Turning The Ship Around
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Let me own up to something, I knew going into the 2018 football season for the Brunswick High Pirates this team was going to struggle.
I knew this team was going to struggle back during spring practice when I went out to watch the team before I wrote the Pirate Spring Preview for the Georgia Sports Edition.
Those who know me well know that I bleed Blue and Gold. I played on the first two football teams John Willis put on the field at Brunswick High School. I am currently the color analyst for the Pirate Radio Broadcast team for the past 12 years, past president of the booster club, and current vice-president of the Brunswick Touchdown Club.
I have been blessed to work closely with former head coaches Maurice Freeman, whom I can out fish any day of the week, Victor Floyd, who was 5-2 against Glynn, Larry Harold, and current head coach Sean Pender, who took me scalloping for the first time this past summer.
My fiancé, Sandra, knows if something were to happen to me that my football coach John Willis is to be seated with my family at my funeral and if he wants to speak then the podium is his. With that being said here are the reasons I knew this team would struggle is 2018:
1)Lack of game experience at key positions.
In 2017 BHS had 15 different players start a game on the defensive side of the ball and when the clock hit zero in that heartbreaking loss to Northside Warner Robins to end a bounce back 7-3 playoff season 13 of those players graduated.
I was positive publicly about the chances of the 2018 Pirates, but I told my close friends in private that this team was going to struggle on defense.
While this team has struggled on defense this season, especially against the run, looking ahead to 2019 the defense will have 8-10 players back that will have started a varsity game on that side of the ball. Those players will bulk up in the offseason strength and conditioning program.
2)Small senior class. The program lost 32 seniors after the 2017 season, many of which were solid contributors. This senior class only has 5-6 players that are solid contributors overall.
BHS has started a freshman at RB, DB, and OL at various times this season. This program will bounce back fine in 2019 with as many as 14-15 starters returning next season. The current 9th and 10th grade classes are stocked with good athletes.
3)Skill position players on offense had to develop on the fly. BHS lost a record setting QB and all starting WR’s, who set some single season records in year one of Sean Pender’s air raid offense.
BHS has good, young talent on offense coming back in 2019. In fact, other than Jaylen Trimmings, the Pirates return everyone in the skill areas in 2019.
Brunswick’s best skill players are freshman and sophomores this season. The biggest development area for young players is between their 10th and 11th grade seasons in high school.
BHS currently sits at 3-6 on the season with a trip to Bradwell this Friday night to close out the regular season.
If Brunswick can win and have Bradwell lose to Glynn and have Richmond Hill lose to Effingham in Springfield then the Pirates get in the playoffs in a down year.
If Effingham loses to Glynn and Richmond Hill, and Bradwell loses to BHS, and Glynn then a tie-breaker scenario kicks in that does not favor BHS.
I saw a disturbing social media post from a guy who does not support the program with his time or money complaining about the defensive coaches over the weekend. That is fine I guess, but it motivated me to write this story because I know the Pirates have quality coaches and players that will turn this around and be contender for a region title in 2019.
Keep in mind, next season with 15 starters will return, BHS plays only one region game away from Glynn County stadium. That game is at Richmond Hill, a place that BHS has never lost. The Pirates also has Coffee and Bartram Trail coming to Glynn County Stadium for non-region games.
Be patient Pirate Fans. The future is bright with this program, regardless of what pot-stirrers say on social media.
Packing Another State Title?
By: Kenneth Harrison Jr.
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The high school football regular season is almost over. The best team in the state of Georgia’s highest classification (7A) is Colquitt County. The Packers are 8-0 and coming off a 38-9 win over Camden County.
It does not look like they will slow down any time soon. I’m going to look at the ranked teams from Gwinnett County and see if any of them have a chance to win the championship.
Over the past 21 years, twelve of the state champions of Georgia’s highest classification have been from Gwinnett County.
The highest ranked team is #3 Grayson (6-2). The Rams were the top ranked team in the preseason and ranked nationally. Despite all of that promise, the team had a mutiny and tried to get head coach Christian Hunnicutt fired.
A large number of players walked out of practice the week before the season opener. An anonymous parent said practice issues date back to last season, Hunnicutt’s first as Rams head coach, citing multiple ambulance trips for heat related issues and full body cramps, multiple players with broken bones in their hands from excessive hitting in practice and players who are injured being called “soft” and being “isolated.”
