering what is next for the Frederica Academy Knights in the 2017-2018 season?
There will be high expectations for the Frederica again next season. At the last Southern Sports Edition Coaches Show, Brandon Derrick quoted Ric Flair, “If you want to be the man you have to beat the man.” Then he decided to add his own ending, “And we are the man!.”
Coach Derrick is fired up already for next season, and he expects to win it all next season.
The Knights will have to replace some talented seniors who finished their final season last week. FA will lose 3 offensive linemen, 1 wide receiver, 1 fullback/tightend, 1 defensive lineman, and 2 outside linebackers.
Each of these seniors played a vital role in Frederica’s success this last season. With that being said, the Knights will return some very talented players and return 2 who missed the entire season due to injury.
The Knights’ offense will be just as explosive, if not more, than last season.
Rising seniors Jashawn Sheffield, Isaiah Jackson, and Jaylin Simpson hope to put up more numbers than they did this past season.
Jaylin Simpson was able to rush for over 800 yards and threw for over 800 and Isaiah Jackson rushed for over 600.
These two put up these astonishing numbers while missing 2 games due to the hurricane evacuations.
Jashawn Sheffield will also be ready to put up more numbers than he did last year. He missed 4 games this season due to injury and the hurricane.
He was able to lead the team and catches and receiving yards. Avery Cobb also hopes to make an impact in the Knights offense. Frederica used the tight end position a lot this year.
Trace Dorminy will return for his senior season and hope to make a difference catching and blocking from the tight end position.
The offensive line was led by rising senior senior Michael Tindle. Tindle dominated the entire season. He will have help front from rising senior Mason Neubauer and junior standout Josh Elliot.
FA will also have Gaven Williams and Patrick Brunson back in the fold.
The quarterback position will have several different packages. Opposing coaches will have their hands full when it comes to game planning against the Knights offense.
Having Patrick Brunson on the field will make the Knights offense better. Patrick is explosive and a threat to score at anytime.
Frederica’s defense will look to start where they left off this season. Everything seemed to be clicking for Ben Burkett’s defense at the end of the season.
Led by Harry Veal, the Knights defense will have a pretty good unit next year. Veal and Deke Jernigan will lead the Knights linebacker group.
FA will have the most talented linebacker group in GISA.
Upfront, Cameron Gardner and Cole Hinson will look to dominate in their senior seasons.
The Knights’ secondary hopes to have a major spark with the return rising senior safety, Patrick Brunson.
Brunson is one of the most talented safeties in South Georgia.
Jaylin Simpson, Jashawn Sheffield, JT Elliott, Isaiah Jackson, and Avery Cobb hope to hinder opposing offenses from beating the Knights through the air.
The Knights have one goal next year, and that is a state championship. FA will have a challenging schedule once again, but Coach Derrick believes his team can handle it and be successful.
This time next year, Brandon Derrick and his Knights expect to be in Mercer hoisting the GISA State Championship Trophy. They expect to be “The Man!”
Glynn Survives And Advances
By: Christian Goeckel
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
When the final eight teams in AAAAA football take the field next week, the day after Thanksgiving, the Glynn Academy Red Terrors will be among them.
The Terrors knocked off Heritage 34-26 in a game that shouldn’t have been that close.
Glynn came into this one knowing that Heritage liked to sling the ball around and the Patriots didn’t disappoint.
Quarterback Caleb Pruitt entered the playoffs with over 3,500 yards through the air for the season and did his best to carve up Glynn in this one.
Par for the course, Pruitt completed about 50% of his passes, but a couple of breakdowns on defense cost Glynn on some big plays.
After pinning the Patriots on the 1, Glynn was burned on a 99-yard touchdown when Pruitt connected with senior wideout Jordan Young on a post. Young broke the tackle of Marvin Dallas and romped down the field for the score.
Later in the game, Pruitt was able to connect with a wide open Devron Harper who hauled the touchdown in Odell Beckham Jr. style (Fitting being that both Harper and Beckham Jr wear number 13).
Besides those two huge plays, the defense only gave up one true scoring drive. The Terrors secondary did a great job of sticking with their men in man coverage and the coaching staff made a great adjustment in the second half going to Cover 2.
The defense was able to get home a few times, including a strip sack. It was a very solid performance by the unit that this team feeds on for its’ energy.
The other touchdown for Heritage came after a fumbled snap was recovered by the Patriots in the endzone.
