Melting Matty Ice
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
NFL history is peppered with players, particularly from the quarterback position, whose legacies have been hindered because the surrounding talent never quite matched up to their own. Matt Ryan is in danger of adding his name to the list.
You can debate where Ryan ranks within the current crop of quarterbacks, but it’s hard to argue against his being in the upper echelon.
Since arriving in the league, he’s had decent coaching and an array of offensive weapons that have helped him maximize his talents. The issue when it comes to the team’s achievements, and ultimately what Ryan will be judged on after he retires, falls on the defensive side of the ball.
I know this “analysis” isn’t anything new; it’s about as expected as my son going to a Chinese buffet and eating nothing but chicken nuggets and french fries.
The reason I mention it now is Ryan is quietly putting together one of his best seasons, something he seems to be doing quite regularly lately, yet the Falcons are in danger of missing the playoffs because their defense thinks they play in the Big 12.
Currently Atlanta ranks 30th in every major defensive category, except for rushing, where they’re 20th.
One of the reason Dan Quinn was brought in four years ago was to bring some stability to the defensive side of the ball. I like Quinn, and I do think he was good hire, but his lack of influence on the defensive side has been a little disappointing.
Since his arrival the Falcons have yo-yoed back and forth from 14th down to 27th, up 8th, and then back down again to their current ranking, 30th.
Conversely, the offense has been ranked, 21st, 1st, 15th, and 11th over the same span. Actually, looks like part of the problem is they can’t get both sides to function at an acceptable rate at the same time.
But to get back to Ryan, if you’re looking for a recent comparison just go ahead stay in the NFC South and Drew Brees.
Whenever Brees retires, he will do so as the most prolific passer in NFL history, and a fantasy football hero. But, because the Saints defense played like the computer setting at the beginning level on Madden, he’ll have had to put up those numbers in order to get the credit he deserves. And he has Super Bowl ring, unlike Ryan.
There’s still plenty of time left on the season for Atlanta to make a run to the playoffs- stranger things have happened- but it’s going to take a near perfect second half of the year to make it come to fruition.
However, at this point it turning out to be a wasted season in which the franchise quarterback played possibly the best ball of his career.
I have no idea when Matt Ryan is going to retire, or how long he’ll be able to play at the level he’s currently at. But if fans have to go through another season where the blame falls on the offensive coordinator or the defense is having a down year, there won’t be many years left in the Matt Ryan era for them to enjoy.
I feel like with some of the personnel moves management understands their window is now and is trying to do what they can. If they can’t bring it all together soon, their franchise quarterback will just be another great quarterback not significant enough to remember.
A Brave Offseason
By: TJ Hartnett
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Atlanta Braves officially kicked off their offseason on Thursday with a high-profile trade, acquiring 31-year-old career minor leaguer Rafael Lopez from the Padres in exchange for cash.
Okay, that’s not exactly a big deal. Despite catcher Kurt Suzuki hitting free agency, this was a trade made for organizational depth. Lopez spent less than 40 games on the Padres’ Major League roster in 2018, and it was his longest cup of coffee yet. He also didn’t crack the Mendoza line.
Still, the move signals the opening bell for Atlanta, and now that the flood gates have been opened we can speculate wildly about what big moves Alex Anthopolous may have in store for Braves Country between now and Spring Training.
A primary focus will certainly be filling in the recently-vacated right field and catching positions.
Suzuki is an option for a one-year deal, but it may also be time for the Braves to find a more permanent backstop after two years of backup catchers splitting time behind the plate.
Tyler Flowers will still be around to handle back up duty (after both he and Zuk had stellar years in 2017, the Braves offered just one of them a two-year contract, and unfortunately bet on the wrong horse), but Atlanta needs to find someone to solidify the spot.
It’s no surprise to hear that they will be one of my teams fighting to trade with Miami for JT Realmuto. Realmuto has established himself as one of, if not, the best catchers in the game, and he’s wasted on a Marlins team that is not going to be good any time soon.
The prospect price will be high, but don’t be surprised to see Antholpolous offer up some prized arms for this guy.
Yasmani Grandal is an option as well. While he looked appealing prior to the playoffs due to his impending free agency, his dismal performance behind the dish is going to give a lot of teams pause.
