Georgia Sports Edition
Rebuilding The Nest
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Even though we are in the thick of the football season, for basketball junkies, like myself, there is added excitement since the start of the basketball season is just around the corner.
For fans of the Atlanta Hawks there may not be much to cheer about this upcoming season when it comes to their overall record. However, there will be plenty of identifiers that will give them an idea of where their team is headed.
The first person I’m watching is new head coach, Lloyd Pierce. When whatever soap opera revolving around Mike Budenholzer came to end and the Hawks decided to rebuild from the ground floor up, it made sense to bring in a coach with a reputation for working with young players.
Not only did Atlanta get that with Pierce, but he also knows what it’s like to work through those “growing pains” having been in Philadelphia the past five years.
Much like when Brad Stevens was hired in Boston a few years ago, Pierce won’t be judged on his win/loss record right away, or at least he shouldn’t be.
What Travis Schlenk, Atlanta’s general manager will be focusing on are the “how’s” of Pierce’s coaching:
How does Pierce relate to his players?
How does he use his rotation?
How does the first year coach react to particular end of game situations?
The way Pierce handles himself in these instances among, I don’t know, a hundred others he’ll encounter during the season, will speak louder than their final record.
Obviously, no matter how good Pierce may be leading the Hawks from the sideline, ultimately his fate rests with the players in the floor (come for my pop culture references, stay for my obvious analysis). In Atlanta’s case, most of those players are still acclimating themselves to the league.
Atlanta has a nice core of young players, starting with the trio of Taurean Prince, John Collins, and Trae Young.
Prince may never be an All-Star caliber player, but he’s solid on both ends of the floor and seems like the type of player who will fit in well with what Pierce wants to do.
Collins tends to remind me of a more athletic Al Horford, back at the start of Horford’s career.
Collins doesn’t have the array of offensive moves his elder does, but he does have the potential to get there. I really liked his game when he was at Wake Forest and look forward to seeing what he can over the next few years.
I’m not quite sure how I feel about Trae Young. While I understand the Stephen Curry comparisons to when Steph was coming into the league, Young is still a big gamble.
You could argue the player the Hawks traded away Luka Doncic for Young. Luka Doncic- has the highest floor, while Young has the greatest potential to be a bust.
Personally, I can see him averaging a double double in points and turnovers, just as easily as points and assists.
It would be easy to chalk this season up to a learning experience and spend time doing other things besides following a team that may not win 20 games. The reality though is this season is extremely important.
The Hawks are starting to put together the pieces they hope will bring them back to prominence over the next couple of years. This year will go a long way in determining if they’re starting with a solid foundation, or if they’re going to have to go back to the drawing board.
Brave October
By: TJ Hartnett
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
It’s been half a decade, but the Braves are going to the playoffs again.
It is an exciting and frankly unexpected development in the Braves franchise in 2018, coming at least one but probably two years before the earliest anyone could have expected a division title.
Let’s take a quick look back at how they managed to end up on the top of the heap and briefly look ahead to the playoffs.
So, the Braves weren’t expected to make the playoffs in 2018. They weren’t really expected to compete for a spot.
So, does that mean that they lucked into a division title? Is their spot on top a fluke? Not at all.
Players like Ozzie Albies and Ronald Acuna, Jr. took steps as players, Freddie Freeman and Nick Markakis stayed consistent and stayed healthy and the starting rotation, anchored by Mike Foltynewicz and Anibal Sanchez of all people, put in enough quality innings to help out a fairly poor bullpen.
This team is talented enough to belong where they are, make no mistake. To give credit where it’s due, it certainly didn’t hurt that both the New York Mets and the Washington Nationals, the two teams people actually thought would be at the top of the heap in 2018, were busts from nearly Opening Day.
The Mets in particular were lost causes early on but people kept expecting the favorite Nationals to wake up and make a run, at which point the Braves and Phillies would fall back to their natural places in the middle of the pack.
But that never happened and the NL East has been all about Atlanta and Philadelphia throughout the year.
So yes, Atlanta took advantage of a top spot that was vacated by the Nats, but the team they fielded still deserves to pop champagne, at least once.
On that note, let’s look ahead to what the playoffs might look like for Atlanta.
At this point it’s pretty clear that Chicago will have the best record in the NL, which means that they’ll take on the winner of the Wild Card Game, leaving the NL West Champs to face the Braves.
That’s clearly going to be either the Los Angeles Dodgers or the Colorado Rockies. Both teams offer big challenges and the Braves played neither particularly well, going 2-5 against each club in 2018, including an ugly four game sweep at Suntrust Park at the hands of Colorado in August.