Speaking of bad snaps, this has become a consistent theme for the Red Terrors. Two bad snaps got past Jernigan, one for a touchdown and the other Jernigan was able to corral, but it knocked Glynn back 15 yards.
Glynn flirted with disaster a few times in this one, including a muffed punt that Caine Crews was able to recover and a Glynn Player inexplicably picking up an onside kick surrounded by ten Patriots after it had only traveled a single yard. There was definitely some head scratching going on down on the sideline.
Offensively, Glynn completely overpowered Heritage in this one. The Patriots simply had no answer for the triple option.
Whenever they did try to leverage defenders on the outside, Jernigan and Crews gashed them up the gut. Both Grant brothers were able to consistently find the corner as it seems like Glynn’s three headed monster at running back is finally back to 100%.
A lot of mistakes, but more good plays proved enough for Glynn to get a win in this one. That won’t be the case as Glynn advances in these playoffs. This is the Terrors fourth straight trip to the elite 8 and they get this one a home.
Glynn will host Harrison (Kennesaw) High School next Friday night at Glynn County Stadium. If that school sounds familiar to some of you Dawgs fans, that’s the school of UGA commit and number 1 prospect in the country Justin Fields.
Fields has been out the past few weeks after a nasty break to the index finger on his throwing hand, but the rumbles have started to hint at a return this coming Friday.
Whichever way it falls and whoever plays, this Glynn team holds their fate in their hands. If Glynn can put together an offensive performance like they have the past three weeks and eliminate the mistakes, they’ll be a very tough team to beat.
Expect an absolute war in Glynn County Stadium a week from now. Can’t wait.
BHS 2018 Season Recap
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Year one of the Sean Pender era at Brunswick High is in the books, and it marks a turnaround in a program that has been down for the last two football seasons.
BHS finished the season with a heartbreaking 24-21 loss to Northside Warner Robins, but the 7-3 final record almost matches the combined 8 wins in the previous two football seasons.
Pender who took over in February got Brunswick back in the state playoffs for the first time since 2014.
Season Grades:Offense: B+. This unit did a complete 360 in 2017. Here is the proof.
In region games the Pirates averaged 45. 5 points per game compared to 20.5 points per game in 2016.
The region record improved to 3-1 instead of 1-3 and missing the playoffs.
Pender is a QB guru and Jamarius Stevens had a record breaking year in offensive production with over 3000 yards in total offense and accounted for 38 TD’s.
Alonzo Brown and DJ Whitfield had all region years at WR. Brown, who was not used at all in 2016, set a school record for single season receiving yards, and Whitfield accumulated almost as much finishing the season with third most receiving yards in a single season in Pirate history.
The offensive line was the backbone of the football team led by seniors Ty Hinson and John Cano. Shaq Robinson had a great year at RB.
This unit scored over 40 points in seven out of ten games, 50 points twice, and 60 points twice in 2017.
Defense: B-. This unit was undersized up front but battled hard all season and held Northside to 213 total yards in the playoffs.
Kam Futch was the leader and captain of this unit and displayed those qualities in 2017.
Jaylen Jackson was the best all-around player in the region playing both ways and Jagaryon Marcus and Tevin Small were the unsung heroes of the defensive unit doing whatever they were asked to do on defense.
Special Teams: B. Dalton Thrift developed into a good kicker for BHS. Jaylen Jackson was dangerous in the return game, and Jagaryon Marcus led special teams in tackles. Huge turnaround for this unit in 2017.
Coaching: A. Pender turned this thing in one year and the three losses were to teams that are in the final 16 of the 6A playoffs currently. This team could easily have been 9-1 right and had played Tucker in the second round.
Overall: B+. The 7-3 record in the first year with a new head coach is the second best in the 50 year football history. Only the 2008 Pirates with NFL players Darius Slay and Justin Coleman finished with a better mark of 9-3 in Victor Floyd’s first season.
In conclusion, this sportswriter eats, drinks, and sleeps BHS football and I want to offer a sincere thank you to this senior class and to Coach Sean Pender and his staff.
Seniors, you turned this thing around in one season and you leave BHS as Co-Region Champions. This 2017 football team will always have a special place in my heart due to the fact that you kept working and fighting when most counted you out.
Ty Hinson, John Cano, Kam Futch, Jamarius Stevens, Ben McCloud, Shaq Robinson, Jaylen Jackson, Alonzo Brown, Tevin Small, Sean Ward, and the rest of this class thank you from a grateful Pirate nation for the hard work and dedication. You leave this football program on solid ground for the future and you leave the program better than you inherited it. You will be missed.
