Jason Bishop
Brunswick High Pirates 2026 Preview
By: Jason Bishop
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Brunswick High Pirates had their 2025 season end at the hands of the Gainesville Red Elephants in the second round of the GHSA playoffs.
Last season ended in controversy as the Pirates and Red Elephants had the game called early due to a benches clearing brawl that made national headlines.
Despite the controversy BHS enters the 2026 season coming off of a 9-3 season and a region title.
They also come into 2026 as a team in transition. Gone are record-setting QB Grant Moore and 4-star TE Heze Kent; 2 vital cogs in the Pirates prolific offense from last year that bludgeoned defenses all season long.
Also gone is former Head Coach Garrett Grady who is now coaching in Douglas with the Coffee County Trojans.
Enter Dr. Byron Slack to take over as the Pirates head man. Slack spent several years on the Camden County staff during the championship years and comes over from Cook County after spending 4 seasons as Head Coach with the Hornets.
Slack will make an emphasis on team discipline and bring out the best in the Pirates on defense; an area that has been inconsistent for the Pirates for over a decade.
Despite losing key cogs on offense BHS does return some key playmakers on offense. Most notably running backs Nigel Gardner, Josiah Gibbons and WR Waseem Murray.
Both Gardner and Gibbons rushed for over 1,000 yards and combined for almost 30 touchdowns last season.
Murray was the Pirates best playmaker in open space and was dangerous every time he got the ball in his hands. Murray had 700 all-purpose yards and 5 touchdowns.
At QB the Pirates will either have senior Keegan Walker or junior Eli Overton under center.
BHS will move up from 5A to 6A and play in Region 1-6A with Glynn Academy, Effingham, South Effingham, Bradwell Institute, Grovetown, Greenbriar and Lakeside.
Brunswick will kick off the season on August 21st against Camden ‘Between The Bricks’ at Glynn County Stadium.
The Pirates will take to the road the week after that to take on Groves. BHS gets a bye the following week and then return home in week 4 to take on national power Grayson at Glynn County Stadium.
Region play starts for the Pirates on September 18th against Grovetown up in Augusta.
BHS then hosts Greenbriar and then travels to Hinesville to square off with Bradwell on October 2nd.
Brunswick High will then take a bye to get ready for the City Championship game against the Glynn Academy Red Terrors on October 16. This game will go a long way in determining who will win the region.
Technically the Pirates will be the home team against Terrors and will be the first of three consecutive home games; the other two will be against South Effingham and Effingham.
Brunswick will close the regular season against Lakeside on the road in Augusta.
I am predicting the Pirates will be serious contenders to win the region. In my opinion who ever wins the City Championship Game will also hoist the region championship trophy at season’s end.
McIntosh County Academy Buccaneers 2026 Preview
By: Jason Bishop
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Coach Warren Bradley enters his 8th season as the McIntosh County Academy Buccaneers Head Coach in his second stint holding that position.
Bradley took over the Bucs program in 2019 and has stabilized MCA’s football ranks. Before the hiring of Bradley, the Bucs employed 5 different head coaches in 7 seasons.
Bradley has not only stabilized the program, but he also has re-vitalized winning habits into the Bucs program and turned MCA into a perennial playoff team.
In 2025 the Bucs made the playoffs for the again under Bradley. MCA has made the playoffs every season in Coach Bradley’s tenure in his second go-round.
Last season the Bucs finished 5-5 in the regular season and that was good enough to get into the playoffs as four seed. MCA finished the season overall at 5-6, losing in the first round of the GHSA playoffs to #1 seed Johnson County, 34-7.
MCA enters 2026 with high expectations as they are returning starting RB Earnest McIntosh for his senior season.
The Bucs also find themselves in a new region. Region 3-1A will consist of MCA, Portal, Montgomery County, Emanuel County Institute and Claxton. This region lines up far easier than the last two seasons for the Bucs. While the region added Montgomery County, gone are the powerhouses of Metter and Screven County.
The Bucs will kick off the 2026 campaign at home at The Ship in Darien against Long County on August 21st.
