High School Football
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.
Knights Gallop Into 2nd Round
By: Alex Mathis
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
One down and 3 to go.
That’s the message Brandon Derrick preached to his team after the game. The Knights were able to defeat Tiftarea Academy, 49-36. Frederica now advances to round two of the GISA state playoffs against Heritage High School.
The Knights were coming off of a difficult loss to Edmund Burke Academy. This loss might have been a blessing in disguise for the Knights. The 21-19 defeat got the Knights attention.
Coach Derrick used this moment as a great coaching moment. His Monday speech after the EBA game sparked a different attitude at practice for the last two weeks. Coach asked for more from his team and the Knights stepped up in practice.
The Knights came out of the locker room fired up and it showed on the field. The Knights defense forced a fumble on Tiftarea’s first possession. Isaiah Jackson was able to score a few plays later.
After a huge run inside the 10 by Spence Massey of Tiftarea, the Knights defense was able to keep them out of the endzone. Frederica’s next score came when Jaylin Simpson connected with Jashawn Sheffield for a 59-yard touchdown.
The Knight defense was able to hold Tiftarea’s offense once again on their next possession. Great plays by Rett Thompson, Santana Clark, Cole Hinson, Cameron Gardner, Deke Jernigan, and Harry Veal helped shut down the run. Isaiah Jackson was able to scamper for a 51-yard touchdown on the Knights next possession.
Tiftarea was able to score on their next possession but the Knights answered on the ensuing kickoff with a return for a touchdown by Isaiah Jackson. Tiftarea was able to tack on one more score before the half. The score at the half was 28-14.
The 3rd and 4th quarter saw a lot of offense from both teams. The Knights finished with 454 yards of offense with 363 of those yards coming from the ground.
The offensive line had an amazing game on Friday. They helped open up holes the entire night. This group hopes to do the same thing next week.
The Knights defense played great. They seem to be in position the entire night. A few missed tackles here and a few missed tackles there made this game way more interesting than it had to be. The Knights hope to make those corrections next week before the second round matchup.
Last year the Knights fell to Deerfield Windsor in the second round.
Before the second round matchup, the Knights faced Edmund Burke Academy and Bethlehem Christian. The Knights won both of those game convincingly and went into the second round matching relatively unchallenged.
This year will be a little different. The loss against Edmund Burke and the tough matchup against Tiftarea should keep the Knights focused going into the second round.
Frederica hopes to build off of this past week’s performance. The Knights have been challenged throughout the season. Next Friday will not be any different. The Heritage Hawks will bring their best game to the island. The Knights have to prepare with this in mind.
Pirates Win Region
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Sean Pender in his first season on Altama Avenue and a senior class that has had three head coaches in four years won a share of the region championship with a 56-34 win at, previously undefeated, Richmond Hill.
It is the first region championship for BHS since 2009. A huge Pirate contingent traveled the 45 minutes north to Richmond Hill and were loud and proud all night long.
The 22-point win will give the Pirates the point differential tiebreaker against Glynn and Richmond Hill for the #1 playoff seed should Richmond Hill beat Effingham as expected next Friday night.
The heroes of the night for BHS were Jagaryon Marcus and Jaylen Jackson. These guys were all over the field all night long.
Pirate Report Card:
Offense: A+. 56 points on the road against a team that was undefeated and flying high.
Everyone and everything on the offensive side was clicking. The entire offensive line team photo should be hanging on the post office wall on the FBI’s 10 most wanted list because of the assault they laid on the Richmond Hill defensive front.
Robinson and McCloud ran like wild men all night long.
Alonzo Brown, DJ Whitfield, and Jaylen Jackson destroyed the Wildcats’ secondary.
And last but not least, Jamarius Stevens, still with the ankle issue, lead his team to a region title and cemented an all-region season at QB for the Pirates.
This unit was lights out.
Defense: B. This unit set the tone with the Marcus scoop and score on the first series to put the Pirates up 7-0.
Richmond Hill scored some points and got a couple of late TD’s but Kam Futch and company clamped down the Wildcats’ run game in second half. The Pirate defense made the Wildcats a one dimensional team.
The BHS defense with Sean Ward and a couple others gut checked its way to winning a tough football game. This unit laid the wood to Richmond Hill offensive players all night long.
Special Teams: B. Solid kick coverage that pinned the Wildcats on its own 1 yard line to start game and no big returns with the athletes on the talented Richmond Hill roster.
The kickoff coverage has been fantastic. DJ Whitfield set up a BHS TD right before the half with a 52 yard kick return.
Coaching: A+. Sean Pender said all week that BHS was going to beat Richmond Hill and that the Wildcats could not stop the Pirates.
The game plan was awesome and executed perfectly on offense.
