Brunswick High Pirates
The Contenders
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
We are entering the last week of the regular season for Georgia high school football.
At this point we have separated the contenders from the pretenders. Let’s take a look at 6A to see who will bring home the state championship.
#1 Buford: The Wolves (8 – 1) lost to Chaminade-Madonna (FL), 7 – 0. They beat the #2 team in 7A, North Cobb, which is their only loss. Buford has only given up two points in region play. The last game of the season is at Dacula.
Last season was Buford’s first season in 6A after winning the 5A state championship in 2019. They beat Lee County in the championship game 34 -31. Senior wide receiver Isiah Bond is the No. 8 recruit in Georgia for the class of 2022 and he’s a four-star player. He’s committed to Florida.
Senior safety Jake Pope is also a four-star prospect and he’s committed to Alabama. Corner back Ryland Gandy has committed to Pitt. Running back Victor Venn has committed to Colorado. Quarterback Ashton Daniels is a Stanford commit.
The Wolves will win their third consecutive state title this season.
#2 Lee County: The Trojans (9 – 1) are on a collision course to meet Buford in the state championship game again. Their lone loss was a blowout against 5A Warner Robins, 56 – 30.
They beat North Miami Beach 68 – 49 to begin the month of October. It’s alarming that the defense has shown they will give up a lot of points.
Senior linebacker Jaron Willis is a four-star recruit and committed to Georgia Tech.
Offensive tackle Qae’shon Sapp is a three-star player and he committed to Florida State.
Safety Quavian Carter is also a three-star recruit and he committed to Michigan State.
Safety Malcolm Jones is a Virginia Tech commit.
On paper this team is as talented as any team in the state.
#3 Langston Hughes: The Panthers (8 – 1) lost the season opener 7 – 6 to 7A Newton. They reeled off eight consecutive wins after that. They beat crosstown rival, #6 Westlake 31 – 24.
Junior offensive tackle Bo Hughley is a four-star player and committed to Georgia. At 6’7 and 290 pounds he’s one of the most physically imposing players in Georgia.
Safety Terrance Love and wide receiver Robert Lockhart III are also a four-star players.
The final regular season game is Friday against Morrow. Hughes is legit and I expect them to make a deep run in the playoffs.
#4 Brunswick: The Pirates (9 – 0) are a bit of a surprise. Their undefeated and on the verge of winning region 2-AAAAAA. Their last game is at Effingham (6 -2), which will determine the region champion.
Senior OL Kanaya Charlton is a 4-star and is committed to Florida State.
#5 Rome: The Wolves (7 -2) are a perennial contender.
One of their loses was to the #1 7A team Collins Hill, which is expected. Their other loss was 34 – 32 to South Paulding, who is also in region 5-AAAAAA.
They have blown the rest of their opponents out.
The final game of the regular season is at Paulding County and they have a chance to win the region.
#8 Riverwood: The Raiders (8 – 1) are led by head coach Robert Edwards. As a running back at Georgia he’s most famous for leading them to their only victory against Florida while Steve Spurrier was the coach.
Riverwood has a prolific offense. They scored at least 24 points in every game this season.
They end the season at Chattahoochee.
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Jason Bishop Show w Kipp Branch October 23
MCA Buccaneers Coach’s Show w Bradley Warren August 31
Jason Bishop Show w Kipp Branch August 28
MCA Buccaneers Coach’s Show w Bradley Warren August 26
Jason Bishop Show w Kipp Branch August 21
Pirates Passage
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Kanaya Charlton is going into his senior season at Brunswick High School.
Number 69 for the Blue and Gold stands at 6’5 and weighs in at around 335 pounds. At that size Charlton is a pretty good athlete. He has quick feet and plays multiple positions along the Pirate offensive line which he will anchor in 2021.
He currently holds 22 committable offers from some big-name schools. Alabama, Auburn, LSU, Texas A&M, Tennessee, South Carolina, Florida State, North Carolina, Georgia Tech, and Virginia Tech just to give you a sample size.
On the academic side Mr. Charlton has a 3.8 GPA and is fully qualified. He will graduate BHS early and will enroll in college in January 2022.
