High School Football
Reclassification
By: Michael Spiers
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The GHSA dropped its new football classifications for 2026 through 2028 this week, and as always, it’s stirring the pot across the state.
The new setup means some schools are moving up, some are sliding down, and a whole bunch of athletic directors are now staring at spreadsheets trying to figure out what it all means before appeals start Monday morning.
Let’s start with the big news.
A few powerhouse programs are heading to tougher neighborhoods. Creekside, Worth County, Kell, Jefferson, and LaGrange are all moving up a class or more.
Basically, if you’ve been steamrolling folks the past few years, congratulations, you’ve earned yourself a promotion.
For fans, that means some fun new matchups and maybe a little more balance when it comes playoff time.
For coaches, well, that’s a few more sleepless nights watching film.
Then there’s the private school puzzle.
A handful of top programs like Marist, Westminster, Benedictine, and Pace Academy can either stay put or drop into the new “4A-2A Private” division.
Most of those schools have been playing up for a while, but now they’ve got to decide if they want to keep testing themselves against the big boys or move where the competition might be a little fairer.
Whatever they decide, it’s going to shift the power balance. If a couple of those juggernauts move down, that private bracket is going to be stacked.
Now, the real headache for a lot of schools is the GHSA’s out-of-zone multiplier. This is the rule that bumps up schools with a bunch of students who live outside their attendance area.
It’s supposed to level the playing field, but it’s also created some weird side effects.
For example, Gainesville, Dalton, and Calhoun, all city schools that people assume recruit like crazy, actually have very few out-of-zone students. Because of that, they’re getting placed lower than their enrollments suggest.
Meanwhile, county schools like Kennesaw Mountain, Arabia Mountain, and Lakeside-Evans are getting bumped up a class because of a handful of transfer students.
I don’t think that’s exactly what the multiplier was designed for.
Then there’s the idea of competitive balance, which is something GHSA is finally starting to take seriously.
The organization wants to build a formula to identify programs that consistently struggle and might deserve to play down. That’s long overdue. If a team hasn’t sniffed the playoffs in a decade, forcing them to line up against a perennial powerhouse every year doesn’t help anybody.
Schools like Berkmar, Meadowcreek, Beach, and Groves could benefit from this new thinking if GHSA actually follows through.
So, here’s the bottom line. This new classification cycle is a step in the right direction, but it’s not perfect. Some schools are going to feel punished for things out of their control. Others will finally get a fair shot.
The multiplier still needs fine-tuning, and GHSA’s “competitive balance” plan will only work if it’s transparent and consistent.
But overall? It’s progress.
Reclassification used to be just a numbers game. Count your students and that’s where you land. Now, GHSA’s at least acknowledging that there’s more to it than headcount.
For fans, that means new rivalries, maybe longer road trips, and hopefully a few surprise playoff runs. For coaches, it means scouting new opponents and figuring out where their teams really stand.
And for the rest of us, it’s another reminder that in Georgia high school football, nothing ever stays the same for long, except the passion on Friday nights.
Jackets Stung
By: Colin Lacy
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
When word finally came down from the GHSA office that the 3A bracket didn’t include Southeast Bulloch, there were questions being asked and directed toward Thomaston (where the GHSA office is).
The fact that SEB was left out of the bracket wasn’t so much of a gripe, but who did get in was more the issue.
Beach High School out of Savannah received an at-large spot as the 29th seed in the 3A playoff bracket despite only playing 9 regular season games and being beat by the Southeast Bulloch Yellow Jackets 48-8 just two days prior to the bracket coming out.
Southeast Bulloch finished the season 5-5 and 5-4 in Region 3 play after the 48-8 victory over Beach and ended up 5th in the Region (out of 10 teams). After falling to the Jackets, Beach finishes in 6th place behind SEB.
Beach only played 9 regular season games because their week 2 matchup with Savannah High was declared a no-contest after player ejections and coaches’ arguments broke out in the second quarter of the game in Savannah.
While Beach highly likely would have gone on to win that game against a Savannah team that finished 1-8, the game itself would have played a bigger factor than just a win for Beach.
