Jeff Doke
Frederica Academy Knights Coach’s Show with Brandon Derrick September 9 2026
Frederica Academy Knights Coach’s Show with Brandon Derrick September 2 2026
Frederica Academy Knights Coach’s Show With Brandon Derrick August 26 2026
Frederica Academy Knights Coach’s Show with Brandon Derrick August 20 2026
Frederica Academy Knights Coach’s Show with Brandon Derrick August 12 2026
Frederica Academy Knights 2026 Preview
By: Jeff Doke
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
When the 2025 Frederica Knights season ended in the state playoff semifinal round, the outlook for the future was bright regardless of the most recent game.
Unfortunately, the offseason between 2025 and 2026 was not kind. Several departures have taken the Knights from state title contenders to where some are questioning whether they will even make the playoffs.
Those people have obviously never dealt with Coach Brandon Derrick.
Known for “doing more with less” on the gridiron, Coach Derrick has got his work cut out for him as he enters his fourteenth season at the helm. Instead of the nine returning starters from the 20256 campaign they were expecting, Frederica will instead see five starters return. The four lost starters are significant, most notably starting QB/FS Stanton Beverly.
“(Stanton)’s gonna go to Valwood. So, yeah, so I lost a two year starter, all state quarterback and free safety.”
These will be uncharted waters for the coach, who has never had to face a former player on the field of play. Adding insult to injury, reports out of Hahaira are that Beverly will be the starting QB for the team when the Knights come calling on September 3rd.
At the end of the day, this means that two-year backup Braxton Sykes moves into the QB1 role a year ahead of schedule.
Entering his Junior year, Sykes was competent in the QB role when called into action in 2025, but was showing significant strides as a Wide Receiver in the meantime.
This summer, his primary focus has been travel baseball, but has been all-in on the QB role while at practice.
“We will be more pass oriented than we have been in the past,” says Coach Derrick. “with Stanton we could run the option. Braxton, he’s more pass oriented. He’ll have to run some and do a lot of RPO stuff, but I think he’s a solid player. He does a good job, he’s got a pretty good understanding of what we’re doing. It’s gonna be the decision making. The more he practices, the more he plays, the faster his decisions will be made, he’ll make better decisions.”
Those decisions will have to be made without two offensive weapons that his predecessor had; TE JC Wessel and WR Jayden Gibson who have left the team for different reasons.
Gibson has moved to the Atlanta area and will not be available for what should have been his senior season with Frederica.
Wessel, on the other hand, made a decision for what his family considers a better option for his future – transferring to Bolles Academy in Jacksonville, Florida.
“(JC and his dad) think he’ll be coached up better by one of the tight end coaches down there that they’ve brought in.” Several Bolles players are being recruited by D1 NCAA programs.
In addition to these losses on offense, DE Eric Alford also is no longer with the Frederica Academy Knights.
While roster depth is always an issue with Frederica (they will start 2026 with 27 players), this year’s squad will still be heavy on the upperclassmen.
OLB Eli Middleton and DE Clay Sproule will lead the class of eight seniors that will include stars RB Jordyn Rollins and CB/WR Jaylen Baldwin. Newcomer to the Senior class will be Sal Vinci who will be taking over placekicking duties from the recently graduated Mary Ford Fitzjurls.
In addition to the upperclassmen, look for freshmen WR/DB Henry Dorminy and DE/OL Hayes Brock to make immediate contributions.
Coach Derrick knows it won’t be easy, but honestly it never is in the GIAA.
“We’re going to put the best product we can on the field. We’re planning a really tough schedule. Hopefully our seniors, like I tell them every year, grab the steering wheel and drive the bus. I drive the bus, it’s bumpy. You drive the bus, it’s a lot better.”
The 2026 Frederica Knights season kicks off August 14th at home against Bethesda Academy.
Round Table Knight
By: Jeff Doke
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
It is a common turn of phrase to say that someone that is ahead of others in their chosen field is “head and shoulders above the rest.”
Usually, this is a figurative statement. In the case of #88 for the Frederica Academy Knights football team, it is literal as well.
John Cannon Wessel – known as JC to everyone but his mother and his quarterback – is a rising junior that is drawing attention from sources local, regional, and national.
Entering his third year as a starter for the Frederica Knights, Wessel is building on a sophomore season that saw a significant statistical uptick from his freshman campaign.
After seeing action in 6 games his freshman year with 142 all-purpose yards, the 6’7” 225 lb. TE prospect more than doubled his stats with 338 yards on 18 receptions for 3 TDS over 12 games.
