Bishop Media Sports Network
Frederica Academy Knights Coach’s Show with Brandon Derrick October 31
MCA Buccaneers Coach’s Show with Tony Glazer October 30
Glynn Academy Red Terrors Coach’s Show with Rocky Hidalgo October 30
Brunswick High Pirates Coach’s Show with Sean Pender October 30
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.
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.