The culture change is now complete as the 2017 Pirates under Pender win their 7th Region Football title and first since 2009.
Pender has to be the Region Coach of the Year after turning this team into champions after going 8-12 and no playoffs for last two years. The Pirates have a great shot at being a number one seed.
A happy Glynn County AD Steve Waters called me post game and said the Pirates would be receiving a Region Championship Trophy next Friday night on senior night prior to the Osborne game.
Pender for President in 2020. Pirates are relevant again.
Overall: A+. BHS is a football champion again. Enough said there.
Jaylen Jackson is a stud and any accolade you can come up with. That last TD catch and two-point conversion to get BHS the point differential points for region tiebreaker was the stuff of legends. Thank you, Mr. Jackson
Up next: Osborne. The Region Champs come home for an emotional senior night at Glynn County stadium.
The BHS Pirates Region 2-AAAAAA Football Champions. Print me up a size XXL.
Glynn Rebounds Against Camden
By: Christian Goeckel
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
When he gathered his team in front of the student section after Thursday night’s win over Camden, Rocky Hidalgo had a clear message for his troops. This performance was better. Better, but not good enough. “This is what great teams do!” Hidalgo yelled to his team, “They continuously get better!”.
That was not the feeling a week ago when Glynn fell to Richmond Hill in what Hidalgo described as “The worst game I’ve ever been a part of”. Missed defensive assignments, crucial false starts, multiple pass interferences, and nine bad snaps. While separately they are obstacles that can be overcome, combined they proved fatal against Richmond Hill.
It was a shocking sight to see a team that seemed to be on the right track, after three straight wins, fall due to so many self-inflicted mistakes.
So, what do you do? Well if you’re a Glynn Academy player, you go in and get ripped while watching film. You get treatment for any nagging injuries, and then you get ripped some more. After you’re done having your rear end handed to you, you go to practice on Monday and go to work.
The Terrors must’ve taken that formula to heart, as they looked like a completely different team on Thursday night.
The triple option, which is this teams heart and soul, was crisp and devastating. All night it seemed like the Wildcats had Randon Jernigan contained, only to watch him deftly pitch the ball to his option back for a fifteen-yard gain.
The passing game also had one of its best performances of the year, with senior tight end Andrew Delaney frequently finding open pockets in Camden’s secondary for huge gains. This will be crucial for Glynn moving forward.
Defensively, the Terrors held their opponent to 14 points or less for the third straight game. Apart from Cameron McClellan, who’s done for the year, this unit is almost to full strength, and they seem to be gelling at exactly the right time.
They smothered Camden for much of the night, with the Wildcats only big plays on offense coming from a growing star in Jakaree Gadsden.
The Terror’s performance should have been even more dominant as they dropped a couple of easy interceptions.
Special teams were solid for most of the night. Jack Podlesny consistently booted the ball through the endzone on kick-offs.
The only gaff, which led to a short field for Camden, was on punt coverage. A booming Terror punt was muffed by the return man which froze everyone for a split second, just long enough for the return man to recover it and zip down the sideline to Glynn’s 15.
Overall, it was a dominating 35-14 performance from Glynn Academy. Camden never seemed like they had a chance, which is what Glynn aims for.
What’s even more encouraging is that this wasn’t anywhere near a flawless game for the Terrors. Snaps continue to roll back to the quarterback, and terribly timed penalties continue opponents drives.
If Glynn can put the Richmond Hill game in their rearview mirror and instead focus on a 4-1 record in their past 5 games they’ll be fine.
Bradwell Institute looms as the final region and regular season game.
If Glynn defeats Bradwell and Brunswick takes down Richmond Hill, there will be a three way tie at the top of the region.
But don’t make the mistake of asking coach Hidalgo about tie breakers, as one reporter (me) found out rather harshly (I’m fine, but I won’t make that mistake again). The only thing he cares about is winning this next game and getting these Terrors ready for the playoffs.
Brunswick Outlasts Effingham
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
When faced with adversity, there are only two outcomes. Either you beat it or it beats you.
Overcoming adversity does two things for athletes. It helps them grow as an athlete and as a person. Teams and individuals both have to learn to be resilient. As an individual athlete, you have to overcome things such as injuries or an emotional loss. As a team you may have to overcome a losing streak or slump. Resilience is how efficiently you recover from difficult circumstances.
One does not only face adversity once in life. Adversity comes and goes as does the obstacles that you face. It is said that the quickest path to get somewhere is in a straight line.
This is not the case with success however. In order to be successful, there will be many instances where you take “12 steps forward, then 13 steps back”. Failures happen. The most important part is that you keep going.
Friday night at Glynn County Stadium the injury riddled Pirates missing key players on defense faced the adversity of coming off an emotional loss to their arch rival and raced away from the Effingham County Rebels 49-28.
