Georgia Sports Edition
Resting Dawgs
By: TJ Hartnett
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The notion that the week before the Georgia Bulldogs take on the Florida Gators is an “off week” is, frankly, laughable.
It’s one of the greatest and most ferocious rivalry in college sports and both teams are always hungry to beat the other, regardless of the context within the season as a whole.
For the Bulldogs in particular, after suffering a loss at the hands of LSU in Week 7, the bye week is a big opportunity to get some much-needed work in before they head to Jacksonville. With some of the holes becoming more apparent in the Georgia roster, there are a handful of young players that could use the extra time to work out and step up.
The first person who comes to mind who is capable of grabbing the bull by the horns is freshman quarterback Justin Fields. He arrived in Athens with plenty of fanfare, and Jake Fromm’s Cinderella season in 2017 can only carry so much goodwill in 2018.
That being said, it’s hard to blame Fromm for a bad game in a very hostile environment but he is likely going to be watched closely and scrutinized all the more going forward, and especially against the Gators.
If Fields can keep his nose to the grindstone during the off week and show Kirby Smart that he’s ready to grab the brass ring, Fromm’s leash might get even shorter than it had been.
Robert Beal is another player to watch. The Bulldog defense was pretty fairly maligned for its performance against the Tigers, but Beal picked up his first career pick. It was easy to overlook in a loss of that magnitude. If Beal steps up and helps D’Andre Walker start to elevate the level of play on D, Georgia will benefit immensely.
Demetris Robertson’s future with UGA might rest in the balance of his work rate during this bye week. Expectations were set very high for the wide receiver despite his injury and late arrival at fall camp. He will need to prove that he is ready to grind if he ever wants to make an impact for UGA.
If Robertson can practice well, in his blocking, route running and pass catching, he could see an increased work load against Florida. Up to this point, Georgia really only uses Robertson as a gimmick player. He needs to practice and play more like Riley Ridley if he is going to contribute to Georgia this season.
A loss like the one that the Bulldogs were handed by the Tigers never truly comes at a good time but having a week “off” to lick their wounds could arguably be a big benefit to UGA. More than that, the loss brought into focus the fact that Coach Smart will need to spend this bye week whipping his team into shape.
The Florida Gators are lurking just around the corner, and the team that showed up in Baton Rouge cannot be the same team that suits up in Jacksonville. The Gators always manage to find another gear when they take on Georgia and UGA needs to spend their extra practice time (time that Florida also has, mind you) figuring out ways to reach that extra gear as well.
The Bulldogs took a loss in 2017 before running up to and through the SEC Championship and into the National Championship, so there’s no reason to think that their season is over based solely on their Week 7 performance.
However, they will need to show up and impress against Florida to remain in the contention conversation. They’ve got an extra week. They need to utilize it.
Glynn Academy Wins City Championship
By: Jason Bishop
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Glynn Academy Red Terrors won another city championship Friday night against the Brunswick High Pirates.
The Terrors won 17-12 to take home the trophy for the 5th consecutive year. Red Terror Head Coach Rocky Hidalgo has never lost to Brunswick High, a perfect 5-0. The loss for the Pirates marks the 2nd consecutive graduating class that never beat Glynn.
Glynn marched the first drive of the game down the field and scored a touchdown for a 7-0. That lead would hold through the first half and Glynn went into the locker room up 7-0 at the half.
The Red Terrors added a field goal in the 3rd quarter for a 10-0 lead. Then, in the 4th quarter with five minutes and change left in the game, Glynn added another TD to go up 17-0 and it looked like the Terrors would coast to another city championship.
However, the Pirates did not make that easy on the Terrors. Brunswick finally answered and scored a TD of their own to make the score 17-6. The Pirates went for 2 and did not get it.
Brunswick then recovered an on-side kick and would score another touchdown to make the score 17-12. The Pirates would once again go for 2 and once again be unsuccessful.
With under a minute to go the Pirates attempted another onside kick, but this time the Terrors would recover and run out the clock on Brunswick for the 17-12 win.
The win gives back to back wins for Glynn and takes them to 5-3 on the season and 2-0 in the region.
Richmond Hill ended up beating Bradwell Institute, which now leaves the Red Terrors in first place in the region by themselves. The Red Terrors still have to play Effingham and Bradwell in region to close the season.
If the Terrors win both games they will win their 4th consecutive region and claim a #1 seed heading into the GHSA playoffs.
The first round opponent will likely be Mundy’s Hill for Glynn if they did win the region again.
Pirates Sunk By Glynn
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
In a hard fought contest, the Brunswick High Pirates came up on the short end of 17-12 contest to Glynn Academy.
