Bishop Media Sports Network
Rocky Hidalgo Show Nov 1
Sean Pender Show Nov 1
McElwain Chomped
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
When does a 22-12 overall record, with two division titles and conference championship appearances, not warrant you being able to finish out your third year as head coach?
Apparently when you’re Jim McElwain and you’re the head coach of the Florida Gators.
It’s been a strange tenure for the sea animal loving, former Gator football coach. What started out with all the bombast in aplomb you would expect in a Florida Gator head football coaching hire, it ended with a resounding thud, similar to that of a shark flopping around on the boat.
So, why did something that started out with so much promise and so abruptly? Oh, let me count the ways.
For starters, if you’re going to speak rhapsodic about how great of a quarterback coach you are you better be able to back it up. Essentially, running off the one halfway decent quarterback you had in Will Grier, leaving what seem to be a bunch of Les Miles rejects to run your team, isn’t exactly the best way to back up your claim.
And look, I know that in today’s political climate it’s nothing to hear someone in our government make some outlandish statements and not be held accountable whenever their accusations turn out to be false.
But, considering that most of America cares more about who their football head coaches are as opposed to who is running our country, if you are going to say that you’re an offense of genius you had better be able to prove it.
Secondly, if there’s any team within the SEC that expects you to put points on the board, it’s Florida. When McElwain was hired, almost three years ago, I wrote that Florida fans would rather score 40 points and lose, than score 14 and win.
That may be a bit of an exaggeration on my part, but not by much. If the Gators were one of the best offensive teams in the country, they would have fired Defensive Coordinator, Randy Shannon (who is now the interim coach) and McElwain would still have his job, despite the next reason I’m about to mention.
The theme of this article has been all about accountability and backing up what you say. So, with that in mind, when you say you and your family are receiving death threats, but don’t meet with administration to address those accusations, you’d be better believe you’ve lost all credibility.
When you take into account everything that has happened over the last year- the shark picture, difficulties at quarterback, an inept offense, death threat fiasco- there really isn’t any way you can justify McElwain keeping his job. I’m not normally in favor of a coach losing his job mid-season, but this decision was pretty inevitable.
The question now is, “Where do the Gators go from here”? I like Randy Shannon, but he’s definitely not the answer. Florida is a great enough job to get a big name, but I’m not sure there’s anyone out there they would be interested in.
Plus, bringing in a splashy name hasn’t exactly been the Florida way. (Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer didn’t carry the cache they do now when they arrived in Gainesville).
As for McElwain, it may take him a while to overcome this; specifically the death threat debacle.
Bill Parcells once famously said that “You are what your record says you are”. I bet if you asked Jim McElwain that question today, he’d have a different opinion.
Knights Gallop Into 2nd Round
By: Alex Mathis
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
One down and 3 to go.
That’s the message Brandon Derrick preached to his team after the game. The Knights were able to defeat Tiftarea Academy, 49-36. Frederica now advances to round two of the GISA state playoffs against Heritage High School.
The Knights were coming off of a difficult loss to Edmund Burke Academy. This loss might have been a blessing in disguise for the Knights. The 21-19 defeat got the Knights attention.
Coach Derrick used this moment as a great coaching moment. His Monday speech after the EBA game sparked a different attitude at practice for the last two weeks. Coach asked for more from his team and the Knights stepped up in practice.
The Knights came out of the locker room fired up and it showed on the field. The Knights defense forced a fumble on Tiftarea’s first possession. Isaiah Jackson was able to score a few plays later.
After a huge run inside the 10 by Spence Massey of Tiftarea, the Knights defense was able to keep them out of the endzone. Frederica’s next score came when Jaylin Simpson connected with Jashawn Sheffield for a 59-yard touchdown.
The Knight defense was able to hold Tiftarea’s offense once again on their next possession. Great plays by Rett Thompson, Santana Clark, Cole Hinson, Cameron Gardner, Deke Jernigan, and Harry Veal helped shut down the run. Isaiah Jackson was able to scamper for a 51-yard touchdown on the Knights next possession.
Tiftarea was able to score on their next possession but the Knights answered on the ensuing kickoff with a return for a touchdown by Isaiah Jackson. Tiftarea was able to tack on one more score before the half. The score at the half was 28-14.
The 3rd and 4th quarter saw a lot of offense from both teams. The Knights finished with 454 yards of offense with 363 of those yards coming from the ground.