The 2 losses were against Begen Catholic (New Jersey) and Colquitt County. Texas A&M recruit Kenyon Jackson (6-foot-6, 200 pounds) is the best player on offense. They also have three high-level seniors on the offensive line — Tennessee commit Wanya Morris, Auburn commit Jakai Clark and Michigan commit Trente Jones.
Outside linebacker, Owen Pappoe is the No. 2 recruit in the state. Defensive end Kevin Harris is the No.9 recruit in the state and an Alabama commit. Corner back Kenyatta Watson II is committed to Texas and a three-star recruit. They also have defensive tackle Tru Thompson who is a Florida State commit. On paper they are hands down the most talented team in Georgia.
#4 Parkview (8-0) has played great this season. They just trounced their archrival Brookwood 31-2. The Panthers were a powerhouse in the late 90’s and early 2000’s. They won four state championships from 1997-2002 including a three-peat in 2000-2002.
Their best player is Malik Washington; he’s the No. 81 player in Georgia. He plays wide receiver and free safety. Parkview lacks the talent of some of the other top teams so I think they will struggle in the playoffs.
No. 7 North Gwinnett (7-2) are the defending state champs and the last team to beat Colquitt County.
The Bulldogs lost two close games to Wekiva (FL) and Walton. Walton is the 2nd ranked team in the state and just lost their first game of the season so they are very good.
North Gwinnett has the talent and experience to win again this season. Running back and Iowa commit is Tyler Goodson is the biggest threat on offense. They beat Duluth 41-0 Friday and clinched their second straight Region 6-AAAAAAA championship.
The last ranked team from the county is No. 9 Archer (6-2). They lost the season opener 21-19 against Milton then reeled off five consecutive wins. Then they were clobbered 41-14 by Grayson.
The Tigers have a lot of talent on defense so it was surprising they could not compete with Grayson. They have a corner and safety committed to Clemson, Andrew Booth and Jalyn Phillips. Defensive end Colby Wooden is an Auburn commit.
Colquitt County will be tough to take down this year but I think they will have a rematch with Grayson in the state championship.
Crean Of The Crop
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
I can’t help but imagine it’s been a while since the UGA basketball fan base has entered a new season with any type of optimism.
I guess you have to back to the Jim Harrick year’s, which is not a time most fans look fondly upon. With the arrival of Tom Crean in March, there is reason for some excitement in Athens.
It’s completely fair to include Crean’s tenure at Indiana when judging his ability to coach, but I wouldn’t look too much into it.
For one, he didn’t do a bad job; Indiana has incredibly high standards that aren’t realistic in relation to their spot in the college basketball hierarchy. It’s kind of like expecting John Travolta to carry a movie because “Phenomenon” was popular over 20 years ago.
Plus, if you’re going to compare program expectations, Georgia is more aligned with Marquette, than Indiana.
At Crean’s two previous stops it has taken a couple years to implement his system with the players he wants, but has turned things around quickly once he was able to do so.
I fully expect him to have the same type of influence on Georgia’s program; unfortunately, that means it’ll be a year or two before fans really start to see everything pay off.
Even with a proven coach like Crean at the helm, this is going to be a difficult year. Their lone double-digit scorer from last year (Magen) is gone, and there isn’t much left over for the new coach to work with.
There are some young talented players coming in, who will be good building blocks 2-3 years down the road and could put up some good numbers, if for no other reason than they’ll have to.
Crean’s main objective this year is similar to that of Hawks head coach, Lloyd Pierce, albeit with a few minor differences.
Most of this upcoming season will be spent implementing his system, seeing who will be able to contribute over the next year or two, and making the Bulldog program as attractive as he can to prospective recruits.
There is a lot of basketball talent in the state that has seemed to have little, to no interest in signing with Georgia. Part of that has to do with the program’s history of mediocrity, but mainly because of their head coaches.
Most recruits today are concerned about their brand and making it to the NBA before they’re able to legally buy a beer. All the Georgia coaches since Harrick haven’t had a proven track record of being able to get players to the next level. When a player has made it, like with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, they are looked at as an outlier.
Crean’s notoriety and history with players like Dwayne Wade and Victor Oladipo should help in keeping some of the homegrown talent within the state.
Once that starts to occur, you’ll begin to see the program start to take off. But, like I mentioned earlier, all that is still a couple years away.
So, as the Bulldogs struggle to stay out of the SEC cellar this year- and probably next year- just keep in mind that Crean knows what he’s doing. He’s a good coach and recruiter that I bet will have this team back in the Sweet Sixteen within the next 4-5 years.