The loss dropped the Pirates to 3-6 on the season and 0-3 in region play. It was also the fifth straight loss in the series to the Red Terrors.
The intensity and effort were the best of the season for BHS. Anthony Mountain and KJ Lee both played well at QB.
Both teams were on the short end of a lot of penalties throughout the contest that killed many big plays by each team. BHS scored 12 points in the final five minutes of the contest, and GA recovered an onside kick with 54 seconds left to seal the victory.
Pirate Report Card:
Offense: C. This was a gutty effort against a very solid defense. Marlon Taylor is a beast and he took over the game at times for Glynn.
Jaylen Trimmings ran hard all night, and Anthony Mountain ran hard between the tackles on the zone read play.
Xavier Bean had a nice TD catch late in the contest. The offensive line blocked well all game, but key flags stalled a huge drive in the 3rd quarter.
I loved the effort and intensity of the unit against a pretty good high school defense. The passing game was off until late, but run game was solid all night long. A lot of positives from this effort.
Defense: B+. This unit came to play and they played like men. Run defense was very good throughout the game and easily the best effort of the season. Freddy Towns made a big time highlight reel interception and the defense really played the option well all night long.
Glynn hit some plays, but good teams are going to make plays. Solid effort and this entire unit deserves a player of the game award.
Special Teams: B. Kick and punt coverage was solid and BHS recovered an onside kick to set up their last TD. What a difference a week makes. Great effort against athletic return units.
Coaching: B. This team was ready to play and the defensive game plan was outstanding.
Offensively the plan was solid, but penalties are drive killers at times. The coaches coached hard and this team grew up tonight. Good solid effort.
Overall: B. Best effort of the year and despite the loss, strides were made tonight.
Glynn is a good football team and this team went toe to toe with them for 48 minutes. The future of this team is very bright. Losing to your rival stings bad, but this team will look back on this as the turning point and will build from this. It was a tough loss but outstanding intensity.
Next up: Bradwell to close out the regular season.
On The Radar
By: Mike Anthony
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Summer is a time for reckless speculation when it comes to college football and – for Sun Belt schools whose summers are especially long and oppressive – there is no shortage of time spent obsessing over how things will play out once the fall arrives.
It has taken nearly two months, but the first cool nights have finally arrived in the Sun Belt just as the race for the top of the conference standings is starting to really pick up the pace.
As for the preseason projections, it’s a mixed bag. The general idea of how things would play out in the conference seems to be going along with the script, but there have been just enough curve balls thrown in that it is anyone’s guess how the second half of the season will play out.
Three teams were the trendy picks to win the Sun Belt in 2018. Troy and Arkansas State are dealing with issues while Appalachian State is steaming right along.
But another contender now has to be acknowledged.
Georgia Southern entered the season with even the most optimistic predictions simply thinking that the Eagles could attain bowl eligibility.
But at the halfway post of the regular season, the Eagles are already just one win from qualifying for the postseason and – more importantly – the owners of a gaudy 3-0 mark in Sun Belt play.
The Eagles found themselves as big favorites in a midweek road game at Texas State last week, only to find themselves in a dogfight.
Georgia Southern’s option offense never got on track, but the defense held tough, stifling the Bobcats throughout the night and denying a late two-point conversion attempt to slip away with a 15-13 victory.
Georgia Southern will take a step out of the Sun Belt this weekend as they embark on another long road trip to New Mexico State.
The Eagles hope to return to Statesboro as a bowl-eligible team, but the real drama lies just a bit farther down the road as an East Division showdown between the Eagles and Appalachian State is quickly approaching.
While the Troy Trojans still control their own destiny in the East Division, their season has taken a drastic turn over the last two weeks.
During an otherwise uneventful steamrolling of Georgia State on Oct. 4, Troy starting quarterback Kaleb Barker went down with what was later found to be a season-ending ACL tear.
The Trojans and air-raid savant head coach Neal Brown were hopeful that backup Sawyer Smith could step right in, but Smith was shaky and the rest of the Trojans looked even worse as they were upset by first-year FBS program Liberty over the weekend.
If there is a silver lining, it’s that Troy is now able to reassess itself during a bye week. The rest will be welcomed by regular starters and the extra time before conference play resumes will be vital for getting Smith and the Trojan offense back on track.
While Troy’s role as a conference title hopeful is suffering due to injury, Arkansas State’s presumed shot at another Sun Belt championship is fading of its own volition.