The PSR (Post Season Ranking) metric that the GHSA uses to determine seeding for 3A and also is the only factor that is used to determine at-large bids is a formula that is 35% based on your win percentage, but is also 35% based on your opponents’ win percentage and 30% based on your opponents’ opponents’ win percentage.
The only comment made by the GHSA has been GHSA associate director Don Corr, who oversees the GHSA’s PSR Ratings and sets the playoff brackets, when he put out a generic statement of “The region followed their procedures to provide the GHSA office with their results, and the GHSA followed the PSR rules as approved by the GHSA state executive committee.”
In the current system, the top four seeds in each region make the playoff field, then at-large berths (due to having to pull the private schools out) are determined by the PSR ratings.
While this year, this flawed system negatively affects the team that I’m tied to with me being the radio play-by-play broadcaster for the Jackets, I’ve said this system is incredibly flawed since it was introduced.
First off, teams in SEB’s region are at a disadvantage because they are in the only 10-team region in all of 3A, so teams only have one non-region game they have control of to increase the PSR ratings, and the way the recent history of the teams in the region has been, there’s only four or five teams that actually can help improve your PSR in region.
With the current region’s makeup, there are two regions that only have six teams in it (so two-thirds of the region make the postseason bracket), and two others that have seven teams.
Aside from that issue, the PSR is an extremely complicated but lazy answer for the GHSA. While the current PSR counts road games more than home games (1.1 to 0.9 in the formula), there is no differentiation between non-region games against a higher classification team. In SEB’s case, they opened the season with the lone non-region match-up against the 5A Statesboro squad, but if you just looked at the PSR formula, it would look like any other game on the schedule.
While the system itself is flawed, the execution and transparency by the GHSA leaves a lot to be desired and caused confusion at the end of the season.
Throughout the regular season on the GHSA website, fans can go online and see the PSR ratings and how each team got to their PSR number, but for some reason, the GHSA took the Football PSR page down Thursday evening before the final games of the regular season, and still remains hidden.
In SEB’s case, the week began with thinking there was no chance at an at large, but as the week went on, a member of the SEB community dove into the numbers and discovered there was a path just to be denied and no explanation of the PSR numbers.
At the end of the day, yes, if SEB wins another game or two, they’re in the top four of the region, and it’s a moot point…..in Brooklet at least, but the scary part is that beginning in 2026, the GHSA has approved to go to the PSR for all classifications (oh yeah, PSR only comes into play for 3A and lower….) and region finishes won’t matter.
Beginning next year, the region champions will get an automatic berth, then everyone will be seeded, and all other at-large berths will come from the same PSR that has failed them this year.
Lead Knight
By: Jeff Doke
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
At the beginning of this season, Frederica Academy quarterback Stanton Beverly had several goals he wanted to achieve. He’s already accomplished several, plus at least one he wasn’t aware of.
At the completion of the regular season, the coaches of the GIAA AAAA/AAA District 2 named their All-Region Team as well as their Region Player of the Year.
While eight of his teammates were named to the All-Region team, seniors Gavin Grantham and Fuller Wimberly, juniors Jayden Gibson, Jaylen Baldwin, and Eli Middleton, sophomores Eric Alford and JC Wessell, and freshman Hudson Carter, Beverly was unanimously selected as the Region Player of the Year.
When asked about the post-regular season laurels, Stanton was more than willing to heap further praise upon his teammates.
“Everybody deserved it, but I think even more people deserved it,” the junior signal caller said recently. “I think Jordyn Rollins and Travis Garland deserved it as well. Honestly, every single person on this team could have deserved it.”
And he would know. According to a trusted member of Frederica Head Coach Brandon Derrick’s staff who keeps track of player history on HUDL (okay, fine. His wife Becky…), Beverly spends far and away more time viewing film than any of his teammates. According to Stanton’s family, he’s been that way since he was a child.
