Cameron Miller
Pirates Prepping for 2025
By: Cameron Miller
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
High School football season for the Brunswick High Pirates is right around the corner and with the Pirates coming off a great season with a team loaded with talent, I can’t wait to see how Reigning 2024 All Region 1-AAAAA Coach of the Year Garrett Grady is leading his team into this season.
Brunswick finished up last year with 6 Offensive All-Region 1st Team selections, which were QB Grant Moore, TE Heze Kent, WR Waseem Murray, OL Chase Richardson, OL Kasiyah Charlton, and WR Jamarious Towns.
The Pirates also had 6 Defensive All-Region 1st Team selections, which were DL Lance Brown, LB Caleb Butler, LB Jeremiah Robbins, CB Sekhi Ashley, LB Kregg Richardson, CB Aviyon Addison, and J’Shawn Towns, who was the 2024 All Region 1-AAAAA Defensive Player of the Year.
The off season didn’t start off as the Pirates had expected. They are missing one big piece of their program right now, Coach Grady said “We were without our Defensive Coordinator Coach Thomas Tedder this Spring. Our thoughts & prayers are with him and his family. We are going to Coach and play at the highest level to honor him. He had a medical emergency and is still recovering.”
Although Brunswick had a few key playmakers graduate this year, they still have a loaded roster of players that are fired up to play their hearts out for Coach Tedder.
The team is also continuing to quickly develop and get better every day. When I asked Coach Grady about how the team was shaping up prior to this year’s Spring Game he told me “I thought the entire Spring Practice we got better over the 10 days we were allowed to practice. The effort was great and our coaches did a phenomenal job coaching and teaching our guys fundamentals.”
“During the Spring Game our guys competed at a high level and communicated well on both sides of the ball.” said Coach Grady following the Pirates 2025 Spring Game, which was held earlier this month.
Starting Quarterback Grant Moore who has Multiple D1 offers from Schools such as Murray State, Samford, Eastern Kentucky, did not participate this year, because he is in the final stages of coming back from a shoulder injury that happened this past baseball season.
With Moore not playing it left a lot of time for other quarterbacks Keagan Walker and Eli Overton to show off their skills and get some good reps in front of a good crowd.
The Pirates might not have had their star quarterback in the game, but they did have both of their star running backs, Josiah Gibbons who has offers from West Virginia, Tulane, East Carolina, Arkansas State, Liberty, and Kennesaw State, and Nigel Gardner who has offers from Eastern Kentucky, Arkansas State, and Eastern Carolina.
Those two have the privilege of having a wall of an offensive line led by UCF Commit Kasiyah Charlton, and Chase Richadson who has many Big D1 Offers from Georgia Southern, Kentucky, Army, Navy, West Virginia, Appalachian State, Georgia State, and many others.
Besides the depth in the run game, Moore will also have 2 monster weapons at his disposal in the passing game. Wide receiver Waseem Murray is coming off an amazing 2024 season for the Pirates where he was able to receive solid offers from Georgia Southern, Central Michigan, and Northwestern State.
The other big target Grant will have in the Passing game is 6’5 265 lb, 4 Star TE Heze Kent. Kent is going into his senior season with the Pirates and has received a total of 47 Offers to play college football.
He has his options narrowed down to the Top 5, and will be accounting his commitment between Florida, Miami, Florida State, Georgia Tech, and Texas on July 12th, 2025.
So, we’ve covered the talent all around the offensive side, but we can’t forget about stud CB Aviyon Addison, who just received his first offer from Arkansas State.
I see Addison having an amazing 2025 season and making a run for that defensive player of the year spot.
Brunswick High will scrimmage at home against the Ware County Gators. Then the season starts on the road on August 15th in Kingsland against the Camden County Wildcats and will finish their regular season at home against the South Effingham Mustangs.
