Bishop Media Sports Network
KIller Owls
By: TJ Hartnett
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
For Kennesaw State, it’s going to be hard to look past the first game of the season. The Owls take on the Georgia State Panthers at Turner Fie- I mean Georgia State Stadium. It’s FCS versus FBS and while that tends not to bode well for the FCS school, this is not the case. If you had to pick a game for an upset during the 2018 season, this might be the place to look.
The Panthers are rebuilding and Kennesaw’s high-powered offense reloaded, this could be a big game for the Owls.
But there are ten more games that will need to be played regardless of whether or not KSU can get one over on Georgia State, so let’s dive into what the team looks like.
For a team that is about to enter its fourth year of existence, Kennesaw State has made quite a statement. Last season they won 12 games and fell a touchdown and an extra point shy of reaching the FCS semifinals, in year three.
From that stellar team returns 18 starters, including Chandler Burks, who accounted for 27 touchdowns in 2017, as well as linebacker Bryson Armstrong, outside lineman C.J. Collins, wide receiver Justin Sumpter and linebacker Anthony Gore, just to name a few.
The Owls offense was the star of the show last year, with Kennesaw State possessing the ball for more than 33 minutes per game – good for 8th in the FCS.
They also had the best turnover margin in the country and ranked second in third-down conversions. But the real sexy number is 330, as in rushing yards per game. Six players on the squad rushed for at least 300 yards on the season in 2017 and all six of them are back for more in 2018.
The other side of the ball didn’t get as much love but Armstrong was the best freshman in the nation last year and led the team in sacks, tackles for loss, fumble recoveries, forced fumbles, and tackles. And the next two guys (who are back) had at least 50 each.
It also doesn’t hurt that Kennesaw’s top recruit, Markeith Montgomery, is a defensive back.
Needless to say, this still-fresh football program has already set the bar very high for itself. Expectations are in the stratosphere, with the Owls the heavy favorite to win the Big South Conference and are expected to compete for the FCS Championship at the end of the season.
They have continued to build upon each season, so making it to and even through the semifinals is the next logical step. The likes of James Madison University and North Dakota State University await them at the top of the heap. Not too shabby for a school without a football team in 2014.
That Georgia State game looms large and is the first time the Owls have put an FBS team on the schedule. While an upset would certainly make a huge statement, the Owls need to make sure that win or lose they keep their offense and defense firing on all cylinders as they move on to Alabama State and Samford in the early part of the season before a stretch of five Big South matchups in a row.
Those are the games that will end up being meaningful, regardless of the outcome of that showdown against the Panthers.
With so many of the key pieces returning and a (short) history of constant improvement, this is going be a fun season for Kennesaw State.
Frederica Wobbles Goliath
By: Rich Bontrager
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
What was billed “David vs. Goliath” game turned into an “Ali vs. Frazer” type blow-by-blow experience under the Oaks at Frederica Academy Friday night before a record crowd.
In Friday’s home opener Frederica welcomed Charlton County, a class A school, that brought with it almost double the 30 players that make up the entire Knights 2018 roster. Yet, with the numbers not in their favor, the Knights made a valiant effort in the 28-21 loss.
The first quarter got off to a slow start after a 30-minute lightning delay. However, the energy level and output of both teams jumped into high gear when JT Elliott of Frederica picked off a Raykwon Anderson’s pass attempt.
Eventually, that quarter would end 0-7 in favor of the Indians as they scored off of a broken play, 55-yard pass connection between Anderson and Seaquon Clark.
During the second quarter, each team’s defense showed their strength as it was a seesaw battle back and forth, with little movement. Finally, with 5:02 left to go before half-time, the Knights scored off of a 1-yard touchdown run by Senior QB Jaylin Simpson. The extra point was no good and the half-time clock ran down with Knights down 6-7 to the Indians.
The second half exploded with three consecutive touchdown scores off of three kickoff returns in a span of less than a minute and a half. First, Frederica’s Patrick Brunson (Sr) ran back a 95-yarder making it 14 -7. Charlton Country retaliated with an 80-yard return by Clark.
Senior running back and kick returner Isaiah Jackson then ran back yet another 85-yard kick-off return -the game up at 21 all. Which would be the score at the end of the third
quarter.
The fourth quarter resembled a heavyweight boxing match as each team exhibited signs of physical and emotional exhaustion as they gave their all in the intense heat and humidity.
