Pirates Sinking Ship
By: Jason Bishop
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Disbelief. That is what I felt as I watched the time tick down to 0:00 on Monday night at Olvey Field in Hinesville.
I had just watched the Brunswick High Pirates fall to the Bradwell Institute Tigers for the first time since 2004, 21-18.
Why that is so shocking is that the Pirates were supposed to be state title contenders this season and Bradwell has struggled to be competitive against top tier teams for over 20 years.
The Pirates losing to the Tigers is the equilavent of Georgia losing to Vanderbilt. The only difference is everyone knew UGA may not have a good year and was rebuilding. That is not the case with Brunswick High.
The Pirates came into the season with one of the most talented rosters in the state, which included nine division one commits, yes NINE. That is the second most in the state.
For the most part Brunswick has shined on defense, but the offense and special teams have been another story. The season is almost over and the Pirates still have not found a reliable kicker, even after holding open tryouts halfway through the season.
The offense has been awful. Jamarius Stevens transferred in from Glynn Academy to fill the void at QB left by the transfer of Randon Jernigan late last year. Stevens has a big arm and bright future. Brandon McMaster transferred in from Camden to give the Pirates a huge weapon at RB and the Pirates already had Shawn Smith at receiver to threaten the deep ball.
It was a 3-headed monster and was supposed to be a nightmare for defensive coordinators to prepare for.
That hasn’t happened. Stevens is barely averaging a 100 yards a game in the air. McMaster has not been as effective as most Pirate fans thought either, with 2 games to go McMaster only has around 600 yards rushing. I think it is fair to say most thought the Brunswick RB would have over 1,000. Shawn Smith only has one TD catch on the season and is averaging less than nine yards a catch. Those are not the numbers anyone expected from Smith either.
So, what’s the issue? Why are so many talented kids not where they should be on this football team? It’s not like they just forgot how to play. Some say the coaching hasn’t been very good. Others say there is no desire or heart on this team. Another reason I have heard is that the team has yet to figure out how to play as a team instead of as individuals.
It could be all of those are true. This is what I have seen. In 2014 the Pirates made the playoffs and were far better than they are now.
In 2015 and 2016 Brunswick has lost to Bradwell and Statesboro, both teams who are in re-building mode. The Pirates are 0-2 against Glynn, 0-2 against Coffee, 0-2 against Camden. They suffered a blowout loss at the hands of Ware last season, hell, they are even 0-2 against Effingham….EFFINGHAM! Are you kidding me?
The most awful thing is this team, on paper, may be the most talented in the state. It is a shame the kids on this football team have had to endure what they have had to endure the last two seasons. A 3-7 campaign in 2015 and no chance at a winning season in 2016.
4 thoughts on “Pirates Sinking Ship”
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Sad but true! This is one of the most talented teams in a long time! I’m a former Pirate of the 90’s and this team doesn’t play Pirate brand of ball. Bring the passion back! I still love my Blue and Gold though!
Ran off good coaches that was there. Plain an simple. Coaches that where getting these kids in colleges.
What happened was the team was a unit until 2015 when the new coach came in. The first thing he did was took out the study hall program. That’s where the players go Monday thru Wednesday after school and before practice to make sure there grades are on point not just there game. The next thing happend was the coaching. Coach Harold had his favorites which there is nothing wrong with that as long as they’re the best person on the team for that position. But what he would do is coach his favorites and act like the rest of the guys didn’t exist. And this made the other players dislike there own team mates. He literally come talk to his favorite and the guy next to him which he would need in case his favorite got hurt he would not say nothing to. And that’s what broke up the mighty pirates. That’s why there not playing at the level they suppose to be playing at. You see he comes from a 2A program where you only had about 2 good players on the team so he is just used to that style of coaching. If he can reprogram his coaching methods and understand that u have to be a 6A coach to compete in this region he may be okay. But you also have to be mature and u have to have a certain kind of heart and that’s one that pumps blue and gold not just blue
Smh….