“When Stanton was 5 years old, he came to me and said that he wanted to play football,” recalls his father Corey Beverly. “I despise flag football, and at the time the local rec department in Nashville only had flag football for ages 5 and 6, so I told him no. The next year I got a call from the rec and they said they’re adding tackle this year. So, I said, ‘yeah, I’ll sign him up.’”
“So, I pick Stanton up from school and we miss the road to home and Stanton asks where we’re going. I told him we were going to the rec department to sign you up for football. I looked over and he had tears running down his face. He said, ‘I’ve waited my whole life for this!’” This year, opposing defenses have been driven to tears.
In the regular season, Beverly has gone 62-108 passing for 948 yards and 10 touchdowns. This places him at #4 all time in Frederica history behind Jalin Simpson (2018) and Gavin Williams (2016 & 15).
Combine that with the fact that he also leads the team in rushing: 113 carries for 751 yards and 10 more touchdowns and you can see why he’s drawn comparisons to another recent scrambling signal caller from Southeast Georgia.
“I love Stetson,” Stanton replied when made aware of the comparisons. “I think he’s the greatest UGA quarterback of all time. I kind of style my game after him. That’s who I want to be; go to Georgia as an underdog story. Stetson Bennett is my hero.”
On defense, Beverly has put up decent stats at Safety as well. His 38 total tackles has him tied for 3rd on the team and is also tied for 1st with 2 INTs.
Much like former Knight Jordan Triplett (who Stanton got to play with his freshman year), Beverly believes his time on defense makes him a better player on offense.
“Safety is almost all about coverages. When I drop back to pass, I can sort of see the demeanors of the cornerbacks and the safeties and it all clicks for me. That also comes from watching film as well.”
After a first round bye in the playoffs, the Knights will take on Valwood Academy, a team that currently is on a 5-game win streak against the Knights. “This team has come such a long way from the beginning of the season. We’re not even comparable to the team we were when we faced Valwood the first time.”
The Finish Line
By: Jason Bishop
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
We have made our way to the final week of the high school football season. For some there are still a lot of undecided seedings and playoff berths to be determined in this final week and for others the season will close on Halloween Night.
The Brunswick High Pirates will be moving onto the playoffs, just what seed still needs to be determined. The Pirates are 7-2 overall and 6-1 in region play.
Brunswick will host the South Effingham Mustangs this week at Glynn County Stadium. The Mustangs were eliminated from the playoffs last week after they went down to
The Statesboro Blue Devils last week 27-17.
For South Effingham it is a chance to finish at .500 and for Brunswick there is still potential to claim a region title and a #1 seed for the GHSA playoffs.
The Pirates need to beat South Effingham and a little help from the Effingham Rebels, who play Statesboro at Womack Field in Statesboro.
If Effingham can knock off the Blue Devils coupled with a Pirates win, the Rebels would claim a #2 seed and the Pirates would claim the Region Title. Otherwise, BHS would be #2 seed and Effingham would be the #3 seed with Statesboro as your Region Champ.
If BHS were to lose to South Effingham and Effingham wins, the Rebels would be your Region Champs.
The Frederica Knights went 7-3 in the regular season and 3-0 in the region.
The Knights downed the St. Andrews Lions last week 49-16 to finish the regular season.
Frederica will receive a 1st round bye in the GISA playoffs but will have to begin on the road taking on the Valwood Valiants in Valdosta.
Valwood earned a #4 seed and Frederica was the #5 seed.
The Knights fell to Valwood earlier in the season 33-14 at home on St. Simons Island.
The Glynn Academy Red Terrors are currently 5-4 and 4-3 in region play.
The Red Terrors fell to Effingham last week 45-42 in a game that the Terrors made a frantic comeback almost pulling off a miracle. Glynn trailed 45-20 heading into the 4th quarter and scored 21 unanswered points to close the game and simply ran out of time to finish the comeback.
The Terrors will close the season against the Greenbriar Wolfpack. Win or lose Glynn will be in the playoffs as the #4 seed from Region 1-5A. Greenbriar is 2-7.
The MCA Buccaneers are 5-4 and 4-3 in region play. The Bucs took care of business last week beating the Savannah Blue Jackets 35-20 last week.