Replacing Nick Markakis will be high on the list as well. Coming off of his first All-Star appearance at the age of 34, the stoic right fielder will likely be looking for a multi-year deal.
The Braves are unlikely to make such an offer, though his presence was invaluable over the past four years, and in 2018 in particular. Replacing Markakis will be difficult, and it also lacks easy solutions.
It also seems probable that Antholpolous will be looking for a front-line starter to join the Braves’ rotation in 2019.
Clayton Kershaw is, unsurprisingly, already off the table, leaving Dallas Keuchel and Patrick Corbin as the biggest-name starters left on the market.
Keuchel showed signs of regression in 2018, though he can still fire away, while Corbin had his best year in the bigs, seeming to fully recover from his Tommy John surgery from two years ago.
Corbin is the more appealing option of the two, being younger and coming off a breakout year, which means he will be highly sought after. The Braves could make a splash by taking him off of the market early and making a statement to the rest of the NL.
The last area the Braves will be looking to improve is the much-maligned bullpen.
Atlanta will need to improve their relief corps in a big way before next season, and while relievers are a dime a dozen in baseball, Atlanta needs to find reliable arms.
They might even need to overpay a closer to shore up the last three outs of the game.
We don’t know what will happen yet, but whatever it is, it has already begun.
Statesboro Buries Phoenix
By: Mike Anthony
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
A week ago, there were plenty of nerves at Womack Field as the Statesboro Blue Devils gutted out a win over South Effingham to punch their first ticket to the state playoffs since 2013.
On Friday night, the Devils were able to keep the momentum rolling. Statesboro found itself trailing New Hampstead by a count of 21-7 midway through the second quarter, but rallied to score the final four touchdowns of the contest to claim a 35-21 victory.
Statesboro took an early advantage when leading rusher Jaylen Roberson continued his suburb season with a 21-yard touchdown run.
As the second quarter began, the Phoenix answered with a bang. Deyandre Ruffin found open space for a 65-yard scoring run and Justin Mckithen topped that with a 90-yard touchdown run to put New Hampstead on top.
Things appeared to be heading for disaster when the Phoenix blocked and recovered an SHS punt for a touchdown and a 21-7 lead with just a minute remaining in the half, but the Devils got off the mat.
Statesboro responded with a stellar kick return by Will Yawn, another big run by Roberson and a pitch-and-catch from Drake Horton to Ryan Lindsey to reach the red zone.
Horton completed the textbook two-minute drill by finding Corey Gibson for a 10-yard touchdown strike to cut the Devils’ deficit to 21-14 at halftime.
From there on out, it was all Blue Devils.
Roberson found the end zone again midway through the third quarter and the ensuing extra point tied things up. It was Roberson doing the damage again early in the fourth quarter with a 4-yard run on the first play of the final period putting him in the end zone for the third time on the night.
The big plays that had spurred the Phoenix to their early lead were nowhere to be found in the second half as the SHS defense clamped down. And with 1:54 to play, Devardrion Lipsey plunged in from four yards out to wrap things up.
With the win, the Blue Devils improved to 4-6 on the season. More importantly, the Devils and Phoenix entered Friday’s game with identical 1-2 marks in Region 2-AAAAA competition.
The regular season finale turned into a de facto region playoff for seeding. The big win for Statesboro bumped them into the region’s No. 3 seed while New Hampstead was left with the No. 4 seed and will have to tangle with Region 3-AAAAA champion Starr’s Mill in next week’s first round action.
Statesboro will travel to face Griffin next Friday. Ironically, it was a loss at Griffin in the second round of the 2013 playoffs that marks the last time the Blue Devils made an appearance in a state playoff game.
The Blue Devils’ fourth win of the season equaled the total wins for the program over the last three seasons combined and is the most in a single year since a 9-3 mark in the 2013 playoff season.
The team will be a prohibitive underdog at Griffin next week, but now in the second year of the Jeff Kaiser coaching era and with a handful of junior playmakers who have keyed the improvement, Statesboro could be well on its way to reestablishing itself as a perennial playoff participant.