Most of the fourth quarter featured each team’s defense standing firm. Finally, with under 3 minutes left in the game, Randy Nelson of Charlton County picked off a Knights pass and returned it for a TD.
After the epic battle, head Coach Brandon Derrick commented, “This game was intended to be a test and I believe my team passed it. We proved we can play at this level, and hold our own.”
Another take away from Coach Derrick was that “We stayed mentally tough in spite of a couple of turnovers.”
Next week the Knights will play at home again and face Valwood, the team that eliminated Frederica from advancing to the state championship game in Mercer last season.
Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. and, much like this game, it’s expected to be another battle of attrition.
Rough Launch For Pirates
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
On a rainy night in Douglas the Brunswick High Pirates fell to the Coffee Trojans 20-7 in the season opener for both schools.
The Pirates started out slow going down 13-0 with 9 minutes left in first quarter and then failed to cash in on a couple of scoring opportunities late in the half with a dropped TD pass and a missed FG on the last play of the half.
The Pirate run defense made some improvements in the second half. Coffee cashed in on a fumble and scored a touchdown to make it 20-0 early in the 4th quarter. Brunswick answered with a 10-yard TD pass from KJ Lee to Xavier Bean to make the final score 20-7.
Pirate Report Card.
Offense: C+. The offense moved the ball well most of the night. It was a wet night and the Pirates committed three turnovers and dropped a punt snap that resulted in two Coffee TD’s.
KJ Lee looked good for his first varsity start. Jaylen Trimmings looked very good running the football. The offensive line did a decent job against a championship caliber defense and Xavier Bean had his coming out party at WR. Che Foy looked good in space with football in his hands.
The Pirates need to clean up the drops as they dropped two TD passes. The penalties, turnovers and drops will get cleaned up with more game experience. This unit is going to be very good by the time region play starts.
Defense: C. Run defense needs to be cleaned up. The secondary did not play as well as I expected. I was proud of the effort on this side of the ball however. More game experience and an upcoming addition at middle linebacker will improve the run defense.
This group hung in there when things looked bad early. It was 13-0 before the BHS band took their seats; gutty effort to keep BHS in the game.
Special Teams: D. Poor snaps all night, dropped snap that led to a TD, and a missed 27-yard FG. Special teams will get better as last night was first live action for this group for the season.
Coaching: B. The team had a good game plan. Coaching made some good adjustments all night and the improvement from spring to first game against #2 ranked Coffee was significant.
Overall: C. A loss is a loss, but the young Pirates have good talent and good coaching.
The future is bright and this edition of the Pirates will be fine when region play starts.
Young Terrors Earning Stripes
By: Jason Bishop
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Red Terrors opened the 2018 season at home against Fort Dorchester from South Carolina. Fort Dorchester is a powerhouse program in the Palmetto State.
Glynn Academy came in with a very young team having lost 19 seniors. The Red Terrors found themselves down 28-7 early.
Glynn fought back and pulled within 31-21 before Fort Dorchester pulled away late and went on to win 36-21 over the Red Terrors.
Head Coach Rocky Hidalgo typically schedules tough games early in the season to test his team so the Terrors will be fire tested come playoff time. This was no different.
We can look for the Red Terrors to have some growing pains early on in the season with a young team.
Glynn will see Wayne, Ware, and Camden in the coming weeks, all non-region games. The Red Terrors will travel to Jesup, Waycross and Kingsland for those games, all consecutively.
However, before that the Red Terrors will host Washington High next week between the bricks at Glynn County Stadium.
Washington is a high that is rebuilding and should be a game the Red Terrors will be able to see their young talent play well.
Once Glynn get into region play they will see Richmond Hill, Brunswick High, Effingham and Bradwell. The Red Terrors are the favorite to win the region but need to see their young talent mature for that to happen.
After Washington High the Red Terrors will play Groves at home before starting with the aforementioned gauntlet with Wayne, Ware and Camden. Groves is another program that the Terrors should play well against.
Overall, a good effort by the Red Terrors to stay in the game against Fort Dorchester and get the game close. A lot of good things happened in the second half for the Red Terrors to build upon.
If this season goes the same way the previous few have under Rocky Hidalgo the Red Terrors will once again make a deep playoff run and will be a state title contender.
