Brunswick High Pirates
Committed
Coastal Georgia Area Football Early Signing Period Commits
Glynn Academy
TJ Lewis-QB/Louisville
Jaiden Miller-DB/College of Charleston
Camden
Micah Morris-OL/Georgia
Shawn Hardy-WR/Nebraska
Hudson Tucker-DT/Tennessee Tech
Brunswick
Caleb Cook-OL/Georgia Southern
Kyle Rehberg-K/Rose-Hulman Insititute Of Technology
MCA
Khay Loyd-DB/Army
Glynn Academy Red Terror Coach’s Show w Rocky Hidalgo October 14
Jason Bishop Show w Kipp Branch October 10
Jason Bishop Show w Kipp Branch September 19
McIntosh County Academy Buccaneers Coach’s Show w Bradley Warren September 15
Jason Bishop Show w Kipp Branch September 5
Round of 16
By: Jason Bishop
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The second round of High School Football playoffs approaches this week. Here are previews for the games this round for our area teams in southeast Georgia.
Coffee County Trojans @ Mays Raiders: Coffee County finished with the number 3 seed from the vaunted 1-6A region. That region includes Valdosta, Lee, Houston and Northside Warner Robins.
The Trojans enter the second round at 8-3 and looking to get a shot at the winner of Stephenson and Allatoona in the round of 8.
However, in order to do that Coffee will have to get through Mays, no easy task.
Mays is 10-1 and the region champ from region 5-6A. This game will also be played in Atlanta as Coffee is a 3 seed and Mays is a 1 seed. The Raiders have wins against Creekside, South Paulding and Northgate on the season.
Despite the fact Mays is a region champ, I think the Trojans will win this game and move on to the Elite 8. This will be a war.
Lanier Longhorns @ Richmond Hill Wildcats: Richmond Hill won region 2-6A and carries a one seed. Most did not expect the Wildcats to win the region, but they did.
Richmond Hill is 7-3 on the season after the first-round win over 4 seed ML King. The Wildcats best win is probably against region foe Glynn Academy, who also is still playing.
Lanier is the 2 seed from region 8-6A. The only loss of the season for the Longhorns is to powerhouse and region champ Dacula.
Lanier’s best win probably came last week against a 6-5 Sprayberry team. The Longhorns schedule was very soft this season. They are currently 10-1. Lanier will be heading to Richmond Hill from Sugar Hill, not a short trip.
This might be closer than most think, but I will take Lanier to move on.
Glynn Academy Red Terrors @ Dacula Falcons: By most standards, Glynn has had a subpar season. The Terrors finished the season 5-4 and a 2 seed in region 2-6A.
The Red Terrors have come to expect region championships and deep playoff runs under head coach Rocky Hidalgo.
The Red Terrors dominated a tough Tucker team in the first round 31-7 at Glynn County Stadium.
Now Glynn will head up to Atlanta to battle with the number 1 seed from region 8-6A, the Dacula Falcons.
The Falcons are currently unbeaten (11-0), and have beaten Lanier, Dalton, and 7A playoff team Mill Creek.
This is tough test for Glynn. Plus, the Red Terrors will have to venture up to Atlanta for this game. I will take Dacula in a close game.
Brunswick High Pirates @ Harrison Hoyas: The Pirates got off to tough start this season, but rebounded and made the playoffs as the 3 seed from region 2-6A. The Pirates are 6-5 on the season and won their first playoff game since 2010 last week against Morrow, 34-13.
This week Brunswick will head to Kennesaw to take on undefeated Harrison (11-0).
The Hoyas are the number one seed from region 6-6A. Harrison is currently enjoying a stretch of success that dates back to when Justin Fields was their QB.
Harrison has beaten Sprayberry, Dalton, Allatoona and last week ended the season of Winder-Barrow.
The Pirates best win of the season came last week with the Morrow win.
This is going to be tough one for the Pirates. I will take Harrison to move on.
Buford Wolves @ Ware County Gators: Ware comes into this game 8-3 and the number one seed from region 2-5A.
The Gators rebounded from a tough start to the season and went through region play to win the region.
Last week Ware struggled with 4 seed Ola but pulled away late to advance. Waiting for them is powerhouse Buford.
Buford is 10-1. That loss was to Clarke County Central, which lost the region for the Wolves. Buford, instead, earned a 2 seed and will be heading to the Swamp in Waycross to take on the Gators.
The wins the Wolves have season reads as a “Who’s who” of high school powers in North Georgia. That list includes Milton, Newton, Archer, Cedar Shoals, and Decatur.
Ware’s best win is Wayne County. Ware may be overmatched here.
I will take Buford to move on to the Elite 8.