Sean Pender thank you for taking this job. You will lead BHS to great things as a football program.
The 2017 Pirates will be looked back on as the team that got BHS back on track.
Pirate Pride is a way of life and this football team showed that in 2017.
Northside Sink Pirates
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Brunswick High Pirates 2017 football season came to a heartbreaking end last night a 24-21 loss to Northside Warner Robins.
The Pirates drove 67 yards in 2 minutes and had their heart broken on the north end zone goal line with 16 seconds left as BHS threw an interception to end Sean Pender’s first season at BHS with a 7-3 record.
Northside will move on and play Tucker in the second round.
Pirate Report Card
Offense: B. It is playoff football against a traditional football power in the state of Georgia, and this group took it to Northside most of the night.
Passing game was very good and Pender said all week that BHS was going to have to throw it all night against the Northside defense who was very good against the run.
Offensive line was awesome all night in pass protection.
Shaq Robinson had a rushing and receiving TD. DJ Whitfield had his best game as a Pirate with 12 catches for 165 yards.
We come now to Jamarius Stevens, who had a great playoff game as he passed for 304 yards and a score. He rushed for 105 and a score. I will miss this kid and he will go down as one of my favorite Pirate QB’s of all time.
Pender told me on Friday night that if BHS scored 28 points they would move on to Tucker and said red zone offense would be the key. He was correct as BHS only got points on three out of six trips into the red zone.
A fumble on the first series that setup the short field for the Eagles first score and the season ending pick kept this grade from being an A.
Great playoff effort by the BHS offense.
Defense: B. This group played its guts out against a running football team. The Northside veer got some yards and the one pass Northside completed all night long was for a TD, but this unit flew around and made some plays.
Tevin Small played a great game at LB. Kam Futch, the captain of this defense, played his heart out.
BHS stopped the fullback in the veer all night long and contained the QB for the most part. The pitch guy made a few runs but the defense put up a very solid football effort against a brand name in Georgia High School football.
Very proud of the effort of this group.
Special Teams: C-. You can’t give up an 85 kickoff return for a TD in a playoff game against a team like Northside where points are at a premium.
BHS did some good things with Jaylen Jackson on punt returns, and only punted one time in the contest.
This area was one of the most improved aspects of BHS football in 2017.
Coaching: B+. Solid game plan. Pender showed confidence in his offense by going for it on fourth down from the two on the first drive.
The clock management was solid on the two minute offense at the end of the game. Team played inspired football all night long and great adjustments were made at the half.
Overall: B. BHS went toe to toe with Northside and came up 3 points short.
Nothing to hang your head about in reality. But, the reality is that this loss stings and will hurt for a long time because BHS was a better football team than Northside.
Sometimes in team sports the better team does not win and that is just life and you learn from it.
Frederica Falls
By: Alex Mathis
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
This was a heavyweight title fight. Two of the best teams in GISA went toe to toe the entire 48 minutes and unfortunately the Knights ended up with the short end of the stick.
The Knights saw their season end in the semifinals against the Valwood Valiants by the score of 14-10.
Frederica led the entire game until the final 25 seconds. Afterwards, an emotional Coach Brandon Derrick told his team that he was proud of them.
He was proud of all the work that they have put in since May and up to this point. He was proud of how they fought through adversity and proved so many people wrong.
He told his Knights to remember the feeling of defeat because this is the feeling that will drive this team next year. The Knights get to match up against the Valiants week 1 next year.
Frederica’s offense was outstanding this season. The offensive line helped pave the way to nearly 350 yards a game.
Jaylin Simpson rushed for over 900 yards and Isaiah Jackson rushed for over 650 yards.
The Knights had a lot of success on the ground throughout the season. Frederica was able to have some success in the air as well as Simpson threw for over 800 yards during the season. These stats include missing two games because of Hurricane Irma.
Jashawn Sheffield led the Knights in the receiving category. He had over 500 yards on the year. Rett Thompson and Trace Dorminy also did a great job helping lead the way for rushers.
Frederica’s defense had its ups and downs during the season but seemed to peak at the right time. The Knights greatest outing came in the final game against the Valiants.
The Knights held the Valiants scoreless for 46 minutes. Valwood is a team that normally averages close to 40 points a game.
Frederica’s defense was led by stud linebacker Harry Veal. Veal was as physical as it gets all season long.