Week two will also be at home against former region foe Charlton County.
The Buccaneers will take to the road in week 3 against Georgia Military and then in week 4 pay a visit to Liberty County to take on the Panthers.
MCA will return home on September 18th against Jeff Davis and then will host Screven County the following week at The Ship.
After a bye the following week region play kicks off for the Bucs against ECI in Darien
The Buccaneers return to the road on October 23rd against the Claxton Tigers.
MCA returns home on Halloween weekend to take on Montgomery County and then will wrap up the regular season on the road against the Portal Panthers.
MCA is a legit contender to win the region in 2026.
Keep in mind the GHSA will be transitioning away from ranking teams according to how they finished in their region and instead will use power rankings rank playoff participants. What this does is place huge importance on non-region tilts as well as the region games as far as seeding.
I am picking MCA to finish the 2026 season with a 9-1 record and to win Region 3-1A.
Worst case for the Bucs, by my estimation, will be an 8-2 mark finishing second in the region.
The Buccaneers have not made a deep run in the playoffs in some time. I think this year that changes. I believe MCA is definitely an Elite 8 team, at worst, in 2026.
New Captain For Brunswick Pirates
By: Jason Bishop
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Brunswick High Pirates have reportedly found a new Head Football Coach.
The Pirates have reportedly hired former Cook County Head Football Coach Byron Slack.
Slack led the Hornets to a 5-6 record last season and playoff appearance. Cook County went down in the first round of the 2A GHSA playoffs to North Murray 22-14 last season.
Slack went 4-7 with Cook in 2024, bowing out in the first round Burke County in the first round of the playoffs 27-21.
However, Cook made a deep playoff run and lost to Rockmart 34-24. The Hornets went 11-4 in the 2023 campaign.
In fairness to Slack, his football teams have been devasted by injuries the last two seasons.
Slack will be charged with taking over a Brunswick High Pirates program that made national news in the 2025 playoffs due to a sideline clearing brawl during the second round of the GHSA playoffs against the Gainesville Red Elephants.
He will also step into a program that has enjoyed a lot of success over the last decade under former coaches Sean Pender and Garrett Grady.
One of the things Slack will be tasked with as the new Pirates Head Coach is getting the Pirates out of the 2nd round of the playoffs and potentially make some deeper playoff runs.
The Pirates have not advanced out of the second round in the GHSA playoffs since 1999 when the Pirates lost in the state title game to the Lowndes County Vikings.
The Pirates former coach, Garrett Grady, resigned before the Christmas break and took a job on staff with the Coffee County Trojans.
Slack was 28-21 over his four seasons with Cook High School.
Slack has spent time on coaching staffs at Colquitt, Lowndes and Camden. He also spent one season as the head coach at Hillgrove High School before coming to Cook. Slack spent 13 seasons as an assistant on the Camden County Wildcats staff.
The Glynn County School Board will officially vote on a hire on Thursday evening according to Glynn County Athletic Director, Steve Waters.
Head Cat Out
By: Jason Bishop
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Camden County Wildcats will once again be looking for a new football coach.
It has been announced that Travis Roland, Camden’s Head Coach for 2024 and 2025, will not be returning for the 2026 season.
Roland went 13-8 in his brief tenure with Camden.
In 2024 Camden made the playoffs under Roland and went 7-4 overall. The Wildcats lost in the first round of the playoffs in 2024 to North Cobb, 28-7. The Cats got into the playoffs as the #4 seed from Region 1-6A..
In 2025 the Wildcats started off 5-0 and we’re ranked in the top 10 in the state in 6A. Things did not go as well in the second half of the season as Camden notched a 1-4 record.
Camden County finished the season 6-4 and did not make the playoffs in 6A.
Roland was 0-6 against Lowndes, Colquitt and Valdosta. He went 1-1 against Richmond Hill and 2-0 against Tift County in his two years as head coach.