The offensive line had an amazing game on Friday. They helped open up holes the entire night. This group hopes to do the same thing next week.
The Knights defense played great. They seem to be in position the entire night. A few missed tackles here and a few missed tackles there made this game way more interesting than it had to be. The Knights hope to make those corrections next week before the second round matchup.
Last year the Knights fell to Deerfield Windsor in the second round.
Before the second round matchup, the Knights faced Edmund Burke Academy and Bethlehem Christian. The Knights won both of those game convincingly and went into the second round matching relatively unchallenged.
This year will be a little different. The loss against Edmund Burke and the tough matchup against Tiftarea should keep the Knights focused going into the second round.
Frederica hopes to build off of this past week’s performance. The Knights have been challenged throughout the season. Next Friday will not be any different. The Heritage Hawks will bring their best game to the island. The Knights have to prepare with this in mind.
Jason Bishop Show w Kipp Branch Oct 28
Pirates Win Region
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Sean Pender in his first season on Altama Avenue and a senior class that has had three head coaches in four years won a share of the region championship with a 56-34 win at, previously undefeated, Richmond Hill.
It is the first region championship for BHS since 2009. A huge Pirate contingent traveled the 45 minutes north to Richmond Hill and were loud and proud all night long.
The 22-point win will give the Pirates the point differential tiebreaker against Glynn and Richmond Hill for the #1 playoff seed should Richmond Hill beat Effingham as expected next Friday night.
The heroes of the night for BHS were Jagaryon Marcus and Jaylen Jackson. These guys were all over the field all night long.
Pirate Report Card:
Offense: A+. 56 points on the road against a team that was undefeated and flying high.
Everyone and everything on the offensive side was clicking. The entire offensive line team photo should be hanging on the post office wall on the FBI’s 10 most wanted list because of the assault they laid on the Richmond Hill defensive front.
Robinson and McCloud ran like wild men all night long.
Alonzo Brown, DJ Whitfield, and Jaylen Jackson destroyed the Wildcats’ secondary.
And last but not least, Jamarius Stevens, still with the ankle issue, lead his team to a region title and cemented an all-region season at QB for the Pirates.
This unit was lights out.
Defense: B. This unit set the tone with the Marcus scoop and score on the first series to put the Pirates up 7-0.
Richmond Hill scored some points and got a couple of late TD’s but Kam Futch and company clamped down the Wildcats’ run game in second half. The Pirate defense made the Wildcats a one dimensional team.
The BHS defense with Sean Ward and a couple others gut checked its way to winning a tough football game. This unit laid the wood to Richmond Hill offensive players all night long.
Special Teams: B. Solid kick coverage that pinned the Wildcats on its own 1 yard line to start game and no big returns with the athletes on the talented Richmond Hill roster.
The kickoff coverage has been fantastic. DJ Whitfield set up a BHS TD right before the half with a 52 yard kick return.
Coaching: A+. Sean Pender said all week that BHS was going to beat Richmond Hill and that the Wildcats could not stop the Pirates.
The game plan was awesome and executed perfectly on offense.
The culture change is now complete as the 2017 Pirates under Pender win their 7th Region Football title and first since 2009.
Pender has to be the Region Coach of the Year after turning this team into champions after going 8-12 and no playoffs for last two years. The Pirates have a great shot at being a number one seed.
A happy Glynn County AD Steve Waters called me post game and said the Pirates would be receiving a Region Championship Trophy next Friday night on senior night prior to the Osborne game.
Pender for President in 2020. Pirates are relevant again.
Overall: A+. BHS is a football champion again. Enough said there.
Jaylen Jackson is a stud and any accolade you can come up with. That last TD catch and two-point conversion to get BHS the point differential points for region tiebreaker was the stuff of legends. Thank you, Mr. Jackson
Up next: Osborne. The Region Champs come home for an emotional senior night at Glynn County stadium.
The BHS Pirates Region 2-AAAAAA Football Champions. Print me up a size XXL.
SSE Minute Oct 28
Glynn Rebounds Against Camden
By: Christian Goeckel
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
When he gathered his team in front of the student section after Thursday night’s win over Camden, Rocky Hidalgo had a clear message for his troops. This performance was better. Better, but not good enough. “This is what great teams do!” Hidalgo yelled to his team, “They continuously get better!”.