Deke Jernigan was also able to make a major impact from the linebacker position. Jernigan and Veal are a duo that will be a force to reckon with next year.
Santana Clark, Trace Dorminy, Jashawn Sheffield, and Rett Thompson also played great at the outside linebacker position during the season.
Cameron Gardner, Tyler Pierce, and Cole Hinson did a great job on the defensive line this season. They all made timely plays during the season.
Frederica’s secondary struggled at times during the season but finished the season well.
The injury to Patrick Brunson really changed the way Coach Burkett’s secondary looked.
Jaylin Simpson had to move to safety and JT Elliott had to move there as well. They were able to make a lot of plays during the season. The cornerback position was played by a lot of players including Avery Cobb, Josh Meadows, Jashawn Sheffield, Jackson Wetzler, and Isaiah Jackson.
The Knights finished their season 7-4(Missed two games due to hurricane). Frederica’s schedule does not get any easier next season.
They start the season off with Valwood and they also have Charlton County and possibly Brantley County on their schedule next year.
Coach Derrick knows how to get the best out of his players and next year will be no different.
The Knights will be hungrier next year. If you are a part of the Frederica family, you surely have a bad taste in your mouth after the way things ended last night.
The Knights lost that game themselves and will use their disappointment to fuel them next season.
Terrors Tame Wildcats
By: Christian Goeckel
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
For the second time in two seasons, Glynn Academy welcomed the defending 6A State Champion to Glynn County Stadium. And for the second year in a row, they systematically dismantled that team.
Behind an unforgiving defensive performance, Glynn took down defending champ Valdosta 27-3.
This was the most complete performance, 1st quarter all the way through the 4th, of the season. At no point did Valdosta even sniff a chance of victory.
Offensively, Glynn attacked Valdosta the exact same way they do every other team; hard, downhill dives, and a triple option to get the ball to the boundaries.
The factor that was different in this game was Randon Jernigan.
Throughout the season, good teams have been able to smother the triple option attack. Not in this game.
Jernigan ran the option game as smoothly and aggressively as he has all year, including breaking an eighty-yard touchdown run on a keeper. It really seems like this portion of the offense is really finding itself at the right time.
A couple of recurring concerns do linger for the offense. Low snaps cost the Terrors yards twice and a fumble gave Valdosta a short field and their only points of the game.
Those kinds of mistakes can hurt you in the regular season, but they’re fatal in the knockout format of the playoffs.
Another concern must be the passing game. Granted, they didn’t need to throw, but when he was asked to Jernigan couldn’t complete the ball. The fact remains though, Jernigan is deadly running the ball. Anything you get past that is a bonus.
Defensively, Glynn pass rushers consistently used Valdosta’s quarterbacks like cheap piñatas. This defense has a ton of team speed, and that was more than obvious in this one.
On Valdosta’s first play from scrimmage the quarterback threw a bomb to a seemingly wide-open receiver only to watch Marvin Dallas cover 10 yards and come close to picking the ball off.
It was going to be that kind of night. Hunter Hall had his best game of the year. The senior inside linebacker didn’t miss a play or a tackle, and sealed the game with an interception.
Valdosta had absolutely no answer for Glynn’s pass rush. Every time a quarterback would drop, someone was hitting him before he could get rid of the ball.
This was absolutely the best performance of the year from the defense. The one time they were challenged (Valdosta received a short field after a fumble by Glynn) the defense pushed Valdosta back and forced the Wildcats to kick a long field goal.
All night, they forced Valdosta to be one dimensional, throwing the football, and then pinned their ears back and got after the quarterback.
This is a unit that this team can lean on moving deeper into the playoffs, and they’re peaking at exactly the right time.
On special teams, the Terrors had a very good night. The ball was kicked out of the endzone on kick offs, Glynn was able to pin Valdosta deep a couple of times on punts and besides one punt, they did a great job of keeping the ball out of Valdosta’s danger men’s hands.
2-2 on field goals was clutch and will be huge moving forward.
Speaking of moving forward, Glynn will next host Heritage High School out of Conyers.
The Patriots enter this match up as the number 3 seed in region 3 6A, and are coming off a big win over Stephenson 20-7.
Heritage enters the contest against Glynn at 7-4 on the year, and will be looking to pull a huge upset.
That means we need you to get out to Glynn County Stadium and support this team who has put its’ collective body and soul on the line and are playing some dang good football.
This team is turning into something special. Don’t miss your chance to see it.
