Brunswick High Pirates
The Game March 4
SSE Minute February 17
Pender’s Promises
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Earlier in the month new Brunswick High Football coach Sean Pender spoke to a packed house of Pirate supporters at the Boy’s and Girl’s Club of Glynn.
It was a meet and greet event where Pender got to meet the Pirate fan base for the first time since his hiring.
The Game February 11
SSE Minute February 10
The Game Feb 4
SSE Minute Feb 3
Pirates Signing Day
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Coming off of a disappointing 5-5 last place region finish, the Brunswick High Pirates had 7 players sign Letter of Intents to further their education and football careers.
D’Ante Demery- University of Georgia: The 4-star recruit signed with the UGA’s top 5 class. The 320-pound offensive tackle is part of the best OL group ever assembled in UGA recruiting circles and whether Demery gets on the field as a freshman will be determined. This kid has a chance to be in the NFL in 3-4 years.
Shawn Smith- University of Virginia: Great pickup by UVA. Smith is fast and a great athlete and could be a good WR at the college level. I think Smith is a pretty good DB and could land there. Virginia has a great athlete in their program. Smith might possibly return some kicks as well. He will bulk up quickly in a college strength and conditioning program.
Danijah Gammage- Mercer University: Mercer got a great football player. Gammage is a hitter and has great ball skills. I think Gammage has the potential to develop into an NFL caliber player while he is in college. He reminds me a lot of Tracy Walker coming out of BHS. He will get bigger and stronger in Macon.
Deqwan Chapman- Albany State University: Chapman was a solid corner for BHS now he heads to a solid college football program and I think he will end up being at ASU. Good kid and a good player.
Wiley Golden- Tusculum College: Golden will take his talents to the prestigious private college in Greeneville, Tennessee. Golden is an excellent student and has great hands at the TE position. Golden’s academic accomplishments are stellar and he is a pretty good football player on top of it. I’m very proud of this young man.
Jabori Williams- Hutchinson Community College: You can’t teach size and at 6’4 330 pounds Williams is huge. I expect him to contribute right away and bigger things will happen for this young man in a couple of years. He is just learning how to play OL.
Brandon McMaster- University of Georgia (Preferred Walk-On): What if this young man did not battle injuries his entire senior year? He goes to UGA as a PWO because this kid has a 3.5 GPA and has already graduated and is the example of opportunities that come around to folks who get it done in the classroom. This kid is a great football player and it would no surprise me one bit if he does not end contributing in Athens. UGA got a steal here.
BHS has talent and has kids that get it done in the classroom. The future is bright for the Pirates as they could sign 10 or more players next February with the huge senior class returning.
But for the seven that signed on signing day, as a Pirate alum I just want to thank you for all of the blood, sweat, and tears you shed to lay the foundation for future Pirates. Thank you and as always Pirate Pride!
Former Pirate Coach Maurice Freeman Helps After Storms
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Last weekend as I was watching the news and the devastation that storms had taken lives and ruined the American Dreams for hundreds of families in South Georgia I started thinking how could my organization MAP International help those in need.
I have worked at MAP International for 23 years and I have traveled to over 30 countries globally as a representative of MAP and our organization has shipped over 6 billion dollars of medical supplies to those in need.
As I was following the events in South Georgia over the weekend, I got to thinking about how sports particularly High School football is woven into the fabric of unity of the small rural communities all over South Georgia.
On every Friday night in the fall a high school football game takes place in a small town like Adel, Georgia that brings these communities together in fellowship.
I read where a couple of people had lost their lives on Monday morning in the small town of Quitman, Georgia. The only connection I had in Quitman was a dear friend and former Brunswick High football Maurice Freeman who now leads a very successful football program at Brooks County.
Maurice Freeman is a good, godly man who was our football coach from 2002-2007 at BHS, who built a solid program at BHS before he was called back home to his hometown of Quitman where he led Brooks to a state title in 1994 as a young head coach.
Freeman and I became very good friends while he coached the Pirates. We helped start the Brunswick Quarterback Club; a football only booster club back in 2005. We fished together, shared meals, raised money in the Brunswick community. I hated to see him leave in 2008 but I understood and wished him well and we have stayed in contact ever since.