Travis Roland was hired out of Mainland High School in Florida. He won the 3-S State Title in Florida in 2023. Roland’s Buccaneer’s went 14-1 in 2023 and defeated St. Augustine 21-19 in the title game. He was the Head Coach at Mainland High School from 2021-2023 where he went 30-10 overall.
He was the Head Coach at Flagler Palm Coast in Florida before he took the job at Mainland High School and went 58-22 overall at Palm Coast.
Roland finishes his tenure with Camden with an overall record of 101-40 as a Head Coach.
Roland took over the program after legendary Coach Jeff Herron retired after three seasons in his second stint with the Wildcats.
Heron took the Wildcats to the second round of the GHSA Playoffs in 2022 and then the Final Four in the playoffs in 2023.
In 2025 the Wildcats lost to Lowndes, Valdosta and Colquitt, their main rivals in the region, by a combined score of 143-61.
The next coach at Camden will be the fourth in seven years with the Wildcats.
With the tradition of the program and Camden only being two years removed from a Final Four appearance in the GHSA Playoffs, the Wildcats should have several elite coaches to choose from in the hiring process.
Realignment
Realignment
By: Jason Bishop
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The GHSA has announced the preliminary 2026-2028 region alignments. While this is not 100% final, by in large this will be the region alignments for the next two football seasons.
Regions with south Georgia teams will look like the following.
1-7A: Camden, Lowndes, Valdosta, Colquitt, Richmond Hill.
1-6A: Brunswick, Glynn Academy, Bradwell Institute, Effingham, South Effingham, Grovetown, Lakeside-Evans, Greenbriar.
2-6A: Coffee, Thomas County Central, Lee, Tift, Houston, Northside Warner Robins, Veterans.
1-5A: Benedictine, Evans, Ware, Wayne, Groves, Jenkins, Richmond Academy, Statesboro.
2-5A: Warner Robins, Perry, Eagles Landing, Jones County, Locust Grove, Ola, Union Grove.
3-4A: Southeast Bulloch, Harlem, Liberty, Long, New Hampstead, West Laurens, Windsor Forest
1-3A: Carver-Columbus, Cook, Crisp, Jordan, Kendrick, Sumter, Worth.
3-3A: Appling, Beach, Brantley, Islands, Johnson-Savannah, Pierce, Tattnall, Toombs.
1-2A: Fitzgerald, Berrien, Brooks, Bacon, Jeff Davis, Thomasville.
2-2A: Bleckley, ACE Charter, Dodge, Dublin, East Laurens, Vidalia.
3-2A: Bryan, Calvary Day, Metter, Savannah, Savannah Christian, Screven, Swainsboro.
2-1A: Atkinson, Baconton, Charlton, Clinch, Irwin, Lanier, Mitchell, Pelham.
3-1A: Claxton, ECI, MCA, Montgomery, Portal, Treutlen.
4-1A: Dooly, Hawkinsville, Telfair, Turner, Twiggs, Wheeler, Wilcox.
The Finish Line
By: Jason Bishop
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
We have made our way to the final week of the high school football season. For some there are still a lot of undecided seedings and playoff berths to be determined in this final week and for others the season will close on Halloween Night.
The Brunswick High Pirates will be moving onto the playoffs, just what seed still needs to be determined. The Pirates are 7-2 overall and 6-1 in region play.
Brunswick will host the South Effingham Mustangs this week at Glynn County Stadium. The Mustangs were eliminated from the playoffs last week after they went down to
The Statesboro Blue Devils last week 27-17.
For South Effingham it is a chance to finish at .500 and for Brunswick there is still potential to claim a region title and a #1 seed for the GHSA playoffs.
The Pirates need to beat South Effingham and a little help from the Effingham Rebels, who play Statesboro at Womack Field in Statesboro.
If Effingham can knock off the Blue Devils coupled with a Pirates win, the Rebels would claim a #2 seed and the Pirates would claim the Region Title. Otherwise, BHS would be #2 seed and Effingham would be the #3 seed with Statesboro as your Region Champ.
If BHS were to lose to South Effingham and Effingham wins, the Rebels would be your Region Champs.