Here is a look at the full Brunswick High Pirates 2025 Schedule:
8/8: vs Ware County
8/15: @ Camden County
8/22: vs Wayne County
8/29: BYE
9/5: vs Effingham
9/12: @ Evans
9/19: vs Greenbrier
9/26: @ Glynn Academy (Brunswick)
10/3: vs Bradwell
10/10: @ Statesboro
10/17: @ Lakeside
10/24: BYE
10/31: vs South Effingham
Even Ground
By: Cameron Miller
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Let’s not sugarcoat it, the Atlanta Braves began the 2025 about as poorly as you could imagine, which put them in trouble. Deep trouble.
The Braves were a team that came into the season with real championship aspirations and a roster that’s loaded with All-Star talent. The first half of this season so far was really nothing short of a flat out failure.
They’ve been dealing with major injuries such as a pair of their young Superstars, Ronald Acuna Jr and Spencer Strider, being out of the lineup for them.
The injuries are one excuse, but at the end of the day you’ve got to step up with “next man up” mentality and that’s something they just couldn’t do at the beginning of the season. They had many of us wondering if this was really the same Braves team that once ruled the NL East.
So yes, reaching a .500 win percentage may not seem like much, because at this point it doesn’t even earn you a playoff spot, But make no mistake this milestone really does matter.
It marks a turning point in a season that, not too long ago, really looked like it might spiral into something we would all want to forget.
But here’s the thing about baseball, it gives you time. Time to figure it all out. Time to get healthy and get motivated.
And, over the past few weeks, the Braves finally have shown signs of life. They managed to claw their way back to .500 (21 wins & 21 losses) without the help of Ronald Acuna Jr or Spencer Strider and in doing so, they’ve reminded everyone around the league that they’re not going down without a fight.
The .500 mark isn’t about mediocrity; it’s about resilience and determination.
Eli White has been making a good start as a placeholder for Ronald Acuna Jr in right field, but Acuna is scheduled to rejoin the team for action on June 1st, so when he does make his way back in the starting lineup, the Braves will have another solid option in the field or at the plate if needed.
Spencer Strider on the other hand has been dealing with all different types of injuries; he has been dealing with a right elbow sprain since last season and right now it’s a right hamstring sprain he’s working to come back from.
Still, let’s not get too romantic about a .500 team. This roster was built to contend, not just merely survive.
The Braves aren’t in first place; they aren’t even leading the Wild Card race. But they’re alive and just a few weeks ago, that felt like a long shot. They picked up some steam just in time to try and give themselves a real chance to make a push in the NL East.
Reaching .500 isn’t a reason to celebrate, but it is a call to action. It’s a sign that the Braves have turned the tide just enough to make the rest of the season meaningful and enjoyable. And in a year where they were getting close to playing themselves out of relevance, that’s a victory worth acknowledging.
If they keep this momentum going, we’ll look back at this week not as a meaningless statistical checkpoint, but as the moment the 2025 Braves started to matter again.
On To Duval
By: Cameron Miller
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The 2025 NFL Draft has come to an end, so let’s take a look at how the Jacksonville Jaguars come out of the Draft with an NFL.com grade of A-.
The Jaguars and new GM James Gladstone began the draft with a bang right out of the gate, by trading up from Round 1 Pick 5, to get Round 1 Pick 2.
The Jaguars traded the Cleveland Browns, Pick No 5 in 2025, 2025 Pick No. 36, 2025 Pick No. 126, and a 2026 1st Round Pick, and in exchange they got back 2025 Pick No. 2 (Travis Hunter), 2025 Pick No. 104 (Bhayshul Tuten), and 2025 Pick No. 200 (Rayuan Lane III).
As a Die-Hard Jaguars fan I am beyond pleased with the outcome of this year’s draft.
Starting out with the most notable selection is Round 1 Pick 2 Colorado WR/DB Travis Hunter.