Currently the Bucs are sitting as the #3 seed in Region 3-A D2. MCA will take on the Portal Panthers needing a win to maintain playoff hopes.
A Buccaneer win coupled with a loss for either Bryan County or Jenkins County would punch a playoff ticket for McIntosh County. If MCA and Jenkins County win and Bryan County loses the Bucs would be a #4 seed. If MCA and Bryan County win and Jenkins County loses then MCA would be a #3 seed.
Bryan County plays Metter at Metter and Jenkins County goes to Savannah.
If all three lose then it would create a four-way tie breaker between MCA, Jenkins county Metter and Bryan County for the #3 and #4 seeds. If all three win then it would be a three-way tie breaker for the #3 and #4 seeds.
The Camden County Wildcats are 5-4 on the season and 0-4 Region 1-6A.
The Wildcats had their playoff hopes ended last week at the hands of the Colquitt County Packers, losing 45-28.
Camden started the season undefeated at 5-0 but have since gone winless in region play.
The Wildcats will play the Tift County Blue Devils looking to finish above .500 at 6-4. Tift is also winless in the region at 0-4 and is 3-6 overall. They will play the game in Tifton.
Another Conquest
By: Jeff Doke
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
For the first time since 2022, the Frederica Academy Knights are Region Champions in the GIAA AAAA/AAA Region 2.
After convincing back-to-back wins against long-time rivals Bulloch Academy and Pinewood Christian Academy, Coach Brandon Derrick’s Knights have secured the region crown regardless of the outcome of their final region game against St. Andrews this Friday night.
Opening region play against the Gators on October 9th, the Knights were looking to even some scores against their most heated rivals.
With their 2024 shutout victory in Statesboro, Bulloch Academy tied the all-time record between the two schools at 6 wins apiece and handed the Knights their first shut-out loss since the 2020 State Championship game loss to John Milledge Academy.
This year would be a different story. The Knights would take a 7-3 lead into the halftime locker room before opening things up in the second half, closing the night with a 35-20 victory.
The highlight play of the night was arguably the 90-yard halfback option passing touchdown to WR Braxton Sykes from RB Jaylen Baldwin. Baldwin also had both a rushing touchdown and receiving touchdown on the night.
Frederica followed up the 2025 region debut with a matchup against another long-time adversary, Pinewood Christian Academy.
The Knights had battled back against the Patriots to a 7-7 tie in the all-time matchup after starting 0-5 in the early days of the rivalry.
For the second week in a row, Coach Derrick’s team would break the all-time tie and extend their winning streak to four games against the boys from Bellville, notching their second region win to the tune of 28-14.
While Jaylen Baldwin once again had two touchdowns on the night, the play of the game – if not the season – came in the 2nd quarter when 6’7” 225 lb. Sophomore TE JC Wessel caught a 4th down pass on the 10 yard line and carried four Pinewood defenders from there into the endzone.
Region play wraps up for Frederica on October 24 with a trip to Savannah to take on St. Andrews.
The Lions – currently playing at Daffin Park next to Historic Greyson Stadium due to field upgrades at their Wilmington Island campus – come into the matchup with a 3-6 record but winless in region play.
St Andrews has never beaten Frederica, with the 7-0 loss in 2020 the only match that was within three scores.
To be bluntly realistic, the chances that coach Derrick’s squad doesn’t end the week with an undefeated Region Championship are very, very low.
That being said, the outlook for the playoffs is promising, but less than perfect. The GIAA uses MaxPreps rankings to seed their playoff brackets.
This puts Frederica at the #5 position in the Division, just behind Valwood and ahead of Tiftarea Academy.
If this ranking stays the same after this weekend’s matches, it means Frederica will get a 1st Round bye but will not get a home playoff game.
One thing that may affect the ranking is the final decision in regard to the weather-shortened 14-7 loss to West Nassau High in Week 2.
Lightning in the area suspended play with about a minute left in the 1st quarter and never resumed.