That was not the feeling a week ago when Glynn fell to Richmond Hill in what Hidalgo described as “The worst game I’ve ever been a part of”. Missed defensive assignments, crucial false starts, multiple pass interferences, and nine bad snaps. While separately they are obstacles that can be overcome, combined they proved fatal against Richmond Hill.
It was a shocking sight to see a team that seemed to be on the right track, after three straight wins, fall due to so many self-inflicted mistakes.
So, what do you do? Well if you’re a Glynn Academy player, you go in and get ripped while watching film. You get treatment for any nagging injuries, and then you get ripped some more. After you’re done having your rear end handed to you, you go to practice on Monday and go to work.
The Terrors must’ve taken that formula to heart, as they looked like a completely different team on Thursday night.
The triple option, which is this teams heart and soul, was crisp and devastating. All night it seemed like the Wildcats had Randon Jernigan contained, only to watch him deftly pitch the ball to his option back for a fifteen-yard gain.
The passing game also had one of its best performances of the year, with senior tight end Andrew Delaney frequently finding open pockets in Camden’s secondary for huge gains. This will be crucial for Glynn moving forward.
Defensively, the Terrors held their opponent to 14 points or less for the third straight game. Apart from Cameron McClellan, who’s done for the year, this unit is almost to full strength, and they seem to be gelling at exactly the right time.
They smothered Camden for much of the night, with the Wildcats only big plays on offense coming from a growing star in Jakaree Gadsden.
The Terror’s performance should have been even more dominant as they dropped a couple of easy interceptions.
Special teams were solid for most of the night. Jack Podlesny consistently booted the ball through the endzone on kick-offs.
The only gaff, which led to a short field for Camden, was on punt coverage. A booming Terror punt was muffed by the return man which froze everyone for a split second, just long enough for the return man to recover it and zip down the sideline to Glynn’s 15.
Overall, it was a dominating 35-14 performance from Glynn Academy. Camden never seemed like they had a chance, which is what Glynn aims for.
What’s even more encouraging is that this wasn’t anywhere near a flawless game for the Terrors. Snaps continue to roll back to the quarterback, and terribly timed penalties continue opponents drives.
If Glynn can put the Richmond Hill game in their rearview mirror and instead focus on a 4-1 record in their past 5 games they’ll be fine.
Bradwell Institute looms as the final region and regular season game.
If Glynn defeats Bradwell and Brunswick takes down Richmond Hill, there will be a three way tie at the top of the region.
But don’t make the mistake of asking coach Hidalgo about tie breakers, as one reporter (me) found out rather harshly (I’m fine, but I won’t make that mistake again). The only thing he cares about is winning this next game and getting these Terrors ready for the playoffs.
Florida Gators: Undermanned Underdogs
By: TJ Hartnett
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Florida Gators are 3-3 this season after losing consecutive games at home against Texas A&M and LSU.
Despite winning the SEC East the last two years, they have effectively erased their chances at a threepeat after the being on the wrong side of the 19-17 game against A&M.
More than a few eyebrows have been raised at the state of the team, some being pointed at head coach Jim McElwain. I wonder, however, if it is fair to blame him for the losses, or should he instead be praised for leading a bad team to a .500 record so far?
Their loss to the Aggies was only a loss within the last minute of the game, after several big plays led to fourth-quarter field goals. The collapse could certainly be attributed to the fact that nearly a quarter of their roster was unavailable.
Florida is stretched very thin. There are nine players, including key receiver Antonio Calloway and key rusher Jordan Scarlett, that are suspended pending a felony investigation into a credit card fraud scheme. That isn’t funny per se, but it is almost amusingly indicative of Florida’s cluster of a season.
There are also tons of injuries, including a season-ender to QB Luke Del Rio that has forced redshirt freshman Feleipe Franks into the lineup (despite the availability of Malik Zaire).
Franks has plenty of room for improvement. Although he had a huge run, he missed open receivers and showed little feel for managing a game. Franks completed 17 of 26 passes for 129 yards with 2 interceptions and 5 sacks.
His longest completion against the league’s 12th-ranked passing unit was an impromptu flip to Malik Davis, that the running back turned into a 20-yard gain during Florida’s opening drive.
So maybe Florida should be commended for even being in games? McElwain insists there are no free passes.
Still, the lengthy injury list includes the team’s leading tackler (safety Marcell Harris) from 2016 as well as dynamic receiver Kadarius Toney, deep threat Tyrie Cleveland, safety Nick Washington, defensive end Jabari Zuniga, guard Brett Heggie, linebacker Jeremiah Moon and running back Mark Thompson.