The Red Wolves were picked to cruise to the top spot in the West, but have been beaten up by the East, losing to Georgia Southern and Appalachian State in consecutive weeks to begin its conference schedule.
Arkansas State still controls its destiny as the rest of its division hasn’t fared any better against the East.
However, a season finale with Troy would be a high hurdle to clear if it’s a necessary win for ASU to make the conference title game. The Wolves’ offense has shown enough flaws over the last two weeks to cause plenty of concern even against divisional rivals that didn’t appear to be threats at the beginning of the season.
Statesboro Gets Chomped By Gators
By: Mike Anthony
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
When Statesboro walked off the field after an overtime loss to a top-10 Wayne County squad on Oct. 5, the Blue Devils had reason to be optimistic.
They had gone toe-to-toe with a stellar opponent and a rival that wasn’t going to overlook them.
So, there was plenty of hope that the Devils could make another bid at an upset when they travelled to No. 8 Ware County Friday night.
And then Mother Nature got involved. Thanks to Hurricane Michael blazing a trail through most of Georgia earlier in the week, the Blue Devils were limited to just two days of practice. And while Ware County was also affected, the Gators were on a bye last week, giving them a huge edge in terms of preparing and installing a game plan.
The preparation – as well as a bunch of talent – was evident on Friday night as Ware County built a 21-0 lead before cruising to a 35-13 victory over Statesboro.
As has been the case all season for the 5-2 Gators, freshman quarterback sensation Thomas Castellanos stole the show.
The ninth-grader directed Ware’s attack with effectiveness and efficiency, passing for 68 yards and a touchdown while also leading the rushing attack with 78 yards on the ground.
Much like last week, Statesboro’s veteran and athletic defense was able to at least slow down a dangerous offense. But unlike the Wayne County game, the Blue Devils’ offense couldn’t hold up its end of the bargain.
Statesboro managed just 156 yards and 8 first downs on 50 offensive plays, only once gaining more than 14 yards on a single snap.
Jaylin Roberson continued to be the go-to guy for the Devils, rushing 24 times for 65 yards and a touchdown while also hauling in a 30-yard reception.
But Castellanos had a rushing touchdown and a passing touchdown already to his name before Statesboro found the scoreboard. And when Roberson punched into the end zone in the third quarter to make it a 21-7 game, Castellanos immediately answered by conducting another touchdown drive that he capped himself with a 3-yard plunge.
Statesboro added another touchdown on an 11-yard strike from Drake Horton to Will Yawn with just under eight minutes to play to make it 28-13.
The Devils held on defense and had a chance to keep the comeback alive, but Michael Mincey picked off Horton and went 58 yards to the house with just under five minutes remaining to seal the deal for Ware County.
With the win, Ware officially began its region schedule – which in the five-team Region 2-AAAAA is essentially a sprint to the finish line over the final month of the season.
The Gators will be prohibitive favorites in each of the next two weeks against South Effingham and New Hampstead before what figures to be a de facto region championship game at Wayne County on the final night of the regular season.
Statesboro now shifts into a bye week before playing its final two games. The Devils stand at 2-6 and their losing streak has now reached half a dozen games, but a win in either of their final two games – vs. South Effingham on Oct. 26 and at New Hampstead on Nov. 2 – will likely be enough to send them to the state playoffs for the first time since 2013.
Glynn Tames Wildcats
By: Jason Bishop
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Glynn Academy Red Terrors entered Friday night’s game coming off a bye week.
The bye week may have come at a good time for the Terrors as the team had dropped three consecutive games; Wayne, Ware and Camden.
Glynn kicked off their region schedule Friday night hosting the Richmond Hill Wildcats. Richmond Hill was coming off of a 41-7 blowout win over Brunswick High and was sitting in first place in the region.
The Wildcats had lost their starting running back in week 2 and had struggled scoring points ever since, until the 41-point explosion against the Pirates.
Richmond Hill entered the game at 3-3 and the Red Terrors also entered Friday night’s contest at 3-3.
The Red Terrors had not lost four straight in the Rocky Hidalgo era. Speaking of Coach Hidalgo, the Red Terrors head coach made change at QB. Senior Sam Wagner got the start under center.
The Glynn defense and special teams dominated the first half. A pick six gave the Red Terrors a 7-0 lead. GA would extend the lead on a returned missed field goal for a 14-0 lead. The Terrors would add a second pick six for 21-0 2nd quarter lead.
Glynn would take that lead in the locker room at the half.
The Red Terrors would then go into clock chewing mode, which is something Glynn has always done under Rocky Hidalgo.
The Wildcats would make a long field goal to get point on the board in the 3rd quarter.