Wayne County Yellow Jackets @ Clarke County Central Gladiators: The Yellow Jackets have been a tough team to figure out this season.
Certain weeks they have looked like a serious state title contender and others weeks not so much.
Wayne is 8-2 on the season and ended up with the 2 seed from region 2-5A.
The Yellow Jackets took down Stockbridge last week in a game I gave them no chance of winning. Yet, they did and moved on the round of 16.
Waiting for them is the number one seed from region 8-6A, Clarke County Central. The Gladiators are 8-3 on the season and beat Lithia Springs last week, 63-34.
Clarke Central will be a tough out for Wayne, but is beatable. This should be a tough, tight game.
The Yellow Jackets will have to go to Athens to play this game and that could be the difference. I will take Clarke Central in a nail biter.
Playoffs?
By: Jason Bishop
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
And here we go. The GHSA football playoffs kick off Friday night and here is a run down of area teams and their matchups in the first round.
Frederica Academy Knights @ Southland Academy Raiders: Southland ended up with the 2 seed in region 3 AAA in GISA. The Raiders upset TiftArea in the final game of the year to earn that seed.
The Knights wore down against Bulloch is the regular season finale and comes into the playoffs having lost 2 straight. The Knights finished the season 4-5, the first losing regular season for the program since 2014. Southland finished 6-4.
Despite having to travel all the way to Americus for this game, I like the Knights to win a close game and advance to the second round of the GISA playoffs.
ECI Bulldogs @ MCA Buccaneers: What a great turn around season for MCA under first year coach Bradley Warren. The Bucs finished the season 5-5, a vast improvement from 2018.
MCA also earned a first-round playoff home game at the Ship and the overall 13 seed out of 24 in GHSA A-Public.
ECI plays in the same region as MCA and lost their cross over game against Savannah Calvary Day. The Bulldogs finished with a 5-5 mark on the season as well. However, three of those losses came to higher division schools…Metter, Vidalia and Dublin. Those losses also came in the first three weeks of the season.
This is will be a tall order for the Bucs. Look for ECI to advance and pull away late, but the future is bright in Darien.
Brantley County Herons @ Peach County Trojans: Brantley makes the playoffs for the first time since in forever. The Herons grabbed the four seed from region 2-3A.
Unfortunately, awaiting the Herons in the first round is powerhouse Peach County. Peach went 9-1 in the regular season and won region 4-3A. Brantley finished 5-5 under Coach Geoff Cannon.
Aside from Brantley having to travel to Fort Valley for this game, the Herons went 1-3 on the road this season. I do not see the Herons escaping the Trojans.
Central Chargers @ Pierce County Bears: Pierce had a tremendous season under first year coach Ryan Herring. The Bears finished 10-0 and blew out most everyone they played. Pierce earned the number one seed in region 2-3A.
Central, from Macon, finished with a losing record of 3-7 and earned the 4 seed from region 4-3A.
I do not look for this game to be close at any point. Pierce will win handily and earn their way to the second round.
Ola Mustangs @ Ware County Gators: The Ware County Gators had an up and down season but played well in the region portion of their schedule to earn the number one seed in region 2-5A. They did so by blowing the #2 seed from the region, Wayne County in the season finale.
The Gators will welcome the Ola Mustangs to the Swamp in Waycross.
Ola went 7-3 on the regular season and that was only good enough for the 4 seed out of region 4-5A. It is not often you see a 7-3 four seed.
The Gators finished 7-3 themselves on the season. I see potential for an upset written all over this game, but I will take Ware at home in tough fought first round win.
Stockbridge Tigers @ Wayne County Yellow Jackets: Wayne earned the number 2 seed in region 2-5A but should still be licking its’ wounds after getting throttled by Ware County last week.
The Yellow Jackets will as well host a team from region 4-5A in Stockbridge. The Tigers finished 7-3 and are the 3 seed from that region.
Wayne finished the season with a 7-2 record, they lost a game in the regular season due to the hurricane.
I think Stockbridge is very good and they will be a tough test for the Yellow Jackets. I will take Stockbridge to move on.
Tucker Tigers @ Glynn Academy Red Terrors: Tucker will take the trip to Glynn County Stadium to play Glynn. The Red Terrors had a roller coaster year and finished 5-4 on the season, which was good for the 2 seed from region 2-6A.
Tucker finished 6-4 and lost to Stephenson in the final game of the year to lose the region championship for region 4-6A. With that loss, it took Tucker all the way from potential champs to the 3 seed.
Both of these teams have had a down year compared to where the bar is normally at for these programs.