There may be a psychological benefit to playing a smaller market team like the Rockies to start off the playoffs but there would also be a measure of sweet revenge if the Braves could face Los Angeles, the team that knocked them out in the first round in 2013 (though only Freeman and Julio Teheran remain on the roster from that season).
Either way, it will be a huge challenge for the Braves to win their first playoff series since 2001. Whatever happens, Atlanta should be proud of what they accomplished this season – not just that they won the NL East, but that they DESERVED to win the NL East.
They hit, pitched, caught and had the kind of no-quit, gritty attitude that hasn’t been seen in Atlanta since the scrappy and resilient team that led Bobby Cox back to the playoffs one last time in 2010.
They’ve been incredibly fun to watch play and now we’ll get to watch them play just a little bit longer.
Statesboro Blues
By: Josh Aubrey
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
For the third straight week the Statesboro Blue Devils had three or more turnovers and once again it proved costly. Despite trailing by only seven in the fourth quarter the Blue Devils were unable to convert when they had to and dropped a 22-6 decision at West Laurens.
“For whatever reason in some areas we are not being very coachable,” said Statesboro coach Jeff Kaiser. “We work on ball security daily. We get into the heat of the battle and panic. We need to get mentally tougher.”
The Blue Devils had the lead cut to seven and were driving early in the fourth quarter.
The offense was able to get inside the Raiders eight-yard line, but a sack on third and eight pushed them back to the 12. Kaiser elected to go for a 29-yard field goal but Cody Parker’s attempt sailed wide left and the Raiders took over.
The Blue Devil defense forced a punt but the Raiders pinned the Blue Devils at their own 10-yard line. A holding penalty moved the ball back to the five-yard line and then Statesboro quarterback Drake Horton was called for intentional grounding in the end zone, resulting in a safety and a 15-6 West Laurens lead.
The Raiders then took the free kick and marched 60 yards for their final points of the game. Dorian Edmond capped off the drive with a three-yard touchdown for a final score of 22-6.
“I thought once again our defense played well,” Kaiser said. “We just kept putting them on the field a lot and in bad situations.”
After Statesboro went three and out the Raiders took their opening drive and got down to the Statesboro five-yard line. Consecutive holding calls moved them back and they had to settle for a 46-yard Cam Coup field goal for a 3-0 lead.
West Laurens converted on a fake punt on their next offensive series. That was followed by a 35-yard pass from R.J. Mathis to Brent Carr. Capping the scoring Mathis rolled left and found E.J. Holmes for a five-yard score and a 10-0 Raider lead.
Late in the first Statesboro’s offense looked like it was finally getting on track. Jaylen Roberson (174 yards rushing) busted free on a 55-yard run to the West Laurens 19. Two plays later the Blue Devils fumbled and the Raiders took over.
In the second the Statesboro defense came through with a big play. Corey McCullough stripped the ball right out of the hands of Dorian Edmonds and Statesboro took over at the West Laurens 12-yard line. Two plays later McCullough got rewarded as he busted free up the middle for an 8-yard touchdown. The extra point failed, leaving the score 10-6.
Statesboro outgained West Laurens in total offense 243 to 228, marking the second straight game the Blue Devils have outgained their opponent in a loss.
The three turnover brings the Blue Devil total to 10 turnovers in their last three losses.
“I’m proud of our kids, they are playing hard,” Kaiser said. “Our goal is to get to game 11. Our goal is still attainable. We still have some good teams left on our schedule, but I feel we are a pretty good team ourselves. The trick now is to keep our kids spirits up and not let them get dragged down by some of the poison that can come from some people in this community.”
Pirate Rally
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Down 21-0 going into the second quarter, Head Coach Sean Pender inserted KJ Lee at QB. Lee turned in a memorable performance and rallied the Brunswick High Pirates to a dramatic 31-27 over New Hampstead at Glynn County Stadium.
Lee led the Pirates on an 88-yard game winning drive with 1:54 remaining in the contest as he connected with Che Foy on a spectacular 20-yard TD pass with 12 seconds left.
Foy caught a pass near the sideline faked a defender then leaped the final 3 yards into the end zone.
The Pirates outscored the Phoenix 31-6 over the last three quarters. Freddy Towns leaped up and knocked down a last second Hail Mary toss to secure the win.
The win improved the Pirates record to 2-3 on the season while New Hampstead dropped to 2-2 on the season.
The comeback win may be just what the doctor ordered to jump start a playoff run by Brunswick moving forward.