For a program that hasn’t tasted that type of success in over 20 years- 22 years, to be extract- it will be well worth the wait.
Eagles Continue To Soar
By: Mike Anthony
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Despite its early season success, there was plenty of reason to believe that Georgia Southern would struggle as it traveled to New Mexico on Saturday night.
The Eagles have a track record of underwhelming performances on long trips out west and — seemingly following the script — GS fell behind 14-3 early at New Mexico State.
And then the Eagles made their biggest statement of the 2018 season, so far.
Playing with a hobbled starting quarterback and without its leading running back and nearly a third of its usual starting defense, the Eagles absorbed some big shots from the Aggies (2-6) before rallying hard to take a halftime lead and putting the game out of reach by the time the fourth quarter rolled around.
When the dust settled, the Eagles were on their way out of town with a 48-31 victory and – with their sixth win of the season – bowl eligibility for the postseason.
Logan Wright rushed for 136 yards and a pair of touchdowns, Wesley Kennedy III went for another 99 yards and two more scores and Monteo Garrett and Shai Werts rushed for 78 yards each as the Aggies were bowled over time and time again by a relentless Eagle attack.
New Mexico State and its fast-paced spread offense made way early on. Christian Gibson opened the scoring with a 5-yard run and Jason Huntley’s 9-yard run midway through the first quarter gave NMSU a 14-3 advantage, but that’s when the Eagles took over.
Nursing sore ribs and avoiding the amount of contact that is normal for an option quarterback, Werts was able to contribute 155 total yards. Georgia Southern scored touchdowns on its final three drives of the first half and led by as much as 45-17 midway through the third quarter before both squads quickly transitioned to emptying their benches.
Josh Adkins (25-38, 295 yards) padded stats and kept the game moving over the final quarter of action.
Jason Huntley rushed for two of his three touchdowns in the final quarter, but only after the Eagles had taken a stranglehold of the action.
Georgia Southern was able to come away with the win despite dealing with a host of injuries.
Werts was protecting his ribs throughout the game, and he never as able to turn the ball over to Wesley Fields.
On the defensive end, linebackers Rashad Byrd and Todd Bradley were out, along with safety Sean Freeman.
But, as the Eagles have done all season, they adapted and overcame. Saturday’s win was another chapter in what has become one of the biggest turnaround stories in the country.
The Eagles finished 2-10 in 2017, but Chad Lunsford, named interim head coach midway through 2017 and given the permanent title before the end of the 2017 campaign, has been on a war path to put the Eagles back on the national scope.
The Eagles have found the spotlight. Now, it’s just a matter of how well Georgia Southern can run with it.
Georgia Southern will get most of its celebrating over the NMSU win done as the Eagles catch a flight back to the Atlantic coast.
A short week awaits before arch-nemesis Appalachian State invades Paulson Stadium on Thursday night in front of a nationally televised audience.
Resting Dawgs
By: TJ Hartnett
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The notion that the week before the Georgia Bulldogs take on the Florida Gators is an “off week” is, frankly, laughable.
It’s one of the greatest and most ferocious rivalry in college sports and both teams are always hungry to beat the other, regardless of the context within the season as a whole.
For the Bulldogs in particular, after suffering a loss at the hands of LSU in Week 7, the bye week is a big opportunity to get some much-needed work in before they head to Jacksonville. With some of the holes becoming more apparent in the Georgia roster, there are a handful of young players that could use the extra time to work out and step up.
The first person who comes to mind who is capable of grabbing the bull by the horns is freshman quarterback Justin Fields. He arrived in Athens with plenty of fanfare, and Jake Fromm’s Cinderella season in 2017 can only carry so much goodwill in 2018.
That being said, it’s hard to blame Fromm for a bad game in a very hostile environment but he is likely going to be watched closely and scrutinized all the more going forward, and especially against the Gators.
If Fields can keep his nose to the grindstone during the off week and show Kirby Smart that he’s ready to grab the brass ring, Fromm’s leash might get even shorter than it had been.
Robert Beal is another player to watch. The Bulldog defense was pretty fairly maligned for its performance against the Tigers, but Beal picked up his first career pick. It was easy to overlook in a loss of that magnitude. If Beal steps up and helps D’Andre Walker start to elevate the level of play on D, Georgia will benefit immensely.
Demetris Robertson’s future with UGA might rest in the balance of his work rate during this bye week. Expectations were set very high for the wide receiver despite his injury and late arrival at fall camp. He will need to prove that he is ready to grind if he ever wants to make an impact for UGA.