I texted Coach Freeman at 10AM on Monday morning and asked him if Quitman needed help, and he immediately responded back and said yes, but Adel needed it more. He was headed to Albany for a coaching clinic, but would connect me to some of his contacts in Adel.
I said that would be great, and within 15 minutes we had a plan in place to deliver relief hygiene supplies to Adel. We loaded the goods on my truck and by 1:30 that afternoon I met Coach Freeman in Adel and we off loaded the supplies at the drop off center in Adel. And best of all we were able to have about 30 minutes of time to visit and catch up on life.
Football in South Georgia teaches life lessons you use every single day of your life. Football teaches teamwork, unity, to strive for goals, and when your back is against the wall to fight like a mad dog to be successful.
The biggest most wonderful thing I saw was how the Cook County Football and other Athletic teams banded together as brothers and sisters to meet the needs of their own, and worked their tails off to help those in need. Brooks County and Cook County are rivals in sports, but you throw that out of the window when people are in need. I watched an entire county mobilize in a very short amount of time.
I was reminded of some great lessons through sports connections I have made in my life. Maurice Freeman and I were able to organize and complete a relief response in about three and a half hours because of our connection we made as part of the BHS football program many years ago.
From this day forward Brooks County will be my second favorite high school football team other than my Pirates.
I love you Maurice you are the best in my book.
How Good Will Sean Pender Be?
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
New Pirate head coach Sean Pender has met with his new players and current assistant coaches’ at BHS. The meeting in the words of one of the top returning players was he connects with players, and they loved his plan for the upcoming season, and he knows what he is talking about.
Pender met with the entire team and then met only with the returning seniors for next season. By my count Pender will have seven starters returning on the offensive side of the ball, and seven returning on defense from a talented 5-5 team that underachieved in 2016.
I was fortunate enough to sit down to dinner with him, Athletic Director Steve Waters, Jerry Mancil, Keith Reddings and myself. Pender’s football IQ is off the charts. The man flat out knows the X’s and O’s side of the game of football.
He talked about certain looks a defense will give you and then the amazing part was how they can run 3-4 different plays based on the look. Pender’s offense will create a lot of nightmares in this region in 2017.
Pirate fans can you picture top rated safety Sharrod Frazier in special packages on offense running speed sweeps with 4.48 speed? Not saying this will happen at all, but with anything new comes excitement.
Can you see Jaylen Jackson at WR wreaking havoc on an opposing defense? Can you see DJ Whitfield touching the ball 10-12 times a game on offense? Can you picture RB Shaq Robinson being involved in the passing game? Then once everyone is spread out in space watching Ben McCloud destroy the middle of a defense running between the tackles.
On defense can you see Kam Futch at 225 pounds making 12-15 stops a game with Frazier playing a hybrid LB/S spot drilling an opposing QB?
Exciting times are upon us at Brunswick High School. Pender will get to work fulltime at BHS on February 1st. The off-season program will be implemented and the assistant coaches will be coached up on the offensive and defensive schemes. Pender will start rounding out his football staff as he meets with current assistants and other candidates for potential staff openings.
In 2017 per a new GHSA rule schools can have a spring football game with another opponent. That game is scheduled for May 19th at Glynn County Stadium with opponent to be determined for the Pirates. Between now and the start of Spring Football practice Pender his to get as much of his system in place as fast as he can.
This man drips passion as he talks football and that enthusiasm is contagious. He has a unique way of connecting with players, administration, alumni, and boosters that in just two days has created quite a buzz around the program. My phone has been blowing up with former alumni and players that I have not seen in years asking how to get involved with the program.
Times are exciting again as a buzz surrounds the BHS Football program. The Pirates open the season in August with a road game at Coffee. I bet the Coffee coaches are blowing up the Pierce County Hudl account now trying to watch as much film as they can to try to defend Brunswick.
I can hear the Coffee coaches now saying “How are we going to stop this with the athletes Brunswick has?” Yep that’s your problem 2017 opponents. We’ll meet you at the 50 on Friday Night’s for the coin flip.
Online
Radio/Podcasts