Defensive end Jordan Sherit, a fifth-year senior, joined them on the sideline in the fourth quarter with a hip injury that McElwain said will require surgery. With and without Sherit, the Aggies piled up 127 yards on 27 plays in the final frame.
But Florida’s ongoing issues seemingly go deeper than manpower. McElwain spent seven months raving about his offensive line, even calling it the “true strength” of his team, and the unit has been mediocre at best.
And the guy who once claimed he could win with his dog at quarterback has an offense that has managed four touchdown passes in six games, and that includes an improbable 63-yarder on the final play to beat Tennessee and two in which Kentucky failed to cover receivers.
Meanwhile, the quarterback McElwain encouraged to transfer following his suspension for using performance-enhancing drugs in 2015, West Virginia’s Will Grier, has 21 touchdown passes. The Gators are 16-11 since Grier’s suspension, with three of those wins coming against seemingly overmatched opponents in payday games.
Here’s the most telling part for McElwain and Florida: It could be worse. If not for those defensive gaffes by Tennessee and Kentucky, the Gators could be 1-5 heading into their bye week and entering a rivalry game against third-ranked Georgia as huge underdogs.
Undermanned underdogs.
Gators Tough Swim
By: TJ Hartnett
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Florida Gators are 3-3 this season after losing consecutive games at home against Texas A&M and LSU.
Despite winning the SEC East the last two years, they have effectively erased their chances at a threepeat after the being on the wrong side of the 19-17 game against A&M.
More than a few eyebrows have been raised at the state of the team, some being pointed at head coach Jim McElwain. I wonder, however, if it is fair to blame him for the losses, or should he instead be praised for leading a bad team to a .500 record so far?
Their loss to the Aggies was only a loss within the last minute of the game, after several big plays led to fourth-quarter field goals. The collapse could certainly be attributed to the fact that nearly a quarter of their roster was unavailable.
Florida is stretched very thin. There are nine players, including key receiver Antonio Calloway and key rusher Jordan Scarlett, that are suspended pending a felony investigation into a credit card fraud scheme. That isn’t funny per se, but it is almost amusingly indictive of Florida’s cluster of a season.
There are also tons of injuries, including a season-ender to QB Luke Del Rio that has forced redshirt freshman Feleipe Franks into the lineup (despite the availability of Malik Zaire).
Franks has plenty of room for improvement. Although he had a huge run, he missed open receivers and showed little feel for managing a game. Franks completed 17 of 26 passes for 129 yards with 2 interceptions and 5 sacks.
His longest completion against the league’s 12th-ranked passing unit was an impromptu flip to Malik Davis, that the running back turned into a 20-yard gain during Florida’s opening drive.
So maybe Florida should be commended for even being in games? McElwain insists there are no free passes.
Still, the lengthy injury list includes the team’s leading tackler (safety Marcell Harris) from 2016 as well as dynamic receiver Kadarius Toney, deep threat Tyrie Cleveland, safety Nick Washington, defensive end Jabari Zuniga, guard Brett Heggie, linebacker Jeremiah Moon and running back Mark Thompson.
Defensive end Jordan Sherit, a fifth-year senior, joined them on the sideline in the fourth quarter with a hip injury that McElwain said will require surgery. With and without Sherit, the Aggies piled up 127 yards on 27 plays in the final frame.
But Florida’s ongoing issues seemingly go deeper than manpower. McElwain spent seven months raving about his offensive line, even calling it the “true strength” of his team, and the unit has been mediocre at best.
And the guy who once claimed he could win with his dog at quarterback has an offense that has managed four touchdown passes in six games, and that includes an improbable 63-yarder on the final play to beat Tennessee and two in which Kentucky failed to cover receivers.
Meanwhile, the quarterback McElwain encouraged to transfer following his suspension for using performance-enhancing drugs in 2015, West Virginia’s Will Grier, has 21 touchdown passes. The Gators are 16-11 since Grier’s suspension, with three of those wins coming against seemingly overmatched opponents in payday games.
Here’s the most telling part for McElwain and Florida: It could be worse. If not for those defensive gaffes by Tennessee and Kentucky, the Gators could be 1-5 heading into their bye week and entering a rivalry game against third-ranked Georgia as huge underdogs.
Undermanned underdogs.