Hunter was the No. 1 Recruit in the Nation out of High School. In his 2024 season he was able to obtain a mountain of Awards and Accolades such as the 2024 Heisman Trophy winner, the Associated Press College Football Player of the Year, winning the Biletnikoff Award (Best WR) and Chuck Bednarik Award (Top Defender), the Lott IMPACT Trophy (Top Defensive Player who exhibits Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community and Tenacity), being named Walter Camp Player of the Year Award, winning the Paul Hornung (Most Versatile Player), all while also being named Big 12 Player of the Year, 1st-Team All-Big 12 WR, 1st-Team All-Big 12 CB, 1st-Team Associated Press All-American All-Purpose & CB, 2nd-Team Associated Press All-American WR.
Hunter tallied up a ridiculous stat line for the 2024 season. On Offense he caught 96 passes for 1,258 yards, and 16 total touchdowns. On Defense he had 35 Tackles, 1 FF, 4 INTs, 11 PBUs, only allowed 23 Catches and 1 TD on 41 Targets.
Although he has shown if he had chosen one position in the draft he probably would have been WR1 or CB1 the Jaguars have recently announced that Hunter will start out on the offensive side of the ball and gradually work into defense.
Next is Round 3 Pick 88 Caleb Ransaw, a DB from Tulane who could potentially become a starter for the Jaguars at slot corner at some point this season. Ransaw finished his 2024 season with 34 Tackles, 4 TFLs, 1 Sack, 3 PBUs, which was enough for him to be named 2024 3rd-Team All-American Athletic Conference
With their third selection they drafted the West Virginia OT Wyatt Milum at Round 3 Pick 89. Milum was named 2024 Big 12 Offensive Lineman of the Year. He also was 1st-Team All-Big 12, and 2nd-Team Associated Press All-American. Fun fact about Wyatt is he was Originally committed to pitch as a lefty for the University of Marshall Baseball Team, before he switched and became a 4-year starter for West Virginia’s Football Team
Their next selection came in Round 4 where they drafted Virginia Tech HB Bhayshul Tuten with Pick 104. Tuten could definitely see some work early on in the season especially on special teams and maybe even see him come in on some early down formations.
In 2024 he rushed for 1,159 yards on 183 carries and punched in 15 touchdowns. That was good enough for him to make 2nd-Team All-ACC for the second year in a row.
Next pick was Round 4 Pick 107 where they selected Jack Kiser, the linebacker from Notre Dame. Throughout his time at Notre Dame, he played in 70 total games which was enough for him to set the school record for most games played.
In 2024 Kiser had 90 Tackles, 5 TFLs, 2 Sacks, 1 PBU, and 2 FFs. He was named the Notre Dame Man of the Year and was a Finalist for the William V. Campbell and Wuerffel Trophies.
In Round 6 they got one of the biggest steals of the draft, with pick 194 they drafted Auburn linebacker Jalen Mcleod.
In 2024 he had 13.5 TFLs, 8 Sacks, 2 FFs, 57 Tackles, and 1 PBU. Even though he was a late round pick, with the physicality and speed of Mcleod at the strongside linebacker position I really believe the Jags got a player who could potentially come in and have an immediate impact, especially with the consistent injury history of starter Ventrell Miller.
The Jags used their Round 6 Pick they acquired in the Browns trade to get Navy Safety Rayuan Lane III at No. 200.
In 2024 he had 3 FFs, 70 Tackles, 2 INTs (1 Returned for a TD), and 4 PBUs, and made 1st-Team All-American Athletic Conference
In Round 7 they also had 2 picks, pick 221, which they used to get USC OL Jonah Monheim.
Monheim was a very versatile Offensive Lineman throughout his tenure in college, he played 18 games at RT, 3 games at RG, 12 at LT, and 12 at C. His senior year he earned 3rd-Team All-Big Ten Honors.
Even though he is now primarily a center, it seems as if Monheim could potentially be used as a plug-n-play kind of guy on the Offensive Line.
They also had pick 236, which landed them Syracuse HB LeQuint Allen Jr.
In his final year at Syracuse, he rushed for 1,021 yards and 16 touchdowns.
