GHSA
Jason Bishop Show w Kipp Branch June 23
All Area
By: Jason Bishop
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The High School Football season has come and gone.
Here are my selections for the All-Area Team, which consists of five schools….Camden County High School, Glynn Academy, Brunswick High School, Frederica Academy and McIntosh County Academy.
Coaches Of The Year-Garrett Grady (BHS), Jeff Herron (Camden)
Offense:
Offensive Linemen-Danny Thomas (MCA), Caden Copeland (Camden), Zach Owens (Camden), Daniel Rush (MCA), Jamal Meriweather (BHS), John McCleod (Glynn), Jack Hunt (Glynn)
Tight End-Dawson Hassler (MCA), Hamp Thompson (Frederica)
Wide Receivers-David Prince (Glynn), Terry Mitchell (BHS), Jayden Drayton (BHS)
Running Backs-Jordan Triplett (Frederica), Greg Peacock (Glynn), Jayden Daily (Camden), JaReese Campbell (MCA)
Quarterback-JR Elkins (BHS)
Defense:
Defensive Linemen-Ka’Shawn Thomas (BHS), DeNigel Cooper (Camden), Sam Norris (Frederica), Xzavia Cummings (Glynn), Kristian Dallas (Camden), Jordan Jimerson (BHS)
Linebackers-Devin Smith (BHS), Lionel Twitty (BHS), J’Shawn Towns (BHS), Lake Linton (MCA), Cooper Thornhill (Camden), Jake Lindsey (Camden)
Defensive Backs-Tyre Young (Camden), Keon Leggett (BHS), Rico Holmes (Frederica), Blake Holloway (Frederica), Shamarion Gibbs (Camden), Ivan Johnson (BHS)
Special Teams:
Kicker-Kody Arnold (Glynn), Gabe Caison (Camden)
Punter-McClain Fineran (BHS)
Jason Bishop Show w Kipp Branch November 4
Jason Bishop Show w Kipp Branch September 8
The Contenders
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
We are entering the last week of the regular season for Georgia high school football.
At this point we have separated the contenders from the pretenders. Let’s take a look at 6A to see who will bring home the state championship.
#1 Buford: The Wolves (8 – 1) lost to Chaminade-Madonna (FL), 7 – 0. They beat the #2 team in 7A, North Cobb, which is their only loss. Buford has only given up two points in region play. The last game of the season is at Dacula.
Last season was Buford’s first season in 6A after winning the 5A state championship in 2019. They beat Lee County in the championship game 34 -31. Senior wide receiver Isiah Bond is the No. 8 recruit in Georgia for the class of 2022 and he’s a four-star player. He’s committed to Florida.
Senior safety Jake Pope is also a four-star prospect and he’s committed to Alabama. Corner back Ryland Gandy has committed to Pitt. Running back Victor Venn has committed to Colorado. Quarterback Ashton Daniels is a Stanford commit.
The Wolves will win their third consecutive state title this season.
#2 Lee County: The Trojans (9 – 1) are on a collision course to meet Buford in the state championship game again. Their lone loss was a blowout against 5A Warner Robins, 56 – 30.
They beat North Miami Beach 68 – 49 to begin the month of October. It’s alarming that the defense has shown they will give up a lot of points.
Senior linebacker Jaron Willis is a four-star recruit and committed to Georgia Tech.
Offensive tackle Qae’shon Sapp is a three-star player and he committed to Florida State.
Safety Quavian Carter is also a three-star recruit and he committed to Michigan State.
Safety Malcolm Jones is a Virginia Tech commit.
On paper this team is as talented as any team in the state.
#3 Langston Hughes: The Panthers (8 – 1) lost the season opener 7 – 6 to 7A Newton. They reeled off eight consecutive wins after that. They beat crosstown rival, #6 Westlake 31 – 24.
Junior offensive tackle Bo Hughley is a four-star player and committed to Georgia. At 6’7 and 290 pounds he’s one of the most physically imposing players in Georgia.
Safety Terrance Love and wide receiver Robert Lockhart III are also a four-star players.
The final regular season game is Friday against Morrow. Hughes is legit and I expect them to make a deep run in the playoffs.
#4 Brunswick: The Pirates (9 – 0) are a bit of a surprise. Their undefeated and on the verge of winning region 2-AAAAAA. Their last game is at Effingham (6 -2), which will determine the region champion.
Senior OL Kanaya Charlton is a 4-star and is committed to Florida State.
#5 Rome: The Wolves (7 -2) are a perennial contender.
One of their loses was to the #1 7A team Collins Hill, which is expected. Their other loss was 34 – 32 to South Paulding, who is also in region 5-AAAAAA.
They have blown the rest of their opponents out.
The final game of the regular season is at Paulding County and they have a chance to win the region.
#8 Riverwood: The Raiders (8 – 1) are led by head coach Robert Edwards. As a running back at Georgia he’s most famous for leading them to their only victory against Florida while Steve Spurrier was the coach.
Riverwood has a prolific offense. They scored at least 24 points in every game this season.
They end the season at Chattahoochee.
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The Playoff Picture
By: Jason Bishop
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Well, here we go. The last week of the high school football regular season is upon us.
The playoffs will start in two weeks and as always southeast Georgia will be well represented. But who will be playing where?
Brunswick High Pirates: The Pirates will travel to Springfield Friday night to take on the Effingham Rebels in what amounts to a region championship game.