Knights Claim Another Region Title
By: Rich Bontrager
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
In an epic game between two bitter rivals, the Frederica Knights surprised many fans and sports reporters with a spectacular win against Bulloch Academy, 49-12.
Coming into this Region Championship matchup, the series between these two powerhouses stood at 2-2. In each of those four games, the home team had prevailed. This season, the Knights would arrive in Statesboro, GA and dominate in most all areas of the game.
What made the victory extra unique was that Frederica had 6 players not suited up due to injury and Jashawn Sheffield (SR. WR/Safety) was limited to only offensive plays due to a minor injury from last week’s John Milledge loss.
The Knights won the coin toss and elected to start on defense, as they have done all but one game this season. Coach Brandon Derrick trusted his defense to set the tone of the game and create short field position for his offensive squad. The defense did just that.
The Knights would score 14 unanswered points in the first half. First on a 3-yard rushing TD by Jaylin Simpson (Sr. QB) and then again on a 13-yard run by Isaiah Jackson (Sr. RB). Both extra-point kicks were good by Logan Bauer (Sr. K).
In fact, Bauer would kick a perfect game and go 7 for 7, something he had never done all season.
The Knight’s defensive gave Bulloch’s offense moments of frustration. Several times the Gators carried the ball into the “red zone” only to turn the ball over on downs, or miss a field goal.
The Knight’s defense gave up plenty of rushing yards, but always found a way to shut down Bulloch’s offensive machine. Including a big first half-sack by Will Counts (So., DL).
While the Knights would miss yet another scoring opportunity just before halftime, they scored on the first offensive play of the second half as Denver Anthony (Jr., RB) scored on a 60-yard rushing play.
A few plays later, Harry Veal (Sr., LB) recovered a bad lateral by Don Aarons of the Gators. Moments later, Denver Anthony ran for his second TD (16 yds) in less than 2 minutes of the third quarter play. Those scores put Frederica up 28-0.
The defense continued to set up the offense well as Josh Meadow’s made a big 4th down stop on Bulloch and Will Thompson would sack QB Don Aarons.
In total the Knights scored 21 points in the third quarter, and an additional 14 in the fourth.
One of the of most significant factors in getting such a disproportionate win over such
an intense rival like Bulloch was the “team’s unity”, said Coach Brandon Derrick after the game. “Yes, we made mental mistakes late in the game, but our team played extremely well as a unit, and for one another”, he said.
With the Region Championship title, Frederica will enjoy a bye week before beginning playoff action at home on, Friday, November, 16th.
The Knights will have home field advantage throughout the regional play. Along with home field advantage, Frederica will be able to get the six injured and sick players healed up as the “March to Mercer” officially gets underway.
With this win, the Knights conclude the regular season with a record of 7-3, and 4-0 in region play.
Playoff Terrors
By: Jason Bishop
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Glynn Academy Red Terrors have won their 4th straight Region Championship.
Glynn beat the Bradwell Tigers 42-21.
The Red Terrors took a 7-0 lead on their second possession of the game. Bradwell tied the game up at 7-7 early in the 2nd quarter.
Glynn took charge of the game with two unanswered touchdowns before the half to take a 21-7 advantage into halftime.
Glynn Academy put the game away midway through the 3rd quarter on a 1-yard TD run by TJ Lewis, giving Glynn a 28-7 lead.
The Terrors would pour it on by adding another score late in the 3rd quarter, via a 15-yard TD run by Quany Bostick for a 35-7 lead.
Bradwell would score early in the 4th to make it a 35-14 game. The Red Terrors would respond would score a rushing TD to go up 42-14 mid way through the 4th. The Tigers would score a TD late in the 4th quarter to make the score a little more respectable, 42-21. That would be the final
Glynn Academy picked a great time to play their best of the year, heading into the playoffs.
Bradwell had a chance to win the #1 seed if they could beat Glynn and gotten a favorable scenario in a tie breaker, pending the outcome of the Richmond Hill/Effingham game.
However, with the Terrors win that tie breaker scenario was void and the Red Terrors secured the #1 seed.
The Red Terrors will play Lakeside Evans in the first round of the playoffs. Lakeside Evans won the #4 seed from region 3-6A. That game will be played next week at Glynn County Stadium. With the loss Bradwell falls to the 4th seed.