If the two coaches can agree to wipe the “game” from the site, it might be enough to vault Frederica into the #4 seed, however the head-to-head loss against Valwood in Week 3 will more than likely complicate the matter.
More than likely, if the seeding does not change, the Knights will be making a 2nd round road trip to either Westfield or Valwood.
The Knights are 2-0 all-time versus Westfield (two lopsided wins in 2018 & 2019) but are currently on a five-game losing streak to Valwood after going 4-5 against the Valiants in their first nine matchups.
Dragons Slayed
By: Jason Bishop
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
As the High School Football season marches on the playoff picture begins to become clearer with teams around southeast Georgia.
Over on St. Simons Island the Frederica Academy Knights claimed another region championship. The Knights hosted Pinewood Christian Academy on Friday night and down the Patriots 28-14.
The win took the Knights to 6-3 overall and 2-0 in the region and clinched another Region Championship for Coach Brandon Derrick and his Knights of Frederica.
Frederica will trek up to Savannah to take on St. Andrews in the season finale with a possible 1st Round bye on the line.
The Brunswick High Pirates are currently the #2 seed in Region 1-5A with the #1 seed still a possibility. The Pirates are hoping either the South Effingham Mustangs or Effingham Rebels can upend the Statesboro Blue Devils in one of the last two games of the season which would allow Brunswick to claim the #1 seed.
Brunswick is 7-2 overall and 6-1 in region play. The Pirates will rest up on a bye this week before they play and will get ready to take South Effingham in the season finale.
The MCA Buccaneers went into Friday’s game against the Metter Tigers in a ‘must win’ situation to keep their playoff hopes alive.
The Bucs did just that. Coach Bradley Warren’s Buccaneers went on the road to Metter and beat the Tigers 18-8.
The win pulls the Bucs to .500 at 4-4 overall and 3-3 in the region.
MCA’s defense has only allowed 15 points in the last 3 games.
The Bucs still have the Savannah Blue Jackets and the Portal Panthers on the docket. If they win both of those games the Bucs would be in as a #4 seed holding the tie breaker over both Bryan County and Metter.
The Glynn Academy Red Terrors are currently the #4 seed in Region 1-5A and have a big matchup this week against the Effingham Rebels. Effingham is currently the #3 team in the region.
This is a must win for the Red Terrors. A Glynn win would almost assure Glynn of a playoff berth at least as #3 seed. A Red Terror loss puts them on the outside looking in and Glynn would need a lot of help to get into the playoffs in the final week.
The Red Terrors are 5-3 overall in 2025 and 4-2 in the region. A #2 seed is still not out of reach for Terrors either with a little help. If Glynn Academy wins out and Statesboro drops another game the #2 seed would belong to the Red Terrors.
The Camden County Wildcats will be taking on the Colquitt County Packers and are coming off of a much-needed bye. After a 5-0 start the Camden County Wildcats have dropped 3 straight, all region games.
With losses to Valdosta, Lowndes and Richmond Hill Camden has to win in the Hog Pen in Moultrie to have a chance to make the playoffs.
For the Wildcats the path to the playoffs is a little complicated. Camden must beat both Colquitt and Tift in the final two and have Richmond Hill beat Colquitt in the season finale. This would give Camden the #4 seed. A loss to Colquitt or Tift would eliminate Camden from postseason play.
The Wildcats are currently 5-3 on the season and 0-3 in region play.
The First 100
By: Joe Delaney
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Frederica Knights defeated Bulloch Academy 35-20 recently to move to 5-3 on the season. As a result, the Knights coach Brandon Derrick reached the 100-win plateau in his career. After talking to Coach Derrick, I’m getting the feeling it’s just the start.
I’ve had the pleasure of watching him coach and mentor young men since he came to Glynn Academy as the Offensive Coordinator a dozen or so years ago. He coached my son Preston Delaney as the quarterbacks coach and OC at Glynn. And trust me, Preston absolutely loves the guy. I sat down with Coach last week and had a great conversation.
Brandon told me that while, yes, he was the Head Coach at Frederica he was really in the “kid business”. His real job was getting those young men ready and prepared for life.