Allen Jr also led all of FBS HBs with 64 Receptions (521 yards & 4 TDs). A season like that allowed him to be an All-ACC Honorable Mention in 2024.
After the draft was finally completely finished Jacksonville made 20 more calls and signed a bulk of Undrafted Free Agents such as Elon WR Chandler Brayboy, Boise State WR Cam Camper, Indiana DL James Carpenter, Wake Forest LB Branson Combs, North Carolina TE John Copenhaver, Oklahoma DL Ethan Downs, Colorado DL B.J. Green II, Memphis QB Seth Henigan, Oregon TE Patrick Herbert, Arkansas RB Ja’Quinden Jackson, North Carolina WR J.J. Jones, North Dakota State DL Eli Mostaert, Oregon DB Jabbar Muhammad, Duke WR Eli Pancol, Arkansas DL Keivie Rose, Colorado S Cam’Ron Silmon-Craig, Arkansas DB Doneiko Slaughter, Minnesota DL Danny Striggow, North Carolina State DB Aydan White, and Penn State OL Sal Wormley.
After all that I think it’s safe to say Jacksonville touched on all the key points that were essential to them in this year’s draft.
I believe out of all the other teams in the NFL, they definitely had one of the best overall drafts this year and I can’t wait to see them put all of these new options to work this off-season.
Pirates Keep Sailing
By: Cameron Miller
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Brunswick High Pirates Baseball team is moving on to the Sweet 16 in the state playoffs.
The Pirates are the Class AAAAA Region 1, 3 seed, which lead them to taking a trip up to Villa Rica, Ga this past week to face off against the Villa Rica High School Wildcats.
The Wildcats were the Class AAAAA Region 5, 2 seed in this year’s state playoffs. They made it to the sweet 16 last year but ultimately, due to the great play of the Pirates, fell short of a repeat.
The first round in the bracket for this year had the Pirates scheduled to play games 1 and 2 on Wednesday the 23rd and if needed, game 3 would be played on Thursday the 24th.
The Pirates made the trip up with zero intentions of needing a game 3. They made the trip short and sweet, with a 1-0 win in game 1 and a 7-5 win in game 2, giving them a clean sweep of the series.
In Game 1, Trenton Robinson was on the mound for the Pirates, where he once again had an absolute lights-out performance.
Robinson pitched 7 full shutout innings, in which he struck out 7 batters, didn’t walk a single one of them, and only gave up 3 hits the entire game.
Brett Hickson had the game’s only RBI, with a groundout in the first inning, it was just enough for Jordan Lodise to be able to make it home to score and give the Pirates an early 1-0 lead that they held onto until the end.
In Game 2, Jordan Lodise made the start for the Pirates. Lodise pitched 4 innings for the Pirates before others such as Brett Hickson, Braxton Johnson, and Hunter Neal took the mound in relief.
Despite giving up 5 runs, the Brunswick bats were hot in this game, scoring 7 runs against the Wildcats.
Jordan Lodise led the Pirates batting going 3 for 4, with one of his hits being a double that scored 2 runs.
Garrison Strickland was also able to bring home 2 runs with a hard-hit ground ball that got through due to an error by the shortstop.
Another big hitter for the Pirates in this game was Trenton Robinson. Robinson went 1 for 2 with 2 walks, but his only hit came when they seemed to need it the most.
In a close 5-4 ball game in the bottom of the 6th inning, with Dawson Parke standing on 2nd base, he launched a series sealing, 2 run homerun over the left field wall.
Villa Rica tried to mount a comeback in the 7th, but the Pirates held on to close it out with a final score of 7-5.
The Pirates will now have to make the trip up to Warner Robins, Ga on April 29th for their Sweet 16 matchup where they will face off against the Houston County High School Bears.
Houston is the Class AAAAA Region 2, 1 Seed, so I’m sure the Pirates will be tested in this matchup, but if they can continue to stay this hot I have zero doubts in their ability to get the job done and advance to the Elite 8.
