Richmond Hill Wildcats
Brunswick High Pirates Coach’s Show w Sean Pender November 4
Glynn Academy Red Terrors Coach’s Show w Rocky Hidalgo November 4
Brunswick High Pirates Show w Sean Pender October 28
Round of 16
By: Jason Bishop
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The second round of High School Football playoffs approaches this week. Here are previews for the games this round for our area teams in southeast Georgia.
Coffee County Trojans @ Mays Raiders: Coffee County finished with the number 3 seed from the vaunted 1-6A region. That region includes Valdosta, Lee, Houston and Northside Warner Robins.
The Trojans enter the second round at 8-3 and looking to get a shot at the winner of Stephenson and Allatoona in the round of 8.
However, in order to do that Coffee will have to get through Mays, no easy task.
Mays is 10-1 and the region champ from region 5-6A. This game will also be played in Atlanta as Coffee is a 3 seed and Mays is a 1 seed. The Raiders have wins against Creekside, South Paulding and Northgate on the season.
Despite the fact Mays is a region champ, I think the Trojans will win this game and move on to the Elite 8. This will be a war.
Lanier Longhorns @ Richmond Hill Wildcats: Richmond Hill won region 2-6A and carries a one seed. Most did not expect the Wildcats to win the region, but they did.
Richmond Hill is 7-3 on the season after the first-round win over 4 seed ML King. The Wildcats best win is probably against region foe Glynn Academy, who also is still playing.
Lanier is the 2 seed from region 8-6A. The only loss of the season for the Longhorns is to powerhouse and region champ Dacula.
Lanier’s best win probably came last week against a 6-5 Sprayberry team. The Longhorns schedule was very soft this season. They are currently 10-1. Lanier will be heading to Richmond Hill from Sugar Hill, not a short trip.
This might be closer than most think, but I will take Lanier to move on.
Glynn Academy Red Terrors @ Dacula Falcons: By most standards, Glynn has had a subpar season. The Terrors finished the season 5-4 and a 2 seed in region 2-6A.
The Red Terrors have come to expect region championships and deep playoff runs under head coach Rocky Hidalgo.
The Red Terrors dominated a tough Tucker team in the first round 31-7 at Glynn County Stadium.
Now Glynn will head up to Atlanta to battle with the number 1 seed from region 8-6A, the Dacula Falcons.
The Falcons are currently unbeaten (11-0), and have beaten Lanier, Dalton, and 7A playoff team Mill Creek.
This is tough test for Glynn. Plus, the Red Terrors will have to venture up to Atlanta for this game. I will take Dacula in a close game.
Brunswick High Pirates @ Harrison Hoyas: The Pirates got off to tough start this season, but rebounded and made the playoffs as the 3 seed from region 2-6A. The Pirates are 6-5 on the season and won their first playoff game since 2010 last week against Morrow, 34-13.
This week Brunswick will head to Kennesaw to take on undefeated Harrison (11-0).
The Hoyas are the number one seed from region 6-6A. Harrison is currently enjoying a stretch of success that dates back to when Justin Fields was their QB.
Harrison has beaten Sprayberry, Dalton, Allatoona and last week ended the season of Winder-Barrow.
The Pirates best win of the season came last week with the Morrow win.
This is going to be tough one for the Pirates. I will take Harrison to move on.
Buford Wolves @ Ware County Gators: Ware comes into this game 8-3 and the number one seed from region 2-5A.
The Gators rebounded from a tough start to the season and went through region play to win the region.
Last week Ware struggled with 4 seed Ola but pulled away late to advance. Waiting for them is powerhouse Buford.
Buford is 10-1. That loss was to Clarke County Central, which lost the region for the Wolves. Buford, instead, earned a 2 seed and will be heading to the Swamp in Waycross to take on the Gators.
The wins the Wolves have season reads as a “Who’s who” of high school powers in North Georgia. That list includes Milton, Newton, Archer, Cedar Shoals, and Decatur.
Ware’s best win is Wayne County. Ware may be overmatched here.
I will take Buford to move on to the Elite 8.