Frederica Academy Knights Coach’s Show with Brandon Derrick
Brunswick High Pirates Coach’s Show with Sean Pender
The Glynn Academy Red Terror Coach’s Show with Rocky Hidalgo
Bears With Bite?
By: Mike Anthony
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
As Mercer enters its sixth season of play since reviving its football program in 2013, the biggest question is whether the Bears can get over the hump.
After bursting onto the scene with a 10-2 record in their first season back on the field, Mercer made the jump from the Pioneer League to the much more challenging Southern Conference. For the last four seasons, the Bears have shown their teeth at times, but have always settled near the middle of the pack.
Mercer has finished a combined total of 8-8 in league play over the last two seasons, but with plenty of question marks around the SoCon outside of prohibitive favorite Samford, 2018 seems to be the perfect time for the Bears to make a move.
As the season begins, the most dependable facet of the team remains its head coach.
Serving as the head Bear since the team’s return to competition, Bobby Lamb – formerly of Furman – has been a steadying force. He faced the steep task of starting a program from scratch and has quickly made the Bears a concern on any team’s schedule.
So, when it comes to 2018, the question remains the same as the last couple of years. Can the Bears take the next step?
To ask the SoCon media that question, you’ll get the same, tepid maybe? Mercer didn’t get a first-place vote in the preseason poll and is picked to finish fourth – right in the range of another 4-4 conference mark.
But the Bears have plenty of reasons to hope for more than that. First and foremost, in that optimism is the return of quarterback Kaelan Riley. Pressed into action as a redshirt freshman last season, Riley responded with over 2,000 yards of offense, including 13 touchdown passes and four more rushing touchdowns.
Riley will continue to lead the Bears’ shotgun, no-huddle attack that will be further balanced out by the return of 2017 leading rusher Tee Mitchell.
Experience across the board will be Mercer’s biggest offensive asset as Lamb’s years of guidance, Mitchell’s seniority, and Riley’s proven leadership will have the Bears confident in any situation.
The defensive side of things also hints at an upward trend for Mercer. The Bears allowed a respectable 23.4 points per game last season and return six of their eight leading tacklers from the 2017 squad.
Highlighting the returners on defense is Will Coneway who was involved on 66 tackles last season, with six of those tackles going for a loss and three fumbles forced.
Mercer should continue to put up workable offensive numbers each week. The Bears’ ultimate fate this season will lie in how well its defense can adjust and perform from week to week.
Pass-heavy Samford and run-heavy Furman are the favorites in the SoCon. Running down the preseason rankings, the conference is full of teams whose offensive attacks will force defensive coordinators to vary their schemes wildly from week to week.
With the Southern Conference strong enough to send two or three teams to the playoffs, this will be a barometer season for Mercer. The Bears have been and should continue to be playoff-caliber on certain Saturdays.
The next step is to keep it consistent through an entire season and clinch the Bears’ first FCS playoff appearance.
Return Of The Chomp?
By: Kenneth Harrison Jr.
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Florida is one of the premier jobs in the nation. They have a great recruiting base as well as tradition. For some reason the Gators have been struggling since Tim Tebow left campus after the 2009 season.
The Will Muschamp and Jim McElwain eras had some success but nothing consistent. They had a dismal 2017, finishing 4-7. A coaching change had to be made so McElwain was relieved of his duties. Florida had their eyes on Chip Kelly but he chose UCLA over the Gators.
Dan Mullen was named the head coach and I think was a great hire. Mullen coached at Mississippi State from 20009 – 2017 and he led the Bulldogs to a 69-46 record.
As you know, the SEC West is the much tougher division and Miss State does not attract top talent so that is impressive. Mullen also coached at Utah (03 – 04) and Florida (05 – 08) under Urban Meyer so he already understands the fan base.
Right now, Florida has discipline problems because it seems like a player is arrested every week. Freshman and four-star cornerback Justin Watkins was arrested for his second time in three months recently on a felony charge of strangulation. The team has suspended him. Last September nine players were arrested and faced felony charges for an alleged fraud ring.
Mullen is a good offensive coach but Florida has lacked talent on that side of the ball. His biggest challenge will be developing a quarterback. Redshirt sophomore and four-star recruit Feleipe Franks will likely win the starting job. He played in 6 games in 2017 and threw for 1,438 yards, 9 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. Kyle Trask is also competing for the job.