If Robertson can practice well, in his blocking, route running and pass catching, he could see an increased work load against Florida. Up to this point, Georgia really only uses Robertson as a gimmick player. He needs to practice and play more like Riley Ridley if he is going to contribute to Georgia this season.
A loss like the one that the Bulldogs were handed by the Tigers never truly comes at a good time but having a week “off” to lick their wounds could arguably be a big benefit to UGA. More than that, the loss brought into focus the fact that Coach Smart will need to spend this bye week whipping his team into shape.
The Florida Gators are lurking just around the corner, and the team that showed up in Baton Rouge cannot be the same team that suits up in Jacksonville. The Gators always manage to find another gear when they take on Georgia and UGA needs to spend their extra practice time (time that Florida also has, mind you) figuring out ways to reach that extra gear as well.
The Bulldogs took a loss in 2017 before running up to and through the SEC Championship and into the National Championship, so there’s no reason to think that their season is over based solely on their Week 7 performance.
However, they will need to show up and impress against Florida to remain in the contention conversation. They’ve got an extra week. They need to utilize it.
Glynn Academy Wins City Championship
By: Jason Bishop
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Glynn Academy Red Terrors won another city championship Friday night against the Brunswick High Pirates.
The Terrors won 17-12 to take home the trophy for the 5th consecutive year. Red Terror Head Coach Rocky Hidalgo has never lost to Brunswick High, a perfect 5-0. The loss for the Pirates marks the 2nd consecutive graduating class that never beat Glynn.
Glynn marched the first drive of the game down the field and scored a touchdown for a 7-0. That lead would hold through the first half and Glynn went into the locker room up 7-0 at the half.
The Red Terrors added a field goal in the 3rd quarter for a 10-0 lead. Then, in the 4th quarter with five minutes and change left in the game, Glynn added another TD to go up 17-0 and it looked like the Terrors would coast to another city championship.
However, the Pirates did not make that easy on the Terrors. Brunswick finally answered and scored a TD of their own to make the score 17-6. The Pirates went for 2 and did not get it.
Brunswick then recovered an on-side kick and would score another touchdown to make the score 17-12. The Pirates would once again go for 2 and once again be unsuccessful.
With under a minute to go the Pirates attempted another onside kick, but this time the Terrors would recover and run out the clock on Brunswick for the 17-12 win.
The win gives back to back wins for Glynn and takes them to 5-3 on the season and 2-0 in the region.
Richmond Hill ended up beating Bradwell Institute, which now leaves the Red Terrors in first place in the region by themselves. The Red Terrors still have to play Effingham and Bradwell in region to close the season.
If the Terrors win both games they will win their 4th consecutive region and claim a #1 seed heading into the GHSA playoffs.
The first round opponent will likely be Mundy’s Hill for Glynn if they did win the region again.
Pirates Sunk By Glynn
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
In a hard fought contest, the Brunswick High Pirates came up on the short end of 17-12 contest to Glynn Academy.
The loss dropped the Pirates to 3-6 on the season and 0-3 in region play. It was also the fifth straight loss in the series to the Red Terrors.
The intensity and effort were the best of the season for BHS. Anthony Mountain and KJ Lee both played well at QB.
Both teams were on the short end of a lot of penalties throughout the contest that killed many big plays by each team. BHS scored 12 points in the final five minutes of the contest, and GA recovered an onside kick with 54 seconds left to seal the victory.
Pirate Report Card:
Offense: C. This was a gutty effort against a very solid defense. Marlon Taylor is a beast and he took over the game at times for Glynn.
Jaylen Trimmings ran hard all night, and Anthony Mountain ran hard between the tackles on the zone read play.
Xavier Bean had a nice TD catch late in the contest. The offensive line blocked well all game, but key flags stalled a huge drive in the 3rd quarter.
I loved the effort and intensity of the unit against a pretty good high school defense. The passing game was off until late, but run game was solid all night long. A lot of positives from this effort.
Defense: B+. This unit came to play and they played like men. Run defense was very good throughout the game and easily the best effort of the season. Freddy Towns made a big time highlight reel interception and the defense really played the option well all night long.
Glynn hit some plays, but good teams are going to make plays. Solid effort and this entire unit deserves a player of the game award.
Special Teams: B. Kick and punt coverage was solid and BHS recovered an onside kick to set up their last TD. What a difference a week makes. Great effort against athletic return units.