The Frederica Knights went 7-3 in the regular season and 3-0 in the region.
The Knights downed the St. Andrews Lions last week 49-16 to finish the regular season.
Frederica will receive a 1st round bye in the GISA playoffs but will have to begin on the road taking on the Valwood Valiants in Valdosta.
Valwood earned a #4 seed and Frederica was the #5 seed.
The Knights fell to Valwood earlier in the season 33-14 at home on St. Simons Island.
The Glynn Academy Red Terrors are currently 5-4 and 4-3 in region play.
The Red Terrors fell to Effingham last week 45-42 in a game that the Terrors made a frantic comeback almost pulling off a miracle. Glynn trailed 45-20 heading into the 4th quarter and scored 21 unanswered points to close the game and simply ran out of time to finish the comeback.
The Terrors will close the season against the Greenbriar Wolfpack. Win or lose Glynn will be in the playoffs as the #4 seed from Region 1-5A. Greenbriar is 2-7.
The MCA Buccaneers are 5-4 and 4-3 in region play. The Bucs took care of business last week beating the Savannah Blue Jackets 35-20 last week.
Currently the Bucs are sitting as the #3 seed in Region 3-A D2. MCA will take on the Portal Panthers needing a win to maintain playoff hopes.
A Buccaneer win coupled with a loss for either Bryan County or Jenkins County would punch a playoff ticket for McIntosh County. If MCA and Jenkins County win and Bryan County loses the Bucs would be a #4 seed. If MCA and Bryan County win and Jenkins County loses then MCA would be a #3 seed.
Bryan County plays Metter at Metter and Jenkins County goes to Savannah.
If all three lose then it would create a four-way tie breaker between MCA, Jenkins county Metter and Bryan County for the #3 and #4 seeds. If all three win then it would be a three-way tie breaker for the #3 and #4 seeds.
The Camden County Wildcats are 5-4 on the season and 0-4 Region 1-6A.
The Wildcats had their playoff hopes ended last week at the hands of the Colquitt County Packers, losing 45-28.
Camden started the season undefeated at 5-0 but have since gone winless in region play.
The Wildcats will play the Tift County Blue Devils looking to finish above .500 at 6-4. Tift is also winless in the region at 0-4 and is 3-6 overall. They will play the game in Tifton.
Dragons Slayed
By: Jason Bishop
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
As the High School Football season marches on the playoff picture begins to become clearer with teams around southeast Georgia.
Over on St. Simons Island the Frederica Academy Knights claimed another region championship. The Knights hosted Pinewood Christian Academy on Friday night and down the Patriots 28-14.
The win took the Knights to 6-3 overall and 2-0 in the region and clinched another Region Championship for Coach Brandon Derrick and his Knights of Frederica.
Frederica will trek up to Savannah to take on St. Andrews in the season finale with a possible 1st Round bye on the line.
The Brunswick High Pirates are currently the #2 seed in Region 1-5A with the #1 seed still a possibility. The Pirates are hoping either the South Effingham Mustangs or Effingham Rebels can upend the Statesboro Blue Devils in one of the last two games of the season which would allow Brunswick to claim the #1 seed.
Brunswick is 7-2 overall and 6-1 in region play. The Pirates will rest up on a bye this week before they play and will get ready to take South Effingham in the season finale.
The MCA Buccaneers went into Friday’s game against the Metter Tigers in a ‘must win’ situation to keep their playoff hopes alive.
The Bucs did just that. Coach Bradley Warren’s Buccaneers went on the road to Metter and beat the Tigers 18-8.
The win pulls the Bucs to .500 at 4-4 overall and 3-3 in the region.
MCA’s defense has only allowed 15 points in the last 3 games.
The Bucs still have the Savannah Blue Jackets and the Portal Panthers on the docket. If they win both of those games the Bucs would be in as a #4 seed holding the tie breaker over both Bryan County and Metter.
The Glynn Academy Red Terrors are currently the #4 seed in Region 1-5A and have a big matchup this week against the Effingham Rebels. Effingham is currently the #3 team in the region.