Not bad for someone sharing receiving time with Jaylen Baldwin, Jayden Gibson, and Braxton Sykes. Wessel puts a lot of that growth on the improved chemistry with Knights starting quarterback Stanton Beverly.
“Stanton and I are really good friends,” JC describes the relationship. “…The summer between freshman and sophomore year, we did a lot of work on just going to camps, and I learned a ton, just was trying to develop more and more.”
Add to that the fact that he hadn’t played football since Pop Warner, it’s no surprise that he’s noticeably working his way up the recruiting boards.
“I had played basketball the whole time,” says JC about his gap between time on the gridiron, “(but) I knew that I kinda wanted to try out football again just because my dad played football and see what I could do. I just started playing, and it was just super fun, and I loved the physicality of it.”
His family knows a thing or two about football. Not only did his uncle play for West Point after graduating from Colquitt County High School, his father Tadd Wessel won an Ivy League championship in 1995 with the Princeton Tigers. JC might just wind up following some of those footsteps.
As of mid-March, On3.com reports JC as having offers from Princeton as well as a dozen other D1 schools including 5 from the SEC, 4 from the ACC, and 2 from the Big 10.
With two seasons yet to play before graduation, JC hasn’t started narrowing down his choices yet, much less whether he actually wants to play past high school.
“I definitely have a lot interest in going that route, especially because my parents pushed me super hard towards that kind of path, but I have to take into account everything about the future and about my chances and about what I wanna actually do when I grow up,” says Wessel. “So as, as of right now, I have no idea, but hopefully as I go through high school, I’ll get a better understanding.”
The needle seems to be pointing in the collegiate ball route regardless. After earning all-region honors in his second season, words from his Head Coach Brandon Derrick are succinct and unmistakable; ”He’s only going to get better.”
With the schedule the Knights face in 2026, hopefully better happens sooner rather than later. Even though he understands that he’s not supposed to look past the next opponent, Wessel is making some exceptions to that rule.
“I’m looking forward to Charlton County because I haven’t played them…Stratford because we should have won that game last year…and Valwood because we hate them. Same for Bulloch.”
From a fan’s perspective, it’s hard to say he doesn’t have his priorities in order. The biggest payback he’s looking forward to is against the boys from the shores of Lake Sinclair.
”I don’t really remember that much of the (John Milledge) game. I was mad during the game. If we face them again in the playoffs, we’ve got a good chance this year.”
The Knights begin their 2026 March to Mercer with a home opener against Bethesda Academy on August 14th.
Quest Over
By: Jeff Doke
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Although it heartbreakingly ended one week from the goal, the 2025 season for the Frederica Knights was one of legend.
As with seemingly every Brandon Derrick-coached squad, the 15th edition of football under the oaks had to do more with less.
Entering the season with around 30 players on the roster, the goal was the same as always; win the region and complete the March to Mercer and a trip to the State Championship game.
The season kicked off with a trip to Savannah and a lightning-delayed matchup with the Savannah Blue Jackets. Junior QB Stanton Beverly threw for three touchdowns, Jaylen Baldwin and Jayden Gibson added two scores on the ground, and the Knights defense took a shutout late into the fourth quarter and left Chatham County with a season opening 34-7 win.
Problems with the weather continue into week two, when lightning in the area once again impacted play, this time delaying and eventually canceling the game against West Nassau with minutes left in the first quarter and a 14-7 deficit on the scoreboard. The controversial loss would impact the Knights and their playoff seeding later in the season.
A pair of familiar foes were on tap for weeks three and four. The Valwood Valiants would stretch their win streak against the Knights to 5 games in the form of a painful 33-14 home loss, while the Tiftarea Panthers would fall to Frederica a week later in a complete team effort 24-21 come-from-behind 4th quarter victory.
Week Five came in the form of a painful road loss to Stratford Academy. A pair of red zone INTs cost the Knights a comeback attempt as they fell to the Eagles 28-13. The game was a catalyst for Frederica, however, as they went on to finish the regular season on a five-game win streak.
After a 42-13 dismantling of Brookwood, the Knights traveled to Lyons, GA to give Robert Toombs a 28-12 defeat, as well as give Coach Brandon Derrick his 100th career win as a head coach.
Region play started with a highly satisfying 35-20 home win against the hated Bulloch Academy Gators and continued with wins against the Pinewood Patriots to the tune of 28-14 and the annual shellacking of St Andrews: the 49-16 victory being the second largest win margin in the history of the rivalry.