Coaching: B. This team was ready to play and the defensive game plan was outstanding.
Offensively the plan was solid, but penalties are drive killers at times. The coaches coached hard and this team grew up tonight. Good solid effort.
Overall: B. Best effort of the year and despite the loss, strides were made tonight.
Glynn is a good football team and this team went toe to toe with them for 48 minutes. The future of this team is very bright. Losing to your rival stings bad, but this team will look back on this as the turning point and will build from this. It was a tough loss but outstanding intensity.
Next up: Bradwell to close out the regular season.
On The Radar
By: Mike Anthony
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Summer is a time for reckless speculation when it comes to college football and – for Sun Belt schools whose summers are especially long and oppressive – there is no shortage of time spent obsessing over how things will play out once the fall arrives.
It has taken nearly two months, but the first cool nights have finally arrived in the Sun Belt just as the race for the top of the conference standings is starting to really pick up the pace.
As for the preseason projections, it’s a mixed bag. The general idea of how things would play out in the conference seems to be going along with the script, but there have been just enough curve balls thrown in that it is anyone’s guess how the second half of the season will play out.
Three teams were the trendy picks to win the Sun Belt in 2018. Troy and Arkansas State are dealing with issues while Appalachian State is steaming right along.
But another contender now has to be acknowledged.
Georgia Southern entered the season with even the most optimistic predictions simply thinking that the Eagles could attain bowl eligibility.
But at the halfway post of the regular season, the Eagles are already just one win from qualifying for the postseason and – more importantly – the owners of a gaudy 3-0 mark in Sun Belt play.
The Eagles found themselves as big favorites in a midweek road game at Texas State last week, only to find themselves in a dogfight.
Georgia Southern’s option offense never got on track, but the defense held tough, stifling the Bobcats throughout the night and denying a late two-point conversion attempt to slip away with a 15-13 victory.
Georgia Southern will take a step out of the Sun Belt this weekend as they embark on another long road trip to New Mexico State.
The Eagles hope to return to Statesboro as a bowl-eligible team, but the real drama lies just a bit farther down the road as an East Division showdown between the Eagles and Appalachian State is quickly approaching.
While the Troy Trojans still control their own destiny in the East Division, their season has taken a drastic turn over the last two weeks.
During an otherwise uneventful steamrolling of Georgia State on Oct. 4, Troy starting quarterback Kaleb Barker went down with what was later found to be a season-ending ACL tear.
The Trojans and air-raid savant head coach Neal Brown were hopeful that backup Sawyer Smith could step right in, but Smith was shaky and the rest of the Trojans looked even worse as they were upset by first-year FBS program Liberty over the weekend.
If there is a silver lining, it’s that Troy is now able to reassess itself during a bye week. The rest will be welcomed by regular starters and the extra time before conference play resumes will be vital for getting Smith and the Trojan offense back on track.
While Troy’s role as a conference title hopeful is suffering due to injury, Arkansas State’s presumed shot at another Sun Belt championship is fading of its own volition.
The Red Wolves were picked to cruise to the top spot in the West, but have been beaten up by the East, losing to Georgia Southern and Appalachian State in consecutive weeks to begin its conference schedule.
Arkansas State still controls its destiny as the rest of its division hasn’t fared any better against the East.
However, a season finale with Troy would be a high hurdle to clear if it’s a necessary win for ASU to make the conference title game. The Wolves’ offense has shown enough flaws over the last two weeks to cause plenty of concern even against divisional rivals that didn’t appear to be threats at the beginning of the season.
Troubled Waters
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Brunswick High Pirates traveled to Springfield and got run out of the stadium by Effingham County 45-14.
The Pirates trailed 14-6 at half after surviving three first half turnovers and 10 penalty flags they got boat raced in the third quarter 23-0.
A running clock and a last second TD pass and two-point conversion by the Rebels made the final score of 45-14.
The loss drops the Pirates to 3-5 on the season and 0-2 in region play. The Pirates playoff hopes are on life support after last night’s performance.
Pirate Report Card:
Offense: C. KJ Lee turned the football over on three straight possessions in the first half and was replaced by Anthony Mountain.
Mountain came and provided a spark and led the Pirates on a ten play 80-yard TD drive late in the half by completing an 18-yard TD pass to Kyle Patterson.
Jaylen Trimmings ran hard all night long and the run blocking was good. Pass blocking was average and the receivers had too many drops.