Pirate Report Card.
Offense: B+. The Pirates were held scoreless in the first quarter, then once Lee was inserted in the game the Pirates scored 13 points before the half.
After the half the Pirate offense completely dominated the second half by running the football right down New Hampstead’s throat and the Phoenix wore down as the game progressed.
KJ Lee was the player of the game. The BHS offensive line dominated the contest. Che Foy had his best game as a Pirate. Xavier Bean caught his 4th TD pass of the season and the backfield combo of Jaylen Trimmings and Chucolbe Hill chewed up yardage in chunks in the second half.
This unit wore New Hampstead down as the game entered the later stages. This unit now has confidence moving forward. The intensity and execution of game plan is a welcome sight as region play starts in two weeks.
Defense: C. The unit looked awful in the first quarter and gave up an 89-yard TD pass in third quarter but this unit hung in there and did enough to put BHS in position to win the football game late in the contest.
Yes, improvement needs to be made in all areas of defense. It starts with giving up too many big plays.
The defense was minus two key starters in the contest. The unit played with much more intensity from a week ago and it showed in the second half.
Special Teams: C. A missed PAT forced the offense into having to go for two three times in second half. The kick coverage was ok and kick return made a couple of nice returns.
Coaching: B+. The game plan worked as planned with the up-tempo style on offense. The Pirates had New Hampstead worn down with game on the line.
Play calling was great and despite some key starters missing for BHS the staff made the right adjustments at the half to slow down the New Hampstead offense.
Coach Pender stressed intensity and execution all week in practice and everything went as planned with game on the line. Nice rebound from the Camden game.
Overall: B-. This team needed a win badly and they got it. It wasn’t pretty at times but it was effective when it counted.
BHS may look back and on this win as the one that jump started the season. This was a big win for the program.
Terrors Get Chomped
By: Jason Bishop
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Glynn Academy Red Terrors got some good news before they ever even took the field Friday night against Ware County.
The Red Terrors were awarded with a forfeit win over Fort Dorchester. Glynn played Fort Dorchester in week one and took a 37-21 loss to the Patriots.
The governing body of athletics for the state of South Carolina deemed that Fort Dorchester had been playing with an ineligible player and would be required to forfeit all games the ineligible player had participated in.
Thus, the loss Glynn had to the Patriots became a 1-0 win due to the forfeit. The forfeit improved the Red Terrors’ record from 2-2 to 3-1 heading into the game with rival, Ware County.
Glynn Academy had won 5 straight against Ware and had not lost to their rival since 2014.
Ware County was coming off a bye week and was looking to regain control of the series; the Gators had owned the Red Terrors for over a decade before Glynn started its streak.
The Gators came into the Glynn game at 3-1, with their only loss to archrival Coffee County by a touchdown.
However, the first half would not be kind to the Red Terrors. Ware would punt on their first possession of the game and then score touchdowns on their next three possessions.
The Gators would miss 2 extra points and went into the locker room at the half up 19-0 over Rocky Hidalgo’s Red Terrors.
The Terrors would answer to start the second half. Glynn put together a solid drive and would punch the ball into the end zone on a 2-yard run by QB TJ Lewis. The Terrors would have the PAT blocked but would get to within 2 score 19-6.
The Gators would immediately answer. Ware would score a long TD on the very next play for a 26-6 lead.
Ware County would go into “clock kill” mode on offense and eventually salted away the clock.
Ware would come away with a 26-6 win. The loss is the 2nd in a row for the Red Terrors and their record falls to 3-2.
Glynn Academy will travel to Kingsland next week to take on the Camden County Wildcats. Camden is 3-1 on the season.
Falcons Back In Flight
By: Kenneth Harrison Jr.
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Atlanta Falcons rebounded after a Week 1 loss. They beat division rival Carolina 31-24 in a very competitive game.
Matt Ryan finished 23 of 28 passing for 272 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception in a performance that took some of the heat off offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian.
Matty Ice also channeled his inner Mike Vick on a touchdown run in the third quarter. Looking to throw on third-and-5 from the Carolina 8, he spotted a running lane to the left and took off.
“I didn’t want to slide in that situation or go down because you don’t know where you’re going to be marked,” he said. “I felt something below my feet, and just went up the best I could. It was a good decision.”
Eight players caught passes. Six ran the ball including Tevin Coleman, who gained 107 yards on 16 carries filling in for injured Devonta Freeman. Rookie Ito Smith also played well adding 46 yards on 9 carries.