Wayne County Yellow Jackets @ Clarke County Central Gladiators: The Yellow Jackets have been a tough team to figure out this season.
Certain weeks they have looked like a serious state title contender and others weeks not so much.
Wayne is 8-2 on the season and ended up with the 2 seed from region 2-5A.
The Yellow Jackets took down Stockbridge last week in a game I gave them no chance of winning. Yet, they did and moved on the round of 16.
Waiting for them is the number one seed from region 8-6A, Clarke County Central. The Gladiators are 8-3 on the season and beat Lithia Springs last week, 63-34.
Clarke Central will be a tough out for Wayne, but is beatable. This should be a tough, tight game.
The Yellow Jackets will have to go to Athens to play this game and that could be the difference. I will take Clarke Central in a nail biter.
Brunswick High Pirates Coach’s Show w Sean Pender October 17
Brunswick High Pirates Coach’s Show w Sean Pender October 9
Sean Pender Show Nov 1
Pirates Win Region
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Sean Pender in his first season on Altama Avenue and a senior class that has had three head coaches in four years won a share of the region championship with a 56-34 win at, previously undefeated, Richmond Hill.
It is the first region championship for BHS since 2009. A huge Pirate contingent traveled the 45 minutes north to Richmond Hill and were loud and proud all night long.
The 22-point win will give the Pirates the point differential tiebreaker against Glynn and Richmond Hill for the #1 playoff seed should Richmond Hill beat Effingham as expected next Friday night.
The heroes of the night for BHS were Jagaryon Marcus and Jaylen Jackson. These guys were all over the field all night long.
Pirate Report Card:
Offense: A+. 56 points on the road against a team that was undefeated and flying high.
Everyone and everything on the offensive side was clicking. The entire offensive line team photo should be hanging on the post office wall on the FBI’s 10 most wanted list because of the assault they laid on the Richmond Hill defensive front.
Robinson and McCloud ran like wild men all night long.
Alonzo Brown, DJ Whitfield, and Jaylen Jackson destroyed the Wildcats’ secondary.
And last but not least, Jamarius Stevens, still with the ankle issue, lead his team to a region title and cemented an all-region season at QB for the Pirates.
This unit was lights out.
Defense: B. This unit set the tone with the Marcus scoop and score on the first series to put the Pirates up 7-0.
Richmond Hill scored some points and got a couple of late TD’s but Kam Futch and company clamped down the Wildcats’ run game in second half. The Pirate defense made the Wildcats a one dimensional team.
The BHS defense with Sean Ward and a couple others gut checked its way to winning a tough football game. This unit laid the wood to Richmond Hill offensive players all night long.
Special Teams: B. Solid kick coverage that pinned the Wildcats on its own 1 yard line to start game and no big returns with the athletes on the talented Richmond Hill roster.
The kickoff coverage has been fantastic. DJ Whitfield set up a BHS TD right before the half with a 52 yard kick return.
Coaching: A+. Sean Pender said all week that BHS was going to beat Richmond Hill and that the Wildcats could not stop the Pirates.
The game plan was awesome and executed perfectly on offense.
The culture change is now complete as the 2017 Pirates under Pender win their 7th Region Football title and first since 2009.
Pender has to be the Region Coach of the Year after turning this team into champions after going 8-12 and no playoffs for last two years. The Pirates have a great shot at being a number one seed.
A happy Glynn County AD Steve Waters called me post game and said the Pirates would be receiving a Region Championship Trophy next Friday night on senior night prior to the Osborne game.
Pender for President in 2020. Pirates are relevant again.
Overall: A+. BHS is a football champion again. Enough said there.
Jaylen Jackson is a stud and any accolade you can come up with. That last TD catch and two-point conversion to get BHS the point differential points for region tiebreaker was the stuff of legends. Thank you, Mr. Jackson
Up next: Osborne. The Region Champs come home for an emotional senior night at Glynn County stadium.
The BHS Pirates Region 2-AAAAAA Football Champions. Print me up a size XXL.
Sean Pender Show Oct 25
Rocky Hidalgo Show Oct 17