Six holding flags tossed by the same official doomed any chances of momentum as they were timely and killed four nice drives in the ball game.
BHS won the holding call battle with Effingham 6-0 as the Rebels were not flagged for a holding all night long. In the end, BHS could not overcome the turnovers and 14 flags on the night.
Defense: D. This unit kept BHS in the game in the first half but came out flat after halftime. Effingham scored on the first possession of the second half on all running plays and BHS never recovered.
Stopping the run is a huge issue for this defense. Octavius Butler made a few impact plays, but the unit got manhandled in the second half.
Special Teams: F. Special teams were awful in Springfield. A missed extra point, big kickoff return, a big punt return set up a touchdown, a blocked punt for a TD by the Rebels on a one man rush and three two-point conversions converted by Effingham made this easily the worst special teams perform ace of the year.
Coaching: C. The offensive game plan was very good. If it had been executed properly it would have produced a win.
Defensively, BHS can’t stop the run and other than putting 10 in the box I don’t know what you can do. Also, giving up so many two-point conversions on the same look was troubling.
Overall: D. Let’s face it Pirate fans, the Pirates are not very talented on the defensive side of the ball.
Not enough size and intestinal fortitude to stop downhill running football teams. There is not enough consistency on offense at QB and drops by wide receivers kill drives.
The playoffs would be a miracle at this point. Special teams, lack of execution, turnovers, and penalties put a very winnable game out of reach in the third quarter.
Next up is the City Championship game against Glynn Academy.
BHS has lost four straight in the series and Glynn may not throw a pass next week if BHS does not find some answers on defense.
BHS could salvage the season with a big win next week in a series where the unexpected happens a lot.
Statesboro Gets Chomped By Gators
By: Mike Anthony
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
When Statesboro walked off the field after an overtime loss to a top-10 Wayne County squad on Oct. 5, the Blue Devils had reason to be optimistic.
They had gone toe-to-toe with a stellar opponent and a rival that wasn’t going to overlook them.
So, there was plenty of hope that the Devils could make another bid at an upset when they travelled to No. 8 Ware County Friday night.
And then Mother Nature got involved. Thanks to Hurricane Michael blazing a trail through most of Georgia earlier in the week, the Blue Devils were limited to just two days of practice. And while Ware County was also affected, the Gators were on a bye last week, giving them a huge edge in terms of preparing and installing a game plan.
The preparation – as well as a bunch of talent – was evident on Friday night as Ware County built a 21-0 lead before cruising to a 35-13 victory over Statesboro.
As has been the case all season for the 5-2 Gators, freshman quarterback sensation Thomas Castellanos stole the show.
The ninth-grader directed Ware’s attack with effectiveness and efficiency, passing for 68 yards and a touchdown while also leading the rushing attack with 78 yards on the ground.
Much like last week, Statesboro’s veteran and athletic defense was able to at least slow down a dangerous offense. But unlike the Wayne County game, the Blue Devils’ offense couldn’t hold up its end of the bargain.
Statesboro managed just 156 yards and 8 first downs on 50 offensive plays, only once gaining more than 14 yards on a single snap.
Jaylin Roberson continued to be the go-to guy for the Devils, rushing 24 times for 65 yards and a touchdown while also hauling in a 30-yard reception.
But Castellanos had a rushing touchdown and a passing touchdown already to his name before Statesboro found the scoreboard. And when Roberson punched into the end zone in the third quarter to make it a 21-7 game, Castellanos immediately answered by conducting another touchdown drive that he capped himself with a 3-yard plunge.
Statesboro added another touchdown on an 11-yard strike from Drake Horton to Will Yawn with just under eight minutes to play to make it 28-13.
The Devils held on defense and had a chance to keep the comeback alive, but Michael Mincey picked off Horton and went 58 yards to the house with just under five minutes remaining to seal the deal for Ware County.
With the win, Ware officially began its region schedule – which in the five-team Region 2-AAAAA is essentially a sprint to the finish line over the final month of the season.
The Gators will be prohibitive favorites in each of the next two weeks against South Effingham and New Hampstead before what figures to be a de facto region championship game at Wayne County on the final night of the regular season.
Statesboro now shifts into a bye week before playing its final two games. The Devils stand at 2-6 and their losing streak has now reached half a dozen games, but a win in either of their final two games – vs. South Effingham on Oct. 26 and at New Hampstead on Nov. 2 – will likely be enough to send them to the state playoffs for the first time since 2013.