He said, “Once you get on the Frederica Family Bus, you’re on it from now on and everyone is welcome”. He told me that sometimes the bus ride can be bumpy with a lot of hard work and some tribulations. But he added that there is a standard at Frederica to be held to and that requires kids to work every day to get a little better at football and life. He said that sometimes holding on to that standard can be tough and you learn more when you lose. But you get better.
Derrick spoke of the early days at McMinn Central in Tennessee where he was the Head Coach from 2006-2008. He took them from a 3-7 record to back-to-back 9-2 seasons. From there it was on to Glynn Academy and finally to Frederica.
The Frederica Coach spoke of the special teams at Frederica and included the 2018 squad with the great Jaylen Simpson. The 2020 state runner up squad and the 2021 team nicknamed the “mean 19”. Yes they only had 19 players!
I put him on the spot and asked who were the top 5 kids he had coached and he immediately told me that they were Jordan Jackson from McMinn, James Dean and Joe Nathan Alford at Glynn. Jaylen Simpson and Jordan Triplett from Frederica. That’s a great top 5!
We went on to talk about all the great high-quality players and kids he has had on the Frederica Bus. Names like Patrick Brunson, Jayshawn Sheffield, Harry Veal, Isiah Jackson and Michael Tindle. The list went on with Will Counts, Deke Jernigan, Josh Meadows, Thomas Veal, Garrett Squire, Brice Riley and Sam Norris. All great players and young men.
What struck me as I left his office was that we hadn’t really talked about the great games, wins and losses. We had mostly talked about the kids.
Brandon Derrick is indeed in the “kids business” and that’s a great big bus he’s driving. The Frederica Academy Knights, players, coaches and fans are very lucky to have him.
Congrats on the first hundred coach!
In The ATL
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The High School Football regular season is almost over.
Let’s take a look at how the top teams in metro Atlanta are doing before they head into the playoffs. I’m going to start with 6A.
#1 Grayson: The Rams (8-0) beat Rockdale County 58-10 last week. The defending 6A state champions are led by backup junior quarterback David “Deuce” Smith.
Four-star senior QB and UNC commit Travis Burgess suffered a season ending knee injury in the third game of the season.
“Hearing him go down, it was sad at one point,” Smith said. “Then it was excited like, ‘Your time is now,’ then it’s nervous butterflies, like, ‘Oh, shoot, it’s a big game coming up.”
In the Rockdale game, Smith threw five touchdown passes in the first half. Jovanni Watts returned a punt 52 yards for a touchdown. Jonathan Stafford had three catches for 103 yards and two touchdowns.
Next: 10/24 vs. South Gwinnett (5-2)
#2 Buford: The Wolves (7-0) beat Dacula 58-7 last week.
Dayton Raiola, the younger brother of Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola, was 9-of-11 passing for 184 yards and four touchdowns, two to Torre Costin.
D.J. McCoy rushed for 92 yards. Deion Miller had seven solo tackles.
Next: Friday at Central Gwinnett (3-3)
#3 Carrolton: The Trojans (8-0) made it to the state championship game in 2024.
Last week they beat Chapel Hill 56-7.
Rontre Welch returned the opening kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown and caught a 46-yard TD pass a few minutes later.
Jay Hagan returned an interception 30 yards for a touchdown.
C.J. Cypher was 9-of-9 passing for 180 yards and three touchdowns. Mason Holtzclaw was 8-of-11 passing for 69 yards and a touchdown.
Next: Friday vs. East Coweta (1-6)
#5 McEachern: The Indians (7-0) used to be an elite program and they have returned back to that in 2025.
Last week, they beat Pebblebrook 51-14. McEachern led 34-0 in the first half. Calvin Pittman was 8-of-9 passing for 165 yards and three touchdowns, and Coby Pittman was 5-of-8 for 83 yards and a touchdown.
Jacorey Shockley had five receptions for 106 yards and two touchdowns. Next: Friday at
#10 Hillgrove (7-0)
Now let’s take a look at 5A.
#1 Hughes: The Panthers (7-0) had a bye last week.