The Falcons resembled the high-scoring team that made it all the way to the Super Bowl two seasons ago with Kyle Shanahan as the coordinator.
Tight end Austin Hooper had five catches for 59 yards and a touchdown. Rookie Calvin Ridley scored his first NFL touchdown and had for receptions for 64 yards. Julio also hauled in five catches for 64 yards.
Atlanta has one of the most talented offenses in pro football. It is head scratching that they played so poorly in the season opener. It’s especially interesting considering Ryan Fitzpatrick threw for over 400 yards and 4 touchdowns against that same Eagles defense.
The Falcons are happy to get the win but I still see some red flags. The total yards were almost even with Carolina gaining 439 and Atlanta with 442. Each team also had one turnover.
The defense is dealing with injuries, missing two Pro Bowlers. Safety Keanu Neal tore his ACL in the first game and he will miss the rest of the season. Linebacker Deion Jones was also placed on injured reserve after the Philly game with a foot injury.
“We are bummed for Deion but we do expect to get him back at some point this season. He represents all that we are looking for in a Falcon player, and while he will not be on the field for us right now, he will continue to have a presence in our building,” coach Dan Quinn said in a statement.
Second year linebacker Duke Riley is filling in and he has not played well since joining the NFL. The team is hoping he can make drastic improvements this season.
Cam Newton is known more for being an athletic quarterback and less for his accuracy but he had a good day through the air. He passed for 335 yards, 3 touchdowns and 1 pick. He also took a cheap shot from safety Damontae Kazee who was thrown out of the game for the helmet-to-helmet hit while the Panthers quarterback was sliding at the end of a run.
The Falcons should feel good going into the Week 3 home game against New Orleans. The Saints needed a last second field goal to win against the lowly Browns. The week before they gave up 48 points to Tampa Bay.
I expect this to be a high scoring shoot-out. It will come down to the defense to make a critical stop.
The Wrong Kind Of Buzz
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
I applauded Georgia Tech a few months ago when they decided to extend Paul Johnson’s contract.
In a profession where the people making these decisions tend to suffer from long term memory loss, it was refreshing to see a program reward their coach for his overall body of work and not just the past twelve months.
I admit it’s easy for me to say that based on the fact I’m not a Georgia Tech fan. If I were a fan, I’m sure my feelings would be quite different.
After the Yellow Jackets slow start to the season it would be easy, if not a bit premature, to write about whether or not Johnson needs to keep his job.
So, I’m going to do my best not to get too deep down that rabbit hole; besides, those articles have already started.
To me the more interesting question isn’t whether or not Johnson should be fired if this season continues on its current downward slope, but what direction will athletic director Todd Stansbury go, if it does.
When Johnson’s contract was extended after two losing seasons within the last three years, it gave off the impression there was a confidence that he would be able to turn things around.
Or at the very least, Johnson would be given time to turn things around, since his extension goes through 2022. You don’t give a coach who still has three years left on his contract an additional two years if you’re contemplating firing him after one season.
If you look at Tech’s first few games this season, along with how their future opponents have fared up to this point, you can see a scenario play out where they win only 4-5 games this season.
Georgia Tech isn’t exactly considered a powerhouse in college football but I also don’t see their fans and alumni being ok with three losing seasons sandwiched around one 9-4 year.
I imagine if that scenario were to come to fruition there would be a loud majority calling for Johnson’s job.
Would the outside pressure cause Stansbury to make a change or would he stand his ground and continue to have Johnson’s back?
One thing that has the potential to be a big factor revolves around Johnson’s buyout. If I’m not mistaken, it would “only” cost Georgia Tech about $4 million if they were to fire Johnson.
I know that amount of money isn’t chump change but in relation to what it costs most Power 5 schools to fire their head coach, $4 million certainly isn’t a deterrent.
As I stated earlier I’m not here to debate whether or not Johnson should lose his job if the remainder of the season mirrors what has taken place so far.
There are a lot of things that would need to be taken into consideration; actual win/loss record, how did the team play, were they competitive in most games.
It’s intriguing though to see how all this could possibly play out. Johnson has been one of the winningest coaches in Georgia Tech history and seems to have a substantial amount of support within the program.
Could another bad season negate all that good will and confidence or will he be able to maneuver through it for yet another year?
Of course, the Yellow Jackets could reel off a bunch of wins and finish the season 9-4, completely rendering this entire situation a moot point.
Outside of Paul Johnson there may not be a single person hoping that takes place more than Todd Stansbury.