With the regular season wrapped up, region honors were handout and the Knights were very well represented. All in all, eight Frederica players were given All Region honors – Fuller Wimberly, Gavin Grantham, Jaylen Baldwin, Eli Middleton, Jayden Gibson, JC Wessel, Eric Alford, and Hudson Carter. Stanton Beverly was unanimously selected as Region Player of the Year.
Once the playoffs were set, the Knights drew the 5th seed, which meant a first round bye and a second-round matchup on the road, again Valwood. This was a tough draw, considering the Valiants had knocked Frederica out of the playoffs the previous two seasons, but the Knights responded with a game for the ages.
With the game tied 14-14 at the half, Beverly and Gibson led the Knights to a 28-21 win in front of possibly the loudest and largest road crowd the Frederica Faithful has ever produced.
Making it to the Final Four for the 6th time under Coach Derrick, the Knights’ March to Mercer would once again end at the hands of GIAA powerhouse John Milledge Academy with a 35-7 final score.
While it’s always heartbreaking for the seniors that won’t get another chance at a title, the fact that the majority of the offensive skill players and defensive playmakers are juniors and sophomores gives the Frederica family well-founded hope that the 16th season of football under the oaks will wind up with the hoisting of a third state championship trophy
Frederica Academy Knights Coach’s Show w Brandon Derrick November 12 2025
Onward Knights
By: Jeff Doke
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
This past Friday night, the Frederica Knights exorcised some playoff demons.
Goddard Field on the campus of Valwood School is a place that holds equal amounts of joy and heartbreak for the Frederica faithful.
In a rivalry that dates back to the 2014 season, this is the place where Jordan Triplett broke the all-time rushing record in the state of Georgia – albeit in a 56-30 semi-final round loss.
The fact that the Knights have had playoff hopes dashed more than once at the hands of the Valiants is one that is not lost on quarterback Stanton Beverly.
“I just want to beat them,’ the Junior signal caller said during the bye week. The Valiants had a five-game win streak in football against Frederica, and the four-sport player Beverly had never won against the team in orange and blue on any field, court, or diamond.
That changed this past Friday.
The crowd that made the trip to Hahira from St Simons was sizeable – quite possibly the largest since the 2018 state championship game. In addition to being large, they were also loud.
The Knights fans provided an early game atmosphere that led to the first two plays from scrimmage result in Valwood false start penalties.
After the Valiants went 3 and out in their opening drive, Frederica embarked on a 9 play 69-yard drive that was topped off with a 2-yard Stanton Beverly touchdown run.
While it looked like the game would be lopsided from the onset, the remainder of the first half wound up being a war of attrition, going to the halftime locker room with a 7-7 tie.
The Knights would get the ball first to start the second half but unfortunately would go 3 and out when a potential touchdown reception fell through WR Jayden Gibson’s fingers.
Gibson would make up for it in the next drive, taking an interception back 46 yards for a score. It would be the second most important of the four interceptions the Knights would have in the game.
With less than four minutes left in the 4th, Stanton Beverly would connect with Jaylen Baldwin on an 18-yard TD to put the Knights up 28-14. Valwood would take the ensuing kickoff back for a score and then followed that with a successful onside kick.
Valwood was able to move the ball another 30 yards before Gibson had his second interception on the night, this time in the red zone and securing the Frederica win.
Frederica now moves to the semi-final round of the GIAA Class AAA playoffs to face a foe with another lopsided rivalry in the form of the John Milledge Academy Trojans.
Apart from the 2018 State Championship game win, the Knights are winless against the squad coached by JT Wall, including the last four in a row.
After an aberrant 2-9 season in 2024, the Trojans were back to form in 2025, posting a 9-1 record in the regular season and opening the playoffs with a 56-0 walloping of Piedmont Academy.
JMA is led on offense by QB Lewis Cheney. The 6’4” 187 lbs. Senior is 95 for 150 on the year with 1773 yds/21 TDs/4 INTs.
The main beneficiary of those stats is Sophomore TE Asa Wall, who has 40 receptions for 830 yards and 9 TDs. Wall has also carried the ball 54 times for 494 yards and a gaudy 13 TDs.
Elsewhere on the ground, Sophomore Javaris Hurt and Junior Jamel Cooper have combined for over 1400 yards and 14 TDs.
Asa Wall is also a force on defense, leading the Trojans in tackles with 76 and sacks with 5.
The winner of Frederica vs. JMA will face the winner of the Deerfield-Windsor vs. Westfield game in the State Championship at Mercer University on November 21st.
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