They lost the 5A state championship game last season to Milton. The closest game they had this season was a 13-point win over the #6 team in 6A, Douglas County.
Next: Friday vs. #10 Northgate (7-0)
#3 Gainesville: The Red Elephants (7-1) beat #5 Milton last week, 28-16.
Nigel Newkirk rushed for 166 yards and three touchdowns on 16 carries.
Kharim Hughley was 12-of-19 passing for 117 yards and a touchdown. Marshall Leonard, Kadin Fossung and Jamarion Matthews combined for five tackles for losses.
Next: Friday vs. Chattahoochee (1-6)
#6 Roswell: Last week, the Hornets (6-1) beat Chattahoochee 57-13.
Trey Smith was 19-of-21 passing for 195 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for 75 yards and a touchdown on five carries.
Dre Cousey had five receptions for 98 yards and two touchdowns.
Next: Friday vs. Lanier (5-3)
Now we will take a look at 4A.
#1 Creekside (8-0): The Seminoles made history in their game last Friday.
They beat Drew 91-0, which is the widest victory margin in a GHSA game since 1967.
They did not score an offensive touchdown in the second half.
The closest game they had this season was a 20-point win over Rome in the season opener.
Next: 10/24 at Jackson-Atlanta (6-2)
Bedeviled
By: Jason Bishop
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Week nine of the high school football season was full of unexpected outcomes and the playoff picture beginning to solidify.
The Brunswick High Pirates looked as if they may coast to another region title in region 1-5A. However, the Statesboro Blue Devils had other plans hosting the Pirates at home at Womack Field.
BHS entered the game at 6-1 and they were undefeated in the region. The Pirates’ lone loss came way back in week 1 to the Camden County Wildcats. Statesboro entered the game tied for second place in the region with their lone region loss to Glynn Academy and 4-2 overall.
The Blue Devils got up early 14-0. Brunswick battled back in the second half and held a 21-20 late. However, the Blue Devils took a 26-21 lead and sealed the game with a late safety for the 28-21 final.
The win for Statesboro gives them an inside track for their first region title since 2005; they won the state title that year.
There is no better rivalry in GISA than Frederica Academy and Bulloch Academy. The Knights and Gators renewed their rivalry with Bulloch Academy a significant favorite to win the game. That did not matter to the Knights.
In this rivalry you can throw all records and stats out the window and Frederica showed us why.
The Knights Head Coach Brandon Derrick was fresh off his 100th career win the week before against the Robert Toombs Christian Academy Crusaders.
The underdog Knights beat Bulloch handily 35-20 in the ‘Bloody Marsh’ on St. Simons.
With the win Frederica improved to 5-3 on the season and 1-0 in region play. It also makes them the favorite to win their win, which comprises of Frederica, Bulloch, Pinewood and St. Andrews.
For Bulloch Academy it was their second loss of the season and made them 6-2 overall.
The MCA Buccaneers came into their game against the Bryan County Redskins having lost four of their last five games and needing a win just to stay in the playoff picture.
The Bucs lone two wins coming into the game were against the Islands and Claxton, not exactly state title contenders.
MCA had lost a heartbreaker to Jenkins County the week before 7-0 in a region tilt. Against Bryan County they turned the tables, this time winning the game 7-0.
The loss for Bryan County more than likely eliminated them from being able to make the playoffs.
The win kept slim hopes alive for MCA in Region 3-A Division 2 as far as making the playoffs. The Bucs have games against Metter, Savannah and Portal remaining. More than likely, The Bucs must win out to get into the playoffs.
Down in Kingsland the Camden County Wildcats continued to struggle in region play. The Cats hosted the Lowndes County Vikings at Chris Gilman Stadium and were downed by the undefeated Vikings, 35-14.
Lowndes has a pretty firm grasp on winning Region 1-6A. Their final two games are both on the road with Richmond Hill and then against rival Valdosta.
Meanwhile for Camden, not making the playoffs is beginning to look like the reality. The Wildcats are 5-3 and 0-3 in the region. The Cats started 5-0 but have now lost three straight, all region games. Those losses include Valdosta, Richmond Hill and Lowndes.