Glynn Academy finishes the regular season at 7-3. It was a weird regular season for the Red Terrors. It was a season that saw Glynn Academy benefit from a forfeit win by Fort Dorchester, lose three games in a row in the middle of the season and then rebound to win four in row to close the season, all region wins.
Young And Talented
By: Kenneth Harrison Jr.
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The NBA season has recently started. The Atlanta Hawks finished the 2017-18 season 24-58 and earned the third pick in the draft. They drafted Luka Doncic from Spain then traded him to Dallas for the fifth pick, Trae Young.
In his lone season at Oklahoma, Young established himself as a multi-talented scoring threat. Young finished his freshman regular season leading the country in many statistics: assists (271), turnovers (161), points (848), points per game (27.4), assists per game (8.7), and assist percentage (48.6%).
The 811 points scored in the Big 12 would break the conference’s record for most points scored by a freshman player, which was previously held by Kevin Durant and Michael Beasley.
Young has received a lot of hype with some labeling him as the next Steph Curry. So far, he has done well, leading rookies with 19.8 points per game. His season high was 35 points against Cleveland. The Cavs also have a stud rookie point guard, Collin Sexton. The Hawks won the game 133-111 for the first win of the season.
The next game Atlanta played Dallas in the battle of traded draft picks. Kent Bazemore led the way with 32 points. Small forward Taurean Prince scored 24 and Young had 17. Doncic played well for the Mavs and had 21 points. Atlanta won 111-104.
Doncic is averaging 18.7 ppg, 6.2 rebounds per game and 4 assists per game. We are still early in the season so we cannot tell which team won the draft day trade. I felt Atlanta should have kept Doncic but time will tell which player will have the most success.
The last game was at home against Chicago. The Bulls won 97-85. Prince, Young and Bazemore combined for 15 of Atlanta’s 22 turnovers on a night when the Hawks shot 32.1 percent (27 of 84).
”Coming off two games where we played well (and won), it was a lesson in how you handle success,” Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce said. ”Sometimes, we were trying to do too much, and it was evident with our 22 turnovers. … I thought right from the start we were trying to hit home runs.”
So far Prince has been a pleasant surprise in his second year. He’s averaging 20.6 ppg and 5 apg. He forms a solid young tandem with Young.
DeAndre’ Bembrey is also a second year small forward and he’s playing well coming off the bench. He averages 9 points and 5.4 rpg.
The Hawks have some veterans on the team to help. Vince Carter is in his 20th season. He transitioned from being a great dunker into a three-point shooter.
The team is 2-3 and currently ninth in the East. Time will tell if they can sustain this current pace or be one of the worst teams in the league.
There is some excitement around the team, which has been lacking for quite some time. The stadium underwent a $213.5 million renovation and has been renamed State Farm Arena (formerly Philips Arena).
I know they aren’t going to the playoffs but this team is exciting to watch. Young is a potential Rookie of the Year candidate.
The Eagles Return
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
It’s been a bit of a roller coaster ride for Georgia Southern since they transitioned from the FCS to the FBS in 2014.
Their short-lived tenure on the FBS level reminds me of Darius Rucker’s music career (yes, I just heard Hootie & Blowfish 0n the radio and now I can’t stop thinking about how the Dolphins make him cry).
The inaugural season, in which they won the Sun Belt outright, was far more successful than anyone could have imagined; much like “Cracked Rear View Mirror”. The following seasons were basically like every other Hootie album that came after their debut album.
This current season, a redemption of sorts, is kind of like Rucker’s exploration into country music I guess.
Anyway, bad pop culture references aside, the Eagles are making another unexpected run at the Sun Belt, which gained steam after their home win over Appalachian State.
Even though the Mountaineers lost their starting quarterback on the first series, and their backups made Nathan Peterman look like Joe Montana, Georgia Southern completely dominated the game.
While you can’t look too much into all the turnovers Georgia Southern forced because of Appalachian’s quarterback situation, you can’t say the same about the other side of the ball.
Appalachian entered the game with one of the stingiest defenses in the country, which Georgia Southern promptly dominated upfront and ran all over them.
