Bishop Media Sports Network
Pirates Sunk By Camden
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Camden County rolled into Glynn County Stadium and ruined the BHS home opener by blowing out the Brunswick High Pirates 37-0.
It was a total lackluster effort by the Pirates who suffered an embarrassing home loss.
Coming off a bye week the Pirates were just off all night on offense and as the game progressed the defense wore down and gave up some big plays.
Anthony Mountain came off the bench and led the offense on a couple of nice drives in the second half in relief of KJ Lee. Mountain’s performance may have created a QB battle moving forward.
Pirate Report Card:
Offense: F. The offense was offensive. The offensive line got manhandled. The QB play was not much better and forced a QB change in the third quarter.
Mountain came in and did some good things and maybe earned the opportunity to start next week. The wide receivers had key drops and the Pirates had two more turnovers. The Pirates were held to 58 yards rushing and 225 yards of total offense.
Defense: D. This grade would have been higher but I felt this group mailed it in during the 4th quarter of the contest.
You can’t beat anyone when you give 7.8 yards per play in a football game. BHS had talented defensive backs getting beaten too easily and the run defense was good in spots but just got worn down due to lack of production from the offense.
Special Teams: B. Mitchell Richburg had a good night punting the football and you know it is a long night when your punter is a candidate for player of the game. The opening kickoff was a touchback. A nice Improvement made in this area.
Coaching: D. This team did not play well. And late in the first half Camden ran the same play three straight times for a TD, Camden stoned the BHS offense.
The Pirates had nine penalties on the night and came out after the halftime break flat. Being on a running clock in the 4th quarter is never good.
Overall: D. Back to the drawing board for BHS.
This was just an awful performance and there is nowhere to go but up now. This team has the talent and potential to be a good football team but it needs to become mentally tougher.
There is no excuse to get beat 37-0 at home. This team will improve and get better when region play starts in October. Time to forget this one and move forward. This teams needs its talent to play up to its talent level.
Statesboro Killed By Turnovers Against Effingham
By: Josh Aubrey
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Last year it was a wild shootout between Statesboro and Effingham that saw the Rebels come from 20 points down to win in Springfield 38-34.
This time around instead of a shootout, the Blue Devils shot themselves in the foot, with three first half turnovers that proved too much to come back from, as Statesboro fell 20-15 to drop to 2-2 on the season.
“The last thing we told our kids was to protect the football,” said Statesboro coach Jeff Kaiser. “Three turnovers, with one going for a touchdown really killed us. We beat ourselves, they didn’t beat us.”
Statesboro actually outgained Effingham County with 312 yards of total offense to only 120 for the Rebels but it would be the three Statesboro turnovers that would prove to be the difference in this one.
The Blue Devil offense was in excellent field position on their first drive of the game. Jaylen Roberson broke a tackle and went 45 yards before being brought down at the Effingham seven-yard line. The offense stalled and then on third down a bobbled exchange resulted in the ball being loose. After both teams scrambled around the Rebels finally fell on it at their own 35-yard line.
With no score through one quarter of play Statesboro’s defense got them the ball back, as Flip Dixon picked off a Jerid Stokes pass, giving the Blue Devils the ball at the 35.
A few plays later Statesboro quarterback Drake Horton was intercepted himself and the Rebels took over at midfield.
It wouldn’t take the Rebels long to score as Stokes hooked up with tight end Necos Gadson on a crossing pattern and he would go the rest of the way untouched for a 37-yard touchdown and the Rebels had a 7-0 lead.
Coach Kaiser then put Sage Reese in at quarterback for the first time this year and things didn’t go well.
On the first play from scrimmage Reese was stood up and while fighting ahead the ball was stripped away and scooped up by the Rebels Joseph Solomon, who would go 35 yards for the touchdown. The two-point conversion failed and Effingham was on top 13-0.
On the ensuing kickoff the Blue Devils Will Yawn gave Statesboro a bit of a spark with a 38-yard kickoff return into Rebel territory.
The offense then proceeded to march downfield, with linebacker turned running back Corey McCullough doing a lot of the damage. McCullough would cap the drive with a 11-yard touchdown run.
McCullough would then punch in the two-point conversion, cutting the lead to 13-8, with 2:35 left in the half. That score would hold into halftime.
The Rebels came out of the third quarter and promptly went on a five-minute drive, capped off by a seven-yard Desmond House touchdown which extended the lead to 20-8.
The Blue Devil offense was unable to get going until late in the game as they went 70 yards on their final drive of the game, aided by a couple Effingham penalties.
The drive culminated in a seven-yard touchdown pass from Horton to Yawn to cut the lead to 20-15 with less than a minute to go.
The Blue Devil onside kick attempt was recovered by the Rebels, who were able to take a couple knees and run out the clock, as they improved to 4-1 on the season.