Camden has Colquitt and Tift left on the schedule.
Historically, two region wins will get you in the playoffs in this region. That would not be the case for Camden. The Wildcats need to win out and have Colquitt drop their last game to Richmond Hill for a #4 seed.
Status Update
By: Jason Bishop
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Believe it or not we are already in the stretch run for playoff berths in High School Football.
For some the second season will start in November and for others it will be an early offseason to keep building.
Here is a rundown of some of the Coastal Georgia Teams and how they are doing.
Brunswick High Pirates: The Pirates are coming off of an improbable come from behind win over Glynn Academy in the City Championship Game 41-37.
The Pirates are 5-1 on the season and 4-0 in region 1-5A.
Brunswick’s offense is among the elite in the state and the Pirates have the inside track on winning the region and securing a #1 seed in the playoffs.
The Pirates have beaten Wayne County, Effingham, Evans, Greenbriar and Glynn Academy. The only loss for BHS came in the opening week on the road at Camden.
The Pirates still have Bradwell, Statesboro, Lakeside Evans and South Effingham on the schedule…all region games.
Glynn Academy Red Terrors: The Terrors took their second region loss to their archrival Brunswick High. The Terrors are 3-3 overall and 2-2 in the region. I don’t thing the Red Terrors will lose another regular season game and I predict them to claim the #2 seed in region 1-5A.
Glynn has beaten Wayne County, Statesboro and Lakeside Evans. The Terrors dropped games to Richmond Hill, Bradwell and Brunswick.
The remainder of the Terrors schedule is pretty favorable with games against Evans, South Effingham, Effingham and Greenbriar.
Camden County Wildcats: The Wildcats suffered a lopsided loss to Valdosta to start Region 1-6A play. It was the first loss of the season for the Wildcats.
Region 1-6A is arguably the toughest in the state and making the playoffs, no matter the seed, is an accomplishment.
Camden is 5-1 on the season and 0-1 in region play. The Wildcats have beaten Brunswick, East Lake, West Broward, Ribault and Royal Palm Beach.
The schedule moving forward will not be friendly for Camden as all will be region games. The Wildcats will travel to Richmond Hill, Colquitt and Tift. They only have one home game remaining, which is against Lowndes. I look for Camden to make the playoffs as a #3 or #4 seed.
MCA Buccaneers: The Buccaneers are 2-3 overall and are 1-2 in region 1-2A Division 2.
The first part of their schedule has been brutal but will ease over the last month of the season. MCA has beaten The Islands, and Claxton. The Bucs have dropped games to Charlton, ECI, and Screven County.
The remaining docket for the Buccaneers includes road trips to Jenkins County, and Metter while they will host Bryan and Savannah.
With 2 region losses the Bucs have their backs against the wall to make the playoffs. They will need wins against Bryan County and Metter in theory to get into the playoffs.
Brantley County Herons: It has been a very tough season for the Herons under second year coach David Shores.
The Herons are coming off of a 49-0 loss to Worth County. Brantley is 0-6 on the season. Losses include Charlton, Windsor Forest, Pierce, Vidalia, Jeff Davis and the aforementioned Worth County.
The 2025 schedule is brutal. The Herons still have games against Fitzgerald, Thomasville, Berrien and Bacon County.
This type of season will motivate the Herons to improve and strive to be a playoff team in 2026.
Frederica Academy Knights: The Knights opened the season on the road against GHSA Savannah and won convincingly 34-7.
Frederica is 3-3 on the season and will be entering play in October. The GISA does not seed teams based on region record but instead on Max Preps Power Rankings.
Frederica has beaten Savannah, Tiftarea, and Brookwood. The Knights of St. Simons have dropped games against West Nassau, Valwood, and to Stratford Academy.
In my opinion Frederica is a playoff caliber team and will prove that in the remaining game against Robert Toombs, Bulloch Academy, Pinewood and St. Andrews.
I look for Frederica to finish with a 6-4 record.