This is a must win for the Red Terrors. A Glynn win would almost assure Glynn of a playoff berth at least as #3 seed. A Red Terror loss puts them on the outside looking in and Glynn would need a lot of help to get into the playoffs in the final week.
The Red Terrors are 5-3 overall in 2025 and 4-2 in the region. A #2 seed is still not out of reach for Terrors either with a little help. If Glynn Academy wins out and Statesboro drops another game the #2 seed would belong to the Red Terrors.
The Camden County Wildcats will be taking on the Colquitt County Packers and are coming off of a much-needed bye. After a 5-0 start the Camden County Wildcats have dropped 3 straight, all region games.
With losses to Valdosta, Lowndes and Richmond Hill Camden has to win in the Hog Pen in Moultrie to have a chance to make the playoffs.
For the Wildcats the path to the playoffs is a little complicated. Camden must beat both Colquitt and Tift in the final two and have Richmond Hill beat Colquitt in the season finale. This would give Camden the #4 seed. A loss to Colquitt or Tift would eliminate Camden from postseason play.
The Wildcats are currently 5-3 on the season and 0-3 in region play.
Frederica Academy Knights Coach’s Show w Brandon Derrick October 15 2025
Bedeviled
By: Jason Bishop
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Week nine of the high school football season was full of unexpected outcomes and the playoff picture beginning to solidify.
The Brunswick High Pirates looked as if they may coast to another region title in region 1-5A. However, the Statesboro Blue Devils had other plans hosting the Pirates at home at Womack Field.
BHS entered the game at 6-1 and they were undefeated in the region. The Pirates’ lone loss came way back in week 1 to the Camden County Wildcats. Statesboro entered the game tied for second place in the region with their lone region loss to Glynn Academy and 4-2 overall.
The Blue Devils got up early 14-0. Brunswick battled back in the second half and held a 21-20 late. However, the Blue Devils took a 26-21 lead and sealed the game with a late safety for the 28-21 final.
The win for Statesboro gives them an inside track for their first region title since 2005; they won the state title that year.
There is no better rivalry in GISA than Frederica Academy and Bulloch Academy. The Knights and Gators renewed their rivalry with Bulloch Academy a significant favorite to win the game. That did not matter to the Knights.
In this rivalry you can throw all records and stats out the window and Frederica showed us why.
The Knights Head Coach Brandon Derrick was fresh off his 100th career win the week before against the Robert Toombs Christian Academy Crusaders.
The underdog Knights beat Bulloch handily 35-20 in the ‘Bloody Marsh’ on St. Simons.
With the win Frederica improved to 5-3 on the season and 1-0 in region play. It also makes them the favorite to win their win, which comprises of Frederica, Bulloch, Pinewood and St. Andrews.
For Bulloch Academy it was their second loss of the season and made them 6-2 overall.
The MCA Buccaneers came into their game against the Bryan County Redskins having lost four of their last five games and needing a win just to stay in the playoff picture.
The Bucs lone two wins coming into the game were against the Islands and Claxton, not exactly state title contenders.
MCA had lost a heartbreaker to Jenkins County the week before 7-0 in a region tilt. Against Bryan County they turned the tables, this time winning the game 7-0.
The loss for Bryan County more than likely eliminated them from being able to make the playoffs.
The win kept slim hopes alive for MCA in Region 3-A Division 2 as far as making the playoffs. The Bucs have games against Metter, Savannah and Portal remaining. More than likely, The Bucs must win out to get into the playoffs.
Down in Kingsland the Camden County Wildcats continued to struggle in region play. The Cats hosted the Lowndes County Vikings at Chris Gilman Stadium and were downed by the undefeated Vikings, 35-14.
Lowndes has a pretty firm grasp on winning Region 1-6A. Their final two games are both on the road with Richmond Hill and then against rival Valdosta.
Meanwhile for Camden, not making the playoffs is beginning to look like the reality. The Wildcats are 5-3 and 0-3 in the region. The Cats started 5-0 but have now lost three straight, all region games. Those losses include Valdosta, Richmond Hill and Lowndes.