Pirates Blast Osborne
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The playoff bound BHS Pirates scored on every offensive possession and beat a winless Osborne squad 68-14 on senior night at Glynn County Stadium.
With the Effingham win over Richmond Hill last night, the Pirates enter the state playoffs as the number two seed from Region 2 and will host Northside Warner Robins next Saturday night at 7PM at Glynn County Stadium.
The Pirates do capture a share of its first region title since 2009, and make the playoffs for the first time since 2014.
In region 2 the seeding will be Glynn, BHS, Effingham, and Richmond Hill.
Sean Pender won his 100th career game last night and was honored post game by his players and supporters.
Pirate Report Card:
Offense: A+. How could it have been better?
The offense scored 9 TD’s. Jamarius Stevens passed for 6 TD’s and ran for another. 62-0 at the half and a running clock midway through second quarter.
At one point in contest the offense scored 5 TD’s in 8 offensive plays in first half. Total and complete domination.
Alonzo Brown set a single season school record for receiving yards.
The offensive line dominated once again. The BHS offense closed the regular season as the highest scoring offense in their classification at 44.7 points per game.
Defense: A. The ninth graders game up two TD’s late. The starting defense only allowed two first downs all night.
Special Teams: A. Jaylen Jackson had a punt return for a TD and the kick coverage was fantastic all night long.
Coaching: A. Pirates took care of business against an outmatched team. Pender played everyone in a Pirate uniform.
Overall: A. Nice way to close out the regular season and enter the playoffs with a 7-2 record.
Up Next: Northside Warner Robins. Pirates will have to put on their big boy pants when the Eagles roll into town.
The Pirates are in a tough bracket but in the second season you have to beat who they line up in front of you.
Glynn Academy Wins Share Of Region Title
By: Christian Goeckel
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Cancel those charter buses, dust off those red jerseys and tell Southern Soul to load up the concession stands.
We have playoff football in Glynn County Stadium. With a 45-14 win over Bradwell Institute, Glynn clinched a spot in the playoffs and thanks to a 40-26 Effingham win over Richmond Hill, they secured the number 1 seed in the region.
Glynn, Richmond Hill, and Brunswick all entered the week tied at the top of the region. Brunswick had already secured at least a share of the title and faced non-region Osbourne on Friday.
That meant one of four could happen on Friday night:
- Both teams, which were favored, could win, leaving everyone to discuss the brutal three way tie.
- Both teams could lose, giving the region solely to Brunswick.
- Richmond Hill could win, while Glynn falls. That would give Brunswick the 1 seed.
- What actually happened. Glynn took care of business, while Richmond Hill dropped their second region game in a row.
They would never admit thinking about it, but Glynn came into Friday night’s contest fully aware of all those possibilities above… well maybe not 2 and 3, Coach Rock never thinks about losing.
The Terrors have been consistently growing this year and have really started to find their stride. The Richmond Hill game withstanding, this team has been executing in all facets of the game much better than the team we saw fall to Benedictine to start the season.
Caine Crews has been a spark plug on offense for the Terrors. Originally, slated to start the year on defense, Crews has had to slide over to the running back position due to a rash of injuries.
He’s taken to it just like you’d expect a coach’s son to. With a big kickoff return to set up a score on Glynn’s first drive, Crews’ impact was felt from the jump.
Another huge sign for the offense was Nolan Grant coming along. Grant plunged into the endzone from 19 out to extend Glynn’s first half lead to 24-0. If both of the Grants can stay healthy, Glynn will have a formidable and fresh running back arsenal
The offense has really started to gel, putting up over 25 points in 5 out of the last 6 games, but what has carried this team is the defense.
Defensively, this team is good.. Really good. Since the start of the Brunswick game, featuring one of the best offenses in the region, Glynn’s defense has shined.
Big offense after big offense has rolled into town, only to leave with a fraction of the points they are used to scoring.
This is the perfect formula for winning playoff games: Run the ball. Check. Play nasty shutdown defense in the secondary. Check.
Moving to the playoffs, Glynn’s region 2-6A will matchup with 1-6A. That places 1 seed Glynn at home against 4 seed Valdosta.
Don’t let Valdosta’s record or seeding fool you, this is a good team. Much like Glynn, they have found their stride at the right time, finishing up the regular season with a 51-20 drubbing of Houston County.
This will be an absolute battle in Glynn County Stadium on Friday Night, but dang it’s nice to be able to watch the region champs come run out of that red smoke.