That score would be the score heading into the 4th, 21-3.
Glynn QB Sam Wagner would score a late touchdown diving into the end zone from the one-yard line.
The Red Terrors would close out Richmond Hill 28-3.
With the win the Red Terrors improve to 4-3 on the season and take first place in the region at 1-0.
Next week Glynn Academy will play a desperate Brunswick High Pirate team for the City Championship. BHS has lost to both Richmond Hill and Effingham in the region and will be in “must win mode” to make the playoffs.
MCA Buccaneers Coach’s Show with Tony Glazer October 9
Wide Open Fields
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
When Justin Fields, the No.1 rated quarterback in the 2018 class- depending on which recruiting site you read- signed with Georgia, it made sense.
Even though Jake Fromm was a returning sophomore, coming off a season in which he had played well and led his team to a national title game, you could see a scenario playing out similar to Clemson’s. Fromm would start the season and ultimately give way to Fields.
Worst case scenario for Fields, he would split time this season and take over as the starting quarterback next year.
If the remainder of this season plays out like it has so far, especially if Georgia were to make the playoffs again, Fields may have a decision to make about his future; one that doesn’t include the Georgia Bulldogs.
To the joy of many Georgia fans, Fromm has shown the type of improvement this year those fans were hoping for and has proven he is capable of leading the Dawgs back to the playoffs.
At the same time, given a drastic shift in his play, he has not shown the skill level needed to be successful at the next level. Not that it’s an indictment of Fromm, but he looks like a four-year player. This is where the conundrum with Fields lies.
Fromm is playing at a level that makes it difficult for Smart not to have him out the field a majority of the time. If he is able to lead Georgia back to the playoffs and plays well, then it makes it even more difficult to sit Fromm in favor of Fields.
I know benching a quarterback that has led you to back to back playoff appearances isn’t unprecedented. Jalen Hurts is sitting at Alabama but I’d argue that Fromm is actually a better quarterback than Jalen Hurts.
Plus, had the national title game not played it out like it did last year, I’m not completely convinced that Hurts wouldn’t be the starter this season.
Include the likelihood Fromm will be in Athens for another two years, there is a realistic possibility Fields will have difficulty seeing the field- no pun intended- if he were stay.
No matter how good a kid Fields may be and from everything I’ve seen and heard, that is a lot of patience to ask from someone that was highly recruited.
I’m sure Fields wants an opportunity to get consistent minutes and show off his skill set.
And don’t get me wrong, I don’t mean any of this as a knock to Georgia, Smart, or either of the quarterbacks.
I mean quite the opposite, in fact. To consider that Georgia may find itself in this predicament in a few months from now means they are winning (probably resulting a another playoff appearance) and Fromm has exceeded expectations.
It’s a situation 95% of the other programs in college football would love to be in. It doesn’t change however, that following this season it will be difficult to keep both quarterbacks happy, increasing the chance one will leave.
That said, anything I’ve mentioned possibly transpiring won’t happen until after the season is over.
As for this season, it couldn’t be working out any better. Georgia is on track again to compete for a national title and as of right that is all that should matter.
As for the next few years, they look as promising as ever in Athens; just don’t be surprised if Justin Fields isn’t part of it.
High Flying Party
By: Mike Anthony
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Celebrations were breaking out all around Statesboro on Saturday night and for good reason.
The Eagles’ bounce back season continued to gain steam as a dominating 48-13 victory over South Alabama put them at 4-1 on the season and kept them atop the Sun Belt Conference standings.
Aside from the win on the field it was also homecoming, giving Eagles young and old alike an excuse to have just a bit more fun than usual.
But for all of the frat get togethers and house parties that carried on well into Sunday morning, one of the best places to appreciate the Georgia Southern win didn’t even require fans to leave the proximity of Paulson Stadium.
Following Saturday’s game – just as the case has been after the first three home games – a huge postgame tailgate was hosted by Eagle supporter Bubba Hunt near the soccer field.
Plenty of RV’s remained in the main lot, with the glow of the late games on television hazed over by the smoke of grills preparing victory dinners, but Hunt’s party is an animal all of its own nature.
The food is professionally cooked. There’s plenty of variety and it’s impossible to walk away wanting more. Through Hunt’s generosity, the food is also served up free of charge to anyone wanting to swing by.
But the tailgate isn’t special because it’s big or free. It’s one-of-a-kind because of the guest list.
At a table underneath a tent by the main food spread, quarterbacks coach Juston Wood is picking apart some ribs and raving about how Shai Werts continues to grow as the leader of the Eagles’ offense.