“I watched Feleipe Franks throw the ball 75 yards against Tennessee. The last quarterback I saw that could throw the ball that far was Cam Newton,” Mullen said. “The last quarterback I coached that had that arm talent was Cam Newton.”
Last year’s recruiting class was ranked in the top 15 and featured 14 four-star recruits. There will be some talent arriving on campus this Fall. The highest rated recruit is wide receiver Jacob Copeland who was ranked 69th nationally.
I feel UF is about a year away from a breakout season but with their schedule, they will go back to a bowl. The first three games are all at home against Charleston Southern, Kentucky and Colorado State. These are all easy wins. Kentucky could possibly put up a fight; they only lost by one-point last year.
The next two games are on the road at Tennessee and Mississippi State. The game against the Vols should be a win. Miss State will be the first loss on the season.
October 6th is at the Swamp versus LSU. The Tigers will win this game. A much-needed trip to Nashville the following week will snap this two-game losing streak. Then the Gators head into the bye week before the showdown against Georgia.
I cannot see UGA losing this game. Barring injury, the Bulldogs should win this game handily.
UF has three more home games against Mizzou, South Carolina and Idaho. I think the only game in this stretch they will lose is against the Game Cocks.
The season finale is at Tallahassee against Florida State. The Seminoles also have a first-year head coach in Willie Taggart so we don’t know how good they will be. I’m going to give the edge to FSU for now but clearly that can change.
Florida should win 7-8 games in 2018 and set up a big 2019 season.
The Tiger’s Stripes
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Prior to the 2015 college football season, you could argue the perception of Clemson Tigers achievements was more hyperbole than anything.
Despite a raucous fan base, a fantastic tradition and reputation for being a big-time program they had only one Top 5 finish in school history; their championship season of 1981.
After three straights playoff appearances, two championship games and another National Championship the Tigers are finally cashing the checks their fans and reputation have been writing; and things don’t look to be slowing down.
Behind Alabama, Clemson has become one of the premier programs within college football. Last season, one that was considered to be somewhat of a rebuilding year, resulted in a 10-1 regular season record, an ACC Championship title and that third straight playoff appearance that I mentioned.
If you’re waiting for trend to be broken, don’t get your hopes up it will take place this season.
Clemson will be one of the deepest and most talented teams entering the 2018 campaign.
Normally people look at the offensive side of the ball in the same my wife looks at Chris Hemsworth when he’s shirtless in any Thor movie. In this particular case it’s Clemson’s defense that give football fans the googly eyes.
Usually, when people debate about whether or not a college team could actually compete with a professional one it’s completely ridiculous. It’s no so farfetched if you focus in on strictly Clemson’s defensive line.
The Tigers had three defensive linemen on last year’s squad- Dexter Lawrence, Christian Wilkins, Austin Bryant-that would have been high draft picks had they entered the 2018 NFL Draft; none of them did. When you hear analysts talk about Clemson having an NFL defensive front, and trust me you will, it won’t be an exaggeration.
Include some of the returning players they have at linebacker and in the secondary and you’re looking at possibly the nation’s best defense.
Even if the Tigers defensive side of the ball is the stronger of the two, their offense won’t be any slouch, either. Kelly Bryant, who exceeded expectations last year, returns at quarterback, along with Trevor Lawrence who will almost certainly see time under center.
Much like Georgia’s situation with Fromm and Fields, it will be difficult for the Tigers to keep both of their young quarterbacks off the field.
Clemson also returns it’s top three running backs and a deep receiving core, including Hunter Renfrow, college’s version of Cris Carter; all he does is catch touchdowns.
Clemson’s schedule sets up nicely for a championship run, too. There’s always a chance for a slip-up against an inferior team but if they are able to avoid the bump in the road, their two biggest games will be back to back against NC State and Florida State, respectively.
The Wolfpack, a team that has caused the Tigers issues in the past, visit Death Valley, while Clemson travels to Tallahassee.
Top to bottom, Clemson may be the most complete team in the country and that’s including Alabama. Barring any major injury, or a widespread case of complacency, Clemson is almost a sure bet to make it to their fourth straight playoff appearance.
It’s taken decades for the production on the field to match the high expectations. Now that Clemson has finally arrived, I wouldn’t be looking for them to relinquish that elite status anytime soon. They certainly don’t seem to be slowing down.