I’m not saying Georgia Southern is as good as Penn State, but as someone who has watched every App. St. game this year, I haven’t seen them be handled like that on defense all season, including the Penn State game.
With the Sun Belt’s new division alignment, and conference championship game, the next few weeks will be interesting. The big game for Georgia Southern is their November 10th matchup against Troy. If both teams win their upcoming games, the winner will take sole possession of first place within the East Division.
(The Louisiana Monroe game this weekend could be a sneaky one for Southern since it is positioned right in between the Appalachian and Troy games. Georgia Southern is the better team, but ULM is good enough to give them fits if the Eagles are looking ahead to Troy.)
If Georgia Southern beats Troy they’ll own the tiebreaker with both Troy and Appalachian State, with only Coastal Carolina and Georgia State remaining on their schedule; two teams they should defeat easily.
A loss would require Southern fans to root for Appalachian to beat Troy in the season finale, which is like asking a Georgia fan to pull for Florida to win, causing a three-way tie for the division title.
Of course, all of this would require each of those three teams to win their remaining games, outside of the ones I just outlined.
Saying a team “controls their own destiny” is one of the most clichéd sports lines there is, so I’ll simply make this statement: at this point Georgia Southern has the “authority to decide whether or not they will take advantage of the situation ordained to them by a higher power.”
Regardless of the outcome, the Eagles have begun re-staking their claim as one of the better programs within the Sun Belt Conference.
With Appalachian State and Troy both residing in the same division, having Georgia Southern back makes the East Division one of the most exciting and competitive ones in all of college football.
Pirates Voyage Over
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Brunswick High’s season came to an end as Kevin Harris and the Bradwell Tigers beat Brunswick High 41-14 in front of a small crowd in Hinesville.
Harris scored 5 TD’s on the night for the Tigers as the Pirate run defense struggled once again with a solid running football team.
The loss ended the Pirates season. The Pirates finished the 2018 season at 3-7.
Bradwell now plays Glynn next Friday in Hinesville with a share of the region title on the line.
The 2018 season ended in disappointing fashion for the Pirates as the defense got shredded by Harris and the Tiger offense as they exposed the Pirates run defense all night long. I’m almost afraid to looked at the final rushing stats for Bradwell, but let’s just say it was a large number.
Pirate Report Card: Offense: C. BHS started Anthony Mountain at QB and the offense came out clicking with a score on the opening drive with a 25-yard TD run.
Mountain went down with a knee injury on an option pitch and the offense struggled for remainder of the first half.
KJ Lee came in and played ok for rest of the game. Jaylen Trimmings capped off his BHS career with a 100-yard performance to go out in style. The offensive line blocked fine but the Pirates got too far behind as Bradwell scored every time they had the football in the first half.
Defense: D-. This unit struggled all night long and all season. The run defense and tackling were poor, and the unit could not get off the field.
Anytime you give up 5 rushing touchdowns to a player that is worthy of an F, but I’m in a generous mood today. BHS needs defensive lineman and the search begins immediately.
Special Teams: C. The Pirates had two fake punts that resulted in first downs that kept drives alive. The kickoffs must improve next season as kicks need to travel close to the end zone.
Coaching: C. Nice game plan on offense and nice calls on the fake punts, but the defense looked helpless at times trying to stop Harris and company. Sean Pender will get things fixed on that side of the ball this off-season, but coaches can’t get out there and tackle and make plays for the players.
Overall: D. This team, while young at spots, had a chance to reach playoffs with a win but could not tackle Mr. Harris and the game got out of hand in the third quarter.
Up Next: Off season program as young talent needs to develop minds and bodies to compete for a region run in 2019.
I’m eager to see who steps up as a leader in the locker room this off-season. Since the 2010 football season the Pirates have only made the playoffs twice in 8 seasons.
This was a rebuilding season and Sean Pender will get this team back on track in 2019.
Playoff Bound
By: Mike Anthony
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
For the first time in five years, the Statesboro Blue Devils will have a spot waiting for them in the GHSA state football playoffs.
Facing a South Effingham squad that eliminated them from postseason contention on the final night of the 2017 regular season, Statesboro ground out an early touchdown and extended its lead with another late score to hang on for a 12-7 victory.