“Our kids played hard but I didn’t think we played too smart tonight,” Kaiser said. “We will tell our kids they can listen to the poison out there if they want to, or you can come back to work, and put your nose down and try to get better. It doesn’t get any easier.”
Up next Statesboro travels to West Laurens next Friday night for a non-region matchup.
The Great Casper
By: Rich Syles
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Now, I have had a privilege to interview some of the greats in professional
Golf; Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Fred Couples, Tom Kite, Davis Love III, Billy Casper and a few more.
I have interviewed some of the great architects of some of the outstanding courses in the world. I would like to share with you one of my favorite interviews and why.
I had the opportunity to sit with PGA Tour legend, Billy Casper, one on one, for an hour and half at a friend’s house in Raleigh, NC.
Casper was funny, down to earth and humble. He was a man with a strong faith and did not have the notoriety that the others did.
Yet, Billy Casper’s winning percentage was third behind Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus. He was ahead of everyone else; Palmer, Player, Trevino, etc. The statistic was figured upon number of PGA tournaments entered and number of wins.
That is a fact not many people realize about Billy Casper. He did not have a big public relations team behind him. He had his talent and his faith. Casper was a gentleman’s gentleman who loved people, his family, which included many adopted children.
I asked him specifically who was his biggest rival…..he said, “whoever I was playing at the time.” I asked him about his U.S. Open win at the Olympic Club. On the tenth
tee, he was 7 shots behind Arnold Palmer with nine holes to play. He told me about every hole, not only what he hit, but how he hit it and what Arnold got on those holes.
At the end, he tied Palmer and won in a playoff.
This was one of my favorite interviews and people. RIP Billy. To steal a line from Bob Hope…..thanks for the memories.
Brunswick High Pirates Coach’s Show With Sean Pender September 12
Glynn Academy Red Terrors Coach’s Show With Rocky Hidalgo September 12
MCA Buccaneers Coach’s Show w Tony Glazer September 11
College Football Top 10 Week 2
NFC South
By: Kenneth Harrison Jr.
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The NFL season has officially kicked off and there were some great games.
All 32 teams (even Cleveland) believe they have a chance for a winning season at this point. Well maybe not Buffalo but you get my drift. We’re going to take a look around the NFC South to see what we learned.
New Orleans and Tampa Bay played a great, high scoring game. The Buccaneers won 48-40 on the road. The first thing that jumps out is the lack of defense from both teams.
Jameis Winston is currently serving a three-game suspension, so journeyman QB Ryan Fitzpatrick played. Surprisingly, Fitzpatrick threw for 417 yards, 4 touchdowns, no interceptions and completed 75% of his passes.
He played amazing but he has been inconsistent his entire career. I believe if he wins another game, he will take the starting job from Winston.
The Saints have been known for elite offense since Sean Payton and Drew Brees came to town in 2006 and they did not disappoint.
Wide receiver Michael Thomas had a monster game with 16 catches, 180 yards and a TD. He also had a costly fumble that Tampa Bay recovered.
Alvin Kamara showed that he would not have a sophomore slump. He scored 3 total touchdowns, a 2-point conversion and had over one hundred yards receiving.
Carolina beat Dallas 16-8. The Panthers defense looked good, holding Ezekiel Elliot to 69 yards rushing. Cam Newton lived up to his Super Man nickname, leading the team in rushing yards. He scored a TD on the ground and he looked better as a passer by completing 65% of his attempts.
We have to take into consideration this was against the Cowboys and their offense is not very good. Dallas has been elite at running the ball but they do not have any playmakers other than Elliott.
I think Carolina’s defense is good but we need to see them against better offenses.
Linebacker Luke Kuechly left the game in the fourth quarter with a knee injury so that is something to monitor.
Atlanta opened on the road against the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles won 18-12 and it was a sloppy game that was delayed to due lightning.
If you recall in last season’s playoff game it came down to the final play and the Falcons could not score the winning touchdown.
The Red Zone woes continued for the Falcons and that is troubling. They had five trips to the Red Zone and scored once.
On the final play of the game Atlanta was inside the Eagles 10-yard line and of course, they have to throw to Julio Jones. Unfortunately, Ryan did not throw him a catchable ball, just like the playoff loss.
I’ve always been a big Matty Ice fan but his expectations were raised when he signed his new $150 million contract. He’s under much more scrutiny and I feel this is a Super Bowl or bust year for the Falcons.
We have 15 more games left so I do not want to overreact after week 1.
The NFC South looks like it will be the most competitive division in the league again. I believe if one of the teams can get home field advantage in the playoffs they will get to the Super Bowl.
Eagles Talon UMass
By: Mike Anthony
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Georgia Southern did much more than avenge a blowout loss from last season on Saturday night at Paulson Stadium.