Camden has Colquitt and Tift left on the schedule.
Historically, two region wins will get you in the playoffs in this region. That would not be the case for Camden. The Wildcats need to win out and have Colquitt drop their last game to Richmond Hill for a #4 seed.
Status Update
By: Jason Bishop
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Believe it or not we are already in the stretch run for playoff berths in High School Football.
For some the second season will start in November and for others it will be an early offseason to keep building.
Here is a rundown of some of the Coastal Georgia Teams and how they are doing.
Brunswick High Pirates: The Pirates are coming off of an improbable come from behind win over Glynn Academy in the City Championship Game 41-37.
The Pirates are 5-1 on the season and 4-0 in region 1-5A.
Brunswick’s offense is among the elite in the state and the Pirates have the inside track on winning the region and securing a #1 seed in the playoffs.
The Pirates have beaten Wayne County, Effingham, Evans, Greenbriar and Glynn Academy. The only loss for BHS came in the opening week on the road at Camden.
The Pirates still have Bradwell, Statesboro, Lakeside Evans and South Effingham on the schedule…all region games.
Glynn Academy Red Terrors: The Terrors took their second region loss to their archrival Brunswick High. The Terrors are 3-3 overall and 2-2 in the region. I don’t thing the Red Terrors will lose another regular season game and I predict them to claim the #2 seed in region 1-5A.
Glynn has beaten Wayne County, Statesboro and Lakeside Evans. The Terrors dropped games to Richmond Hill, Bradwell and Brunswick.
The remainder of the Terrors schedule is pretty favorable with games against Evans, South Effingham, Effingham and Greenbriar.
Camden County Wildcats: The Wildcats suffered a lopsided loss to Valdosta to start Region 1-6A play. It was the first loss of the season for the Wildcats.
Region 1-6A is arguably the toughest in the state and making the playoffs, no matter the seed, is an accomplishment.
Camden is 5-1 on the season and 0-1 in region play. The Wildcats have beaten Brunswick, East Lake, West Broward, Ribault and Royal Palm Beach.
The schedule moving forward will not be friendly for Camden as all will be region games. The Wildcats will travel to Richmond Hill, Colquitt and Tift. They only have one home game remaining, which is against Lowndes. I look for Camden to make the playoffs as a #3 or #4 seed.
MCA Buccaneers: The Buccaneers are 2-3 overall and are 1-2 in region 1-2A Division 2.
The first part of their schedule has been brutal but will ease over the last month of the season. MCA has beaten The Islands, and Claxton. The Bucs have dropped games to Charlton, ECI, and Screven County.
The remaining docket for the Buccaneers includes road trips to Jenkins County, and Metter while they will host Bryan and Savannah.
With 2 region losses the Bucs have their backs against the wall to make the playoffs. They will need wins against Bryan County and Metter in theory to get into the playoffs.
Brantley County Herons: It has been a very tough season for the Herons under second year coach David Shores.
The Herons are coming off of a 49-0 loss to Worth County. Brantley is 0-6 on the season. Losses include Charlton, Windsor Forest, Pierce, Vidalia, Jeff Davis and the aforementioned Worth County.
The 2025 schedule is brutal. The Herons still have games against Fitzgerald, Thomasville, Berrien and Bacon County.
This type of season will motivate the Herons to improve and strive to be a playoff team in 2026.
Frederica Academy Knights: The Knights opened the season on the road against GHSA Savannah and won convincingly 34-7.
Frederica is 3-3 on the season and will be entering play in October. The GISA does not seed teams based on region record but instead on Max Preps Power Rankings.
Frederica has beaten Savannah, Tiftarea, and Brookwood. The Knights of St. Simons have dropped games against West Nassau, Valwood, and to Stratford Academy.
In my opinion Frederica is a playoff caliber team and will prove that in the remaining game against Robert Toombs, Bulloch Academy, Pinewood and St. Andrews.
I look for Frederica to finish with a 6-4 record.