Things I noticed in the interview for this article was that Kanaya is a yes sir/no sir type of kid with a firm hand shake and he looks you in the eye when he talks to you.
Charlton’s head coach Sean Pender had to following to say about his highly recruited offensive line prospect: “Kanaya is a young man that wants to get better daily. He takes hard coaching very well, and he can play anywhere along the offensive line when we need him to do so. College coaches look for that versatility in kids they recruit plus he is a great student so we don’t worry about him producing in the classroom. He has gone from a shy kid when he arrived in 9th grade into a confident young man who now addresses the team in meetings in a leadership role. He is the type of kid that is going to show you every single day that he is up for any task we throw at him.”
I spoke with BHS Offensive Coordinator and Offensive Line Coach, Garrett Grady who is Charlton’s position coach and he offered the following comments: “Kanaya is a complete student-athlete. He cares about his academics as well as his performance on the field. He is a genuine person who truly cares about everyone around him. His development from his freshman year to now is amazing. He has made tremendous gains in the weight room becoming one of the strongest members of this team. Kanaya has stepped into a leadership role this year and has raised the level intensity & pride of this team. I am very proud of the young man he is becoming and looking forward to what the future holds for Kanaya Charlton. Expect Great things from him!”
I asked Kanaya a few questions regarding this season and his college plans:
What does this coaching staff at BHS mean to you? “My coaches have been there as role models for me. That is an amazing feeling. I feel like they are a huge reason why I’m in the position I am in today”.
What do you like about this 2021 BHS football team? “Since I have been here our team and coaching staff have gotten better every single season. Our goals this year are: City Championship, Region Championship, State Championship. Being put out in the second round the past two seasons has really left a bad taste in our mouth. We are going to change that in 2021. I want our group of seniors this fall to be known as the class that changed our program culture from just being a winning program into a championship program. That is a huge step for our program”
College choice, any thoughts on where you might go? “Today FSU is my #1 choice. I am going there on an official visit this month. I have been on many unofficial visits there so far. The coaches there make me feel the most at home. I will probably make my official commitment to the school I choose either the last week of June or the first week of July. I want to get this behind me so I can 100% focus on my senior season at BHS”. Charlton has indeed committed to go to Florida State.
What will you major in at college? “Life Sciences with a possible focus on Marine Biology”.
Any last comments? “Pirate Pride and remember it is “All about the Family” at Brunswick High School.
The Willis Way
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Recently The Glynn County Board of Education approved the renaming of the BHS field house in honor of longtime BHS coach John Willis.
The “John Willis Field House” will be named after a man who roamed the sidelines at historic Lanier Field and Glynn County Stadium from 1980-2001.
For 22 seasons John Willis was the face of Pirate football and will always be the face of Pirate Football to me because John Willis is MY football coach.
I played on his first two football teams in 1980 and 1981. Pirate football is a passion to me to this day because of one man and one man only and his name is John Willis.
The situation at Brunswick High School in 1979/1980 was similar to what we see in our country currently which was a lot of racial division. Our program was coming off a horrible 0-10 season. Our head coach resigned and I was going into my junior year at BHS. Our school needed someone who could unite and bring us all together.
John Willis was named head football coach at BHS in the summer of 1980. I met John Willis for the first time on a hot steamy practice field behind the old BHS campus around 7AM in early August of that year.
Our first game in the 1980 season was a road game at Camden County. Keep in mind we had not won a football game in two years, and the first thing out of the mouth of our new coach was when we beat Camden. Not we are or we hope it was when we beat Camden.
Then we proceeded to run 21, yes 21, I’ll never forget, 100-yard gassers. Coach Willis said I want to find out who is going to quit on me because if you quit on this practice field then you will quit on me on Friday night.
Coach would chant “what kind of meat?” we would answer Wildcat meat. That became our preseason rally cry. We became a football team in three short weeks.
We loaded the bus and went down to Camden on a Friday afternoon for that season opener. John Willis had a way of making you want to run to run through a wall for him. We believed we were going to beat Camden that night and we did 6-2.