Tucker’s region was a little tougher than Glynn’s region and the Tigers lost a tight game to region champ Stephenson last week. I will take the Tucker Tigers to move into the second round in a very good game.
Brunswick High Pirates @ Morrow Mustangs: Brunswick High made the playoffs for the first time in a couple of years as the 3 seed from region 2-6A.
The Pirates finished the season 5-5 and have had 2 weeks to prepare for the playoffs and get healthy.
Morrow dumptrucked MLK 39-13 last week to earn the 2 seed from region 4-6A. Once Stephenson beat Tucker for the region, the Mustangs were able to move up to the 2 seed as they beat Tucker head to head in the regular season.
Morrow finished 6-4 on the regular season.
This may end up being a break for the Pirates, getting Morrow instead of Tucker. We will see, but I am picking the Pirates to win their first playoff game in the Sean Pender era against Morrow.
Camden County Wildcats @ Marietta Blue Devils: Camden had a great season finishing 8-2 on the season. The only 2 losses came at the hands of region foes Colquitt and Lowndes, both powerhouses.
Those losses pushed Camden to the 3 seed in region 1-7A.
The Wildcats will head up to Atlanta to take on the Marietta Blue Devils. Marietta finished the season 8-2 and those losses came at the hands of powerhouses Grayson and McEachern.
The Blue Devils are the 2 seed from region 3-7A. What a great first round game. I will take Camden to take down Marietta on the road but in a close defensive struggle.
Jason Bishop Show w Kipp Branch October 26
Monday Morning QB’s
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
As the color commentator for Brunswick High football radio broadcasts for the last 13 years I see good trends and bad trends during football seasons.
A disturbing trend currently is attendance for home football games for our two public high schools in Glynn County.
Currently the two high schools in Glynn County average around 1,000 spectators for a home football game. That is pretty embarrassing for high schools that play in the second highest classification in the state.
Yet, in spite of poor attendance many seem to be an expert on the direction the local programs should take and offer these takes on social media outlets and really have no idea what they are talking about.
Example, I was surfing the internet after Brunswick’s loss to Richmond Hill last week and a nameless expert hiding behind a computer said the program was trash and has been trash since a previous head coach was in charge five years ago.
Here is a nugget of wisdom for this expert, who claims Brunswick wastes so much talent and wants to throw every single head coach under the bus, the school has an all-time football record of 271-274-6. Chew on those facts for a moment, expert.
Brunswick High School has been playing football for 52 years and the historical average is five wins and five losses per season, but yet this expert expects a state title every season. However, won’t give a dime of support, or time to the program.
I’m tempted to name names here but I will refrain. Brunswick High has not played past the second round in the state playoffs since 1999 and has only accomplished that feat twice in its history.
Glynn Academy is in the best run of their football history and you hear people in the community starting to complain about the program but yet 900 people show up to a game on Friday night to support a program that has won over 50 football games over the past five seasons.
What is the deal here people? Prior to the current head coach arriving, Glynn had not won a region title in football since 1972. Now they have won four region titles in a row. Are the GA faithful a spoiled now?
Do local football coaches come to your job and boo you for missing a revenue target? Do they show up at your sales meetings and provide insights to how you should do your job better? Do they show up and yell at your kid at the recreation level when they make a mistake? Do they go on Facebook and say the North Glynn Recreation league Yellow Jackets are trash and need to fire their volunteer coach? Of course, they don’t so why is everyone an expert at football?
Kirby Smart is 37-11 at UGA, yet experts on Facebook say he is a bad coach after a loss.
Did UGA deserve to loss to South Carolina last week? Hell yeah, they did because South Carolina wanted it more on that particular day.
Programs are built through blood, sweat and tears and over time, but it can be destroyed at one family dinner by the most destructive thing in the history of mankind, the tongue. Many a Church sermon has been preached regarding taming the tongue but the lesson never seems to be learned.
When mean-spirited people bad mouth a football program it affects the bottom line for Glynn County Athletics, which depends on football to fund all other sports.
When people don’t attend games, revenue is not generated. Coach Rocky Hidalgo at Glynn told me about three years ago that when people outside the program come to him with coaching suggestions, he gives them a magic marker and tells them to draw it up on the chalkboard. I wonder how long those conversations last.
There are two pretty good head football coaches in Glynn County, and dedicated players who work their behinds off who never walk on a field intending to lose on Friday night.
Give them your support, or like my granddaddy always said “roll up your sleeves and get in the trenches with me, or keep your damn mouth shut”.
The kids in Glynn County community need your support on Friday nights. Will you support them? Wins, losses, style of offense, who is the QB, all of that stuff really doesn’t matter to a true supporter.
Are you all in Glynn County? Your support is needed.