Sean Pender doing his best imitation of MASH star Alan Alda patched together a line up and game plan to get the Pirates in position to win a share of the region crown in Richmond Hill next Friday night in the most anticipated game in years for BHS.
Pirate Report Card: Offense: A. What a difference a week makes. Jamarius Stevens pretty much played on one leg and gutted his way to outstanding night running and throwing. Alonzo Brown had another great night receiving.
Ben McCloud gave the run game a spark in his first action of the season. Pender put in the “Wild Pirate” package and Shaq Robinson had a 52 yard TD run.
Offensive line mauled the Effingham defensive front. Great job by a unit that picked up its defensive unit who was banged up and patched up.
Defense: B. Yeah, the unit gave up yards and points but with no Frazier and no Ward at LB this unit gutted it out and bent a lot and did not break too much. Jaylen Jackson played like a champion with a school record 100-yard pick six and added a second interception right before the half. A third was called back due to penalty.
This was a gutty effort by the defense last night that does not show up on the stat sheet.
Special Teams: B. Kick coverage continues to be outstanding and punt protection was cleaned up this week. Dalton Thrift did a good job punting for the first time this season.
Coaching: A. Sean Pender had this banged up, patched up, left for dead team ready to play. Pender has his 5-2 Pirates in position to claim a share of the region championship in Richmond Hill in one week. Considering where the Pirates have been for 2 years this is quite an achievement.
Overall: A-. At the end of the day your job is to beat the guy on the other sidelines. No, it wasn’t pretty, but the heart of this team showed last night when the stars seemed aligned against them. Great rebound win and now a Region Championship is attainable.
See you in Richmond Hill Pirate nation. The Pirates are back in the mix. Nobody will give them a shot, but that is just the way they like it.
Tough Loss For Terrors
By: Christian Goeckel
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Glynn Academy Terrors fell to the Richmond Hill Wildcats 12-7 Friday night in a game that put Glynn Academy in unfamiliar territory.
Someone else now controls the Terror’s fate. Richmond Hill came into the game undefeated, with West Virginia commit Sam James leading the way from his wide receiver spot.
While Glynn entered off of dominating performance over Brunswick the week before. This was a matchup of the top two contenders in this region.
The Terrors entered this game knowing all of this full and well. Both teams would be in for a slugfest. In a game that was black and blue throughout with both teams playing a smothering brand of defense, the predominant color was yellow. Flag after flag flew in Glynn County stadium, with most going against the home team.
For the most part Glynn did a great job of shutting James down. Unfortunately, there were too many times when a Glynn corner would deflect a pass, only to look down and see that little yellow hanky laying at their feet. I counted at least 3 pass interference calls against the corners covering James, and there were even more holding calls charged against the Terrors.
It’s hard enough to beat a quality opponent on their own, much less when you’re competing against the officials as well.
Glynn’s defense was smothering, with the only touchdown coming on a 4th and an inch, when the running back broke free from the scrum for a walk in. Besides that, this vaunted Richmond Hill offense was shut down.
The only problem? So was Glynn’s. Richmond Hill committed hard to stopping the dive, and forcing Jernigan to throw. Jernigan never looked comfortable in the pocket, and was only able to complete a few balls. Two of those passes lead to first downs in the Terror’s lone touchdown drive, but they simply weren’t able to be consistent enough.
The run game, Glynn’s bread and butter, was also hit or miss. Caine Crews and Tyler Grant were able to break a few, but never consecutively. The quarterback center exchange didn’t help either as Jernigan was scooping the ball off the ground at least five times during the game.
All of that, and Glynn still had a chance to pull it out in the end, but bad snaps and lack of a true passing game bit them as they tried to work the ball down the field in a two minute drill.
This game was an aberration. Literally, nothing fell the Terror’s Way. The snap issue will be corrected quickly. You won’t see another receiver like Sam James until deep into the playoffs. And, the flag situation will even itself out.
There are also many positives that can be taken from this game. Number one? This defense is real. Guys like Sam James are going to get the benefit of the doubt with officials on 50/50 calls, but even with all of that you still only allow 12. That will get the job done 99% of the time.
All is not lost in the region, either. Currently the region sits like this:
Richmond Hill 2-0
Glynn Academy 2-1
Brunswick 2-1
Effingham 0-2
Bradwell 0-2
This thing is still way up for grabs. Glynn holds the tie breaker over Brunswick, and will be huge Pirate fans next week when Brunswick takes on Richmond Hill. If the Terrors beat Bradwell to close the season and Richmond Hill falls to Brunswick and Effingham, the Terrors will reclaim the region. If Brunswick wins out and Glynn falls to Bradwell, the Pirates will own the region. Still with me?
All of this will be decided in the next couple of weeks, and it’s going to be a whole lot of fun.