Only five teams compete in Region 2-AAAAA, with four being awarded spots in the state playoffs. That has been the case for the last three seasons, but the Blue Devils ended both 2016 and 2017 in last place and were forced to watch from the sidelines in the postseason.
Heading into Friday night’s game at Womack Field, the stakes were clear. South Effingham was playing its final game of the regular season and had lost its first three region games while Statesboro was 0-2 in region play with another game awaiting next week. A Statesboro win would guarantee a finish ahead of the Mustangs and a playoff berth.
The Blue Devils answered the call as Jaylin Roberson rushed for 218 yards and a pair of touchdowns while the SHS defense held tight throughout the night.
Roberson raced to the left side and turned the corner, stepping through a pair of tackles while tightrope walking the sideline on his way to a 46-yard touchdown to give the Devils an early 6-0 lead following a failed PAT.
Statesboro’s defense stifled South Effingham all night, allowing just 152 total yards. But the biggest defensive stop of the night may have come from the SHS offense.
The Devils drove inside the SEHS red zone late in the second quarter and threatened to extend the lead, only to see Davardrion Lipsey cough up the ball.
The fumble was scooped up by a Mustang defender and SHS linemen weren’t able to keep pace, but Roberson covered both the length and the width of the entire field to make a tackle at the SHS 3 yard line.
A pair of penalties backed the Mustangs farther from the end zone and Michael Dixon stepped in front of a Zach Taylor pass for an interception that maintained the SHS lead into halftime.
While the Devil defense continued to shut down the Mustangs in the second half, the lead remained at a precarious six points well into the final quarter.
Roberson once again rose to the occasion to seal the victory, ripping off a 63-yard run with under five minutes to play and finding the end zone once again three plays later.
South Effingham reached the end zone on its next possession. However, the score came with less than a minute remaining and the ensuing onside kick attempt bounced out of bounds, allowing the Devils to run out the final seconds.
The win guarantees the Devils of at least a fourth place finish in region play, but they could move to third with a win at New Hampstead in next week’s regular season finale.
Depending on their finish, the Devils will head to the South metro-Atlanta area to take on either Riverdale or Starr’s Mill in the first round of the Class AAAAA state playoffs in two weeks.
Terrors Survive
By: Jason Bishop
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Glynn Academy Red Terrors came into their game Friday night against the Effingham Rebels.
Glynn had bounced back nicely from 3 straight losses in the middle of the year with 2 consecutive wins over region foes Richmond Hill and Brunswick High.
The Red Terrors were coming off their 5th City Championship in a row against rival Brunswick, 17-12.
The Red Terrors jumped out to a 7-0 lead, scoring on the opening drive of the football game. Glynn Academy’s defense then played lights out for the remainder of the first half. The Red Terrors’ defense forced a long FG attempt by the Rebels that was no good. Effingham would not get back into scoring position in the second half after that.
Glynn would score their second touchdown from 14 yards out on a Quany Bostic run. The Red Terrors went 57 yards in 3 plays for the score and the Terrors would lead 14-0 midway through the second quarter.
All year the Terrors have leaned on their special teams and defense; their special teams blocked a punt at midfield late in the first half. That blocked punt would lead to Red Terrors FG right before the half. At the half the Red Terrors would lead 17-0.
The Rebels would make it a game late in the 3rd quarter, punching the ball in on a short run to make the score 17-7.
Effingham would draw closer on a field goal after the Terrors kept them out of the end zone after a 1st and goal from the 6-yard line. The Rebels trailing 17-10, and suddenly, we had a game.
The Terrors would respond. With a little over four minutes to go the Red Terrors go 83 yards in 3 plays and score on a long Caden Hutchinson TD run for a 24-10 lead.
The Rebels would score a late TD with a little over a minute to go to make the score 24-17. The Red Terrors would recover the on-side kick and run out the clock. The Red Terrors escape with a 24-17.
With the win and Brunswick High losing the 4 teams that made the playoffs from Region 2-6A will be Glynn, Richmond Hill, Bradwell and Effingham.
Glynn Academy will play Bradwell next week with the region possibly on the line. If the Terrors take down the Tigers they will win their 4th straight region championship.