Pirates Sail Into Playoffs
By: Cameron Miller
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Brunswick High Pirates are headed to the State Playoffs!
After a long regular season of ups and downs, the Brunswick High Pirates Baseball team punched their ticket to the state playoffs after sweeping the Evans Knights in 3 game series.
Since suffering a 2-1 series loss to the Glynn Academy Red Terrors in the city championship and losing one of their stars with Junior OF/P Grant Moore suffering a season ending injury during game one of the city championship, the Pirates have tallied wins in 8 of their last 10 games.
It’s safe to say the Pirates and head coach Greg Roberts seem to be getting hot at the right time. Brunswick definitely has a chance to make some noise in the playoffs this year, but with Grant Moore being out for the season it did seem to raise a big question of whether the Pirates have enough talent on the mound to replace him in the rotation.
Well, the short answer is yes.
They still have their other go-to starters in star OF/P Trenton Robinson who is only a junior and University of Central Florida commit standout senior Jordan Lodise. Robinson has pitched 53.2 innings so far this season with a 1.69 ERA that has led him to a 6-1 record on the mound. Jordan has pitched 46.1 innings this season with a 1.83 ERA giving him a 5-0 record.
Brunswick has a variety of options to go to on the mound besides those two. They have Junior Catcher Avery Jefferson, who has proven he can be a valuable asset behind the plate and on the mound.
Jefferson has a 2-0 record starting on the mound, pitching 24 innings for the pirates this season. The Pirates also have options in the Bullpen with Junior 2nd baseman Brett Hickson, Junior 1st baseman Braxton Johnson, and Sophomore Right Fielder Coleman Smith all being able to come in and provide quality arm talent on the mound to close out games.
We all know the importance of a team’s ability to pitch, but that’s still only part of the game. Not only was Moore a go-to on the mound, but he was also the Pirates starting Center Fielder and batting .311 as the number two hitter.
Coach Greg Roberts was forced to make some quick mid-season defensive adjustments and must have designed the perfect recipe for success.
With the emergence of Junior Braxton Johnson into the starting lineup at 1st base, it allowed Coach Roberts to Shift Trenton Robinson from RF to CF and Coleman Smith from 1st to RF.
You might be wondering what they do when one of those guys mentioned is told to head up to the mound, well that’s where the super versatile Junior Garrison Strickland comes in. Strickland is one of those Charlie Culberson types of players. This season Strickland has played right field, shortstop, 2nd base and even catches when Jefferson is on the mound.
The Pirates this season are averaging almost 7 runs per game, which means they can be a very dangerous team when they get their bats going in sync and get on base. Leading them in runs scored are Hickson (26) and Lodise (25), but the Pirates runs are being scored all across the lineup.
Close behind them you have Senior Left Fielder Dawson Parke (20), Coleman Smith (16), Garrison Strickland (14), Trenton Robinson (14), and even Freshman Bentley Henson (10) and Sophomore Brady Miller (7), who get brought in at times for some additional speed on the bases, have brought in their fair share of runs for pirates.
Brunswick’s batting is highlighted by Brett Hickson who is batting .442, Jordan Lodise batting .337, and Avery Jefferson batting .312, but they aren’t the only ones putting the ball in play.
A few others who have had a consistent season at the plate are Coleman Smith, Dawson Parke, and Trenton Robinson all batting over .250 for the Pirates this season.
The Pirates finished the regular season off very strong, but their big 10-0 win against Seckinger wasn’t the only accomplishment that night.
It was also a huge achievement for Coach Greg Roberts with that game marking off his 300th career win as a baseball coach.
There’s no doubt the Pirates have had a rough road to the playoffs, but with the ability of these players and their coaches being able to gain all of this momentum over the last few weeks, the only thing that matters now is what’s ahead of them.
The playoffs and a chance to reach the coveted State Championship. If this Pirates team under the leadership of coach Roberts can continue to stay hot and take it game by game the sky is truly the limit for them.