BHS is the last unbeaten team in 6A and comes in at 9-0 on the season and undefeated in the region. Effingham’s only region loss is to Richmond Hill.
If the Pirates knock off the Rebels, BHS will lock up a #1 seed and will most likely be hosting Tucker. However, if Effingham upsets the Pirates, then Effingham would be region champion and BHS would likely host Lovejoy as a #2 seed.
Ware County Gators: The Gators are 7-1 on the season and undefeated in their region. Ware holds wins over Coffee, Veterans and Warner Robins; thus, they have locked up the region no matter the outcome of the Wayne County game Friday night.
The Gators will most likely host Banneker out of region 3-5A in the first round.
MCA Buccaneers: MCA is 4-4-1 on the year and currently holds the #3 seed in 3-1A Public.
The Bucs will head up to Millen Friday night with the #3 seed on the line against Jenkins County. The winner of that game will get the #3 seed and the loser will end up with #4 seed.
A #3 seed means a road trip to Mitchell County, a very winnable game. However, a #4 seed means a date with the Pelham Hornets, a much tougher game.
Glynn Academy Red Terrors: The Red Terrors are 3-5-1 on the season and are in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time in the Rocky Hidalgo era.
Glynn’s only chance to get into the playoffs is to beat Statesboro Friday night at Glynn County Stadium.
If the Red Terrors succeed at knocking off the Blue Devils, they will earn a #4 seed and they would face Langston Hughes, the #1 seed from region 4.
Langston Hughes knocked Glynn out of the playoffs last year in the second round, 35-0.
Camden County Wildcats: The Wildcats have struggled closing games in the second half of the season. Camden has locked up the #4 seed in their region with a 4-6 record.
The Wildcats lost the last 5 games of the season. In fairness, Camden could have very easily won 4 of those games.
The Wildcats will head up to Atlanta to play the #1 seed in region 3, North Cobb.
Camden is a very dangerous #4 seed.
Charlton County Indians: The Indians nipped Lanier County last week by one point, earning the #4 seed from region 2-1A Public.
Charlton will take on Atkinson County Friday Night to close out their regular season, looking for a 7-3 regular season.
After that the Indians will take to the road in the first round of the playoffs to take Montgomery County, the #1 seed from 4-1A Public.
Frederica Academy Knights: The Knights currently are 4-5 on the season and hold the #2 position in GISA 2-3A. Frederica will head up to Dublin Friday night to take on Trinity Christian.
If the Knights win over Trinity, they will finish #2 in the region, however GISA uses a different ranking system than GHSA.
The most likely scenario is the Knights end up with #5 seed and a first round bye in the playoffs.
Championship Contenders
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
We are in the second half of the high school football season. Teams have started region play and we have an idea of what playoff seeding might look like. I’m going to take a look at 7A to see what teams are serious championship contenders.
#1 Collins Hill: The Eagles (6-0) are the most talented team in the state. Five-star wide receiver/corner back and No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2022, Travis Hunter suffered an ankle injury last week. It was thought to be serious, but his head coach Lenny Gregory said he didn’t think it was severe.
“We don’t think it’s a season-ending thing,” he said. “We’re praying for good news obviously and I think, from everything we’re hearing, he’s going to be just fine.”
Collins Hill also has four-star quarterback and the No .10 recruit in the state, Sam Horn. In the same game, a 63 – 0 win over rival Peachtree Ridge he became Gwinnett County’s all-time leading passer. If Hunter returns, they will win the state championship. Junior tight end and four-star recruit Ethan Davis is the go-to playmaker while Hunter is not playing.
#2 North Cobb: The Warriors (5-1) only lost came in the season opener against the #1 6A team, Buford. They have steamrolled their opponents in their five consecutive victories. This is one of the most talented teams in Georgia.
Four-star cornerback and Georgia commit Marquis Groves-Killebrew is the best player on the team. They have another four-star and UGA commit on the team, wide receiver De’Nylon Morrissette.
Wide receiver Samuel Mbake is also a four-star recruit and the No. 25 player in Georgia. Three-star defensive end and Michigan commit Joshua Josephs helps generate a pass rush.
#3 Milton: The Eagles (6-1) lost to North Cobb, 40 – 14 in Week 2.
The top player on their team is three-star tight end and Michigan State commit Jack Nickel.
They also have a three-star inside linebacker Maurice Clipper Jr. who is committed to Tennessee.
The backfield has a couple more three-star players, quarterback Devin Farrell and running back Jordan McDonald.
Milton does not have the elite talent like the top two teams, but they can compete with anyone else. They are in the same region with #9 Roswell and they play later this month.
#4 Mill Creek: The Hawks (6-0) have looked dominant so far. The closest margin of victory is 14 points. They have not been challenged this season.
The season finale is against Collins Hill so we will learn a lot about them from that game. Surprisingly, they do not have any players ranked in the top 100 recruits in the state.
Junior quarterback Hayden Clark has passed for 1,137 yards, 9 touchdowns and 4 interceptions.
#9 Roswell: The Hornets (6-1) are my dark horse team to make a deep playoff run.
The lone loss was on the road to #6 Walton. They have a very good defense and are led by senior quarterback Robbie Roper. He’s thrown for 1,619 yards, 20 TD’s and 4 picks. He’s also rushed for 225 yards and 3 scores.
They have two running backs, Ryan Hill II and Nykahi Davenport that have over 300 yards rushing.
Jason Bishop Show w Kipp Branch September 19
Jason Bishop Show w Kipp Branch September 5
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.