Acuna Matata
By: TJ Hartnett
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Braves fans were already chomping at the bit for Ronald Acuna, Jr. to be awarded the NL Rookie of the Year award all the way back in February. As the league’s top prospect, he seemed a safe bet for the award.
A late debut wouldn’t make much of a difference but missing nearly a month to injury and a good, but not stellar initial run in the lineup threatened to derail those plans. Not to mention the emergence of Juan Soto as a legit contender for the award.
Acuna’s return and subsequent move to the leadoff spot has put him firmly in the running once again. The two young phenoms’ numbers are incredibly similar and it looks to be a tight race for the trophy.
But I think Acuna could aim a little higher. As in, Ronald Acuna, Jr.: National League Most Valuable Player.
ROTY tends to be handed to whichever player puts up better pure numbers. The MVP award tends to fluctuate on that point, sometimes going to players with higher slash lines, sometimes going to players who lead a team to the postseason.
What the appropriate criteria should be is a debate for another time. What tends to be the case when an MVP is awarded to a player on a last place team is that their numbers are so gaudy or historical that they are worthy of merit (A-Rod’s MVP while he was on last-place Texas Rangers team, for example).
The NL features no such player in 2018. No one has run away with the award and in fact there could be as many as five or six players worthy of the trophy come season’s end. And one of them, arguably the most deserving, is Ronald Acuna.
Since taking over the leadoff spot in the batting order, Acuna has been on an incredible tear and has been a huge part of solidifying the Braves’ spot at the top of the NL East.
The Braves briefly dropped out of first place over the summer but Acuna heated up and has been the sparkplug that has the Braves on the cusp on an NL East Title.
He’s hovering around .300 and could very reasonably reach 30 homeruns by the time the season comes to a close. He will have barely played in over 100 games.
To that point, his OPS would be tied for best in the National League, except he doesn’t have enough at-bats to qualify.
So regardless of slash line, counting stats (RBIs is a notable deficiency), or impact on a team’s postseason aspirations, Ronald Acuna, Jr. has an incredibly strong case for National League Rookie of the Year AND Most Valuable Player.
There’s precedent too: Ichiro pulled off the trick in 2001, so writers are willing to throw votes at a rookie (Ichiro’s standing as a true rookie was, of course, debatable).
Will it happen? If Acuna can get and stay over .300 and reach 30 home runs for a playoff team, it might convince a few voters.
Standing in his way, ironically, would be his teammates. Freddie Freeman was considered the frontrunner for the MVP for most of the season but his production lately hasn’t been up to MVP level. If Freddie finds another gear to close out the season, it might actually be tougher for either of the Braves stars to win. A split vote would be more likely.
But whatever happens, Atlanta has seen something truly special in 2018 and he’s only 20. So, regardless of whether or not he wins this year, Acuna needs to buy himself a trophy case sometime soon. A big one.
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.
Glynn Stung By Yellow Jackets
By: Jason Bishop
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Glynn Academy Red Terrors took to the road this past week to take on the undefeated Wayne County Yellow Jackets.
Wayne County had looked impressive coming in with a big win over Richmond Hill two weeks ago.
The Terrors had a bye week prior to the game and had only played a half of football in two weeks. That half coming against Groves and the second half was cancelled due to weather.
The Wayne County Yellow Jackets took control of the game early, scoring on their first drive of the game for a 7-0 lead.
Wayne would add to it in the 2nd quarter and would lead 14-0 before Glynn would rally.
The Red Terrors put a TD on the board to close within 14-7 and would then score on a 1-yd TD run by quarterback TJ Lewis to tie the game heading into the half.
However, Wayne would take control of the game again. MJ Fuller returned the opening kick of the second half 80 yards for the touchdown. The Yellow Jackets converted a 2-point conversion for a 22-14 lead.
Wayne would then recover a kick that hit a Glynn player on the kickoff and then would march the ball into the endzone for a 29-14 advantage early in the 3rd quarter.
The Yellow Jackets went into “clock chewing” mode after that and ran the ball at will against the Terror defensive front.
The Red Terrors began to amass some momentum in the 4th quarter, however that momentum would be squashed as the Terror QB TJ Lewis threw into double coverage and the Yellow Jackets intercepted the pass inside the 20.
Keep in mind the Terrors are a young football team and this was a great measuring stick to see there they stood. You can expect Coach Hidalgo to have his Terrors ready to play next week and to have learned from the mistakes made against Wayne.
With the loss the Terrors drop to 2-2 on the season and will travel to Waycross next week to take on rival Ware County.
Glynn Academy has not lost to the Gators since 2014.
Ware will be coming off of a bye week.