We were all jumping for joy on the field and the first person who hugged me when the horn went off was John Willis and his quote was “I told you so Kipp”.
Outside of my own Father I can’t think of another man I respect more than John Willis in this world today. We went on to become a playoff team my senior season in 1981 and when I see my former team members there is always a special bond from that season when we became a winning football team.
John Willis made us into winners and the lessons he taught us on the practice field still hold true today. If you believe, work harder, and never give up then not many folks will beat you in life.
The ‘John Willis Way’ gave two decades of Pirate football letterman a solid foundation for life. I’m told the road from Habersham Street to the John Willis Field House will be called John Willis Way.
Former players have called Habersham Street John Willis Way for years because John Willis helped teach us how to become a man.
The ‘John Willis Way’ is the only way I know how to approach the game of football. Thank you coach for all you have done for Brunswick High School. Next stop for you should be The Glynn County Sports Hall of Fame. You taught me Pirate Pride coach!
Jason Bishop Show w Kipp Branch May 5
Signing Day
By: Buck Blanz
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The most challenging year recruiters have ever faced is finally over as one of the most anticipated days for college football fans on National Signing Day came and went.
Alabama was once again able to grab the top ranked class followed by Ohio State, Georgia, Clemson, and Oregon to round out the top-5.
Once again, the legendary Nick Saban brings in the top ranked recruiting class of 2021. Alabama was able to land arguably the best class of offensive linemen Tuscaloosa has ever seen.
Scary to hear those words coming off of a National Championship season as well as landing the third best running back in Camar Wheaton out of Texas.
It feels like Alabama is always grabbing the number one spot in anything football related, and they don’t appear to be going anywhere anytime soon.
Saban’s protege, Kirby Smart, has modeled his program at Georgia to be much like the one he came from in Tuscaloosa back in 2016.
Since Kirby was hired, he has been nothing short of a great asset in recruiting for the Bulldogs and this year proves no different as they got their 11th top-10 recruiting class in a row.
The Bulldogs came in at number three this year with a lot of help from the late dual-threat QB commit Brock Vandagriff, who is the latest addition to the very talented UGA QB room.
The other name often mentioned along with Georgia in the SEC east are the Florida Gators.
However, I would say that Dan Mullen bringing in just the 10th best recruiting class this year is a little bit of a letdown.
The Gators had a phenomenal 2020 season through a tough schedule, earning the SEC east championship and a shot at Alabama in the SEC Championship game.
Many of those players have declared for the NFL draft bringing Dan Mullen and company back to the drawing board. However, with the 10th ranked class in this year’s recruiting race Mullen was able to reload in some key positions for the Gators.
Mullen Landed tight ends Gage Wilcox and Nick Elksins as well as bringing in Caros Del Rio and Jalen Kitna at quarterback replacing one of the most famous duos last year in Kyle Pitts and Kyle Trask.
As for the other national powerhouses, Clemson and Ohio State were able to make their presences felt once again by reloading what have been two great programs for the last five to seven seasons.
Lastly, many high school athletes dream of becoming a college athlete but few are able to achieve it. Each recruit signing on NSD is giving themselves an opportunity to make an impact at the next level, make your mark!
Congratulations to all of the 2021 signees on the Georgia Coast!
Brunswick High School
Amarion Whitefield – Georgia Military College
Tyrease Jones – Savannah State University
AJ Wilson – Georgia Military College
KJ Lee – Georgia Military College
Josiah Bess – Greensboro College
David Newbauer – Greensboro College
Keegan Carroll – Greensboro College
Kyle Rehberg – Rose Hulman Institute of Technology
Kaleb Hampton – Reinhardt University
Glynn Academy
Jordan Swain – Georgia Military College
Chase Gabriel – Florida International University
Marvin Dallas – Louisville University
Ryan Seay-Savannah State University
MCA
Trenton Johnson-Savannah State University
Ryan Burkhart-Savannah State University
Miles Wood-Washington and Lee University
Khay Loyd-Army
Camden
Darryl Williams-Georgia Military College
Deterias Glover-Austin Peay University