The Eagles dealt out a beating of their own.
Georgia Southern racked up 488 yards of offense and scored 24 of the game’s final 27 points as it avenged a 2017 loss to Massachusetts with a 34-13 victory to move to 2-0 on the season.
“We preached it throughout the week,” Georgia Southern coach Chad Lunsford said. “We’re a blue-collar team. We’re not sexy. We need to play a lot of guys and have them fill a lot of roles to win games, and that’s what we did tonight.”
Trailing 3-0 in the second quarter after a Mike Caggiano 32-yard field goal put the Minutemen up in the first period, Eagle quarterback Shai Werts hit Cam Brown for a 5-yard touchdown strike that put Georgia Southern up. The touchdown and catch were career firsts for Brown.
The Eagles kept the momentum rolling as Tyler Bass connected on a 41-yard field goal. UMass answered with a 12-play, 75-yard drive capped off by a 1-yard touchdown run by Jordan Fredericks.
Primarily a rushing team, Werts got the Paulson Stadium crowd jumping with consecutive completions to Wesley Kennedy III for 25 and 28 yards, respectively. Werts skipped into the end zone from 3 yards out with 35 seconds to spare in the half, giving Georgia Southern a 17-10 lead that it never relinquished.
“It was a lot of fun out there,” Werts said. “(Fields) and all of our running backs were doing their thing all night. Once (UMass) had to respect the run, it really opened up what we could do passing.”
Tyler Bass kicked a career-long 50-yard field goal to begin the second half for the Eagles. The Minutemen answered as Caggiano split the uprights from 41 yards out, but the Eagles took full control after that, racing down the field on a five-play, 70-yard drive capped by a 17-yard play-action toss from Werts to Colby Ransom.
With just over two minutes to play, UMass had all but waived the white flag but the Eagles dealt a knockout blow. Georgia Southern ate up over five minutes of clock and Monteo Garrett plowed in from five yards out to make it a laugher.
“One of the things about being a blue-collar team is that you have to know how to finish games,” Lunsford said. “We missed a few chances to do that earlier in the game, but at the end we were able to step up and finish it.”
Werts followed up a 163-yard rushing performance in the opener with 154 passing yards and two touchdowns on a 6-of-9 performance Saturday.
He also chipped in 83 yards on the ground while Garrett ran for 90 to combine with Fields for the bulk of the Eagles’ effectiveness on the ground.
Massachusetts starting quarterback Andrew Ford completed 22 of his 33 attempts but a swarming Eagle secondary limited Ford to just 190 yards through the air.
The window finally shut for good on Ford’s final pass of the night as Eagle linebacker Benz Josue perfectly read a receiver settling into a hole in the GS zone and recorded his first career interception.
Georgia Southern is riding high and quickly putting the ghosts of 2017 behind it but the Eagles will face their toughest test of the year next week as they hit the road to take on No. 2 Clemson.
College Football Fallout Week 2
By: Jason Bishop
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Week two of the college football season is now in the books and some great outcomes and storylines arose from the “Saturday that was”.
I wonder what it will take for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets to consider moving in a different direction, away from Paul Johnson.
A loss to non-Power 5 South Florida has Tech fans groaning again about Johnson and that Triple Option. However, the problem isn’t the triple option or even Paul Johnson’s coaching, the problem is recruiting.
Georgia Tech was considerably outmanned against South Florida, which had athletes all over the field and that ultimately reflected on the scoreboard.
Also, currently, South Florida and UCF are the best 2 non-Power 5 teams in the country. Thus, there should not be a lot of outrage amongst the Yellow Jacket faithful about losing to the Bulls. They are currently better.
Speaking of better, I think it is pretty safe to say the Georgia Bulldogs are better than the South Carolina Gamecocks. The Dawgs went to half up by 10 and then Kirby Smart “let the Dawgs off the chain” in the second half and South Carolina had no answers.
In my opinion, Georgia and Alabama are the two best teams in the country, again.
A team that is not among the best 2 in the country is Florida. The Gators had beaten Kentucky 31 straight time and had not lost to the Wildcats since 1986.
That streak is over. Kentucky took advantage of a bad Florida offense and came away with a 27-16 win in Gainesville. Yes, in the swamp.
Long gone are the days where no one won in the Swamp except for Florida.
One thing that truly amazes me is how the University of Florida cannot find a decent QB when they are the flagship school for one of the four most talent rich states in the country.
Especially, when you thing about the great QB’s that have played there in the last 30 years. One thing is for sure, Feleipe Franks has a lot to work on.
One last thing, for people who are not paying attention, LSU is better than you think.
Next week the Bayou Bengals will have a chance to prove this to the country as they will take on the Tigers from the plains in Auburn.
The winner will have the inside shot of dethroning Alabama in the SEC West.
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