Inside linebackers coach Travis Cunningham was guiding his wife and child through the buffet line while outside linebacker counterpart Jeremy Rowell was recounting Alvin Ward’s interception for a touchdown that had capped a big win less than an hour before.
And over by some golf carts, defensive line coach Vic Cabral was doling out chest bumps and hugs to anyone who wanted one.
Each week, the entire football coaching staff has cleared out the locker room and then headed to the tailgate to mingle with the fans and boosters that support them.
In a sport that tends to obsess over salaries that put coaches on a different level of existence and 20-hour workdays that paint coaches as anti-social football robots, the postgame tailgate couldn’t be farther from those stereotypes.
A week ago, offensive coordinator Bob DeBesse likely went over his game-winning reverse play call a dozen times as fans listened in while head coach Chad Lunsford was high-fiving kids up well past their bedtime and discussing the creative process he goes through with the wrestling moves he’s prone to show off for the camera.
It’s as unique a tradition as any in college football and the perfect embodiment of the heart and soul of Georgia Southern Football.
The Eagles reached the top of the mountain once before with coaches who worked out of trailers and held public court over coffee each morning.
Sure, there are more bells and whistles attached to the program nowadays – and that is necessary and for the better – but the only thing better than watching your team win on a Saturday is to share a victory toast of ribs and a sauce-filled smile right afterwards with the coaches that helped bring home the victory.
Braves Getting Scalped
By: TJ Hartnett
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Going into the Division Series, few, if any, had the Braves taking 3 from Los Angeles and moving on to the National League Championship Series.
The Dodgers were in the World Series a year ago and still flaunted many of the big guns that they had in that Fall Classic, plus the huge addition of Manny Machado to their infield and lineup. They are bigger and scarier and have a recent track record. That’s fine. Every series is going to have a favorite and an underdog. So be it.
Going into Sunday’s Game 3, the Braves are in an 0-2 hole, having dropped two on the road in L.A.
That’s a bad spot to be in. Now they’ve got to win three in a row, but what’s been worse that the record has been the on-field play.
The Braves have yet to put a run on the board in the first 18 innings of the Division Series. The offense has been a dud. The Braves have scattered hits amounting to nothing and anytime a rally appears like it could begin, the next batter inevitably hits into a double play or strikes out to end the inning.
The Atlanta offense that ranked so highly in the NL in 2018 has gone into hibernation weeks too soon.
The biggest gut punch of the series, however, was Mike Foltynewicz’s Game 1 start.
He started the game by giving up a leadoff home run, which in and of itself wouldn’t have seen so big a deal, but it very clearly shook Folty hard.
He ended up throwing only 50 pitches and was yanked after giving up 4 runs in just two innings.
The runs and the inability to pitch deep into the game were an issue, of course, but nothing sucked the wind out of the sails of the Braves (and their fans watching from across the nation) like Folty’s complete defeat.
His body language gave it all away. He was shaking his head constantly, snatching the return throw from the catcher in a frustrated way and all-in-all looking like he had nothing to give.
It was the kind of Folty we hadn’t seen at all during his breakout year and it was clear to the entire country that he was just done.
Despite minimizing the damage to one run in what could have been a much worse bottom of the first, the Braves ace came back out for the bottom of the second and didn’t have it. The Braves ace gave up three more runs and showed even more defeat in his posture and mannerisms.
Even 4 runs aren’t an insurmountable hole to climb out of but Brian Snitker saw what the rest of us saw and pulled Folty from the game.
It was tough to watch. It was tougher still by comparison to the way the Dodgers were playing. Kike Hernandez and Yasiel Puig were making basket catches and sticking their tongues out while making sliding plays. They were playing so casually and with a confidence that basically shouted: “we belong here.” Their swagger alongside a lackluster Braves squad showed a divide between the two teams as wide as the distant between their two home cities.
Game 2 was easier to watch. Anibal Sanchez did what he’s done all season: keep the Braves in the game.
Unfortunately, Clayton Kershaw decided it was time to remind the world that he’s a future Hall-of-Famer with plenty of road ahead of him.
There was to be no scoring against the Dodgers on that night and in fact there were only three hits, two of them by Ronald Acuna, Jr.
It was a long shot for the Braves to win this series but there was hope.
While many Braves fans will be satisfied just by their ahead-of-schedule NL East crown, no one could have expected or wanted to see this absolute outclassing at the hands of the Dodgers.
But to end on a positive note, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger; and while the Braves aren’t likely to win after being down 0-2, this young squad will have gotten their first taste of the postseason. There’s only one way to go from here.
