Rocky Hidalgo
The City Championship
By: Teddy Bishop
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
It doesn’t get any better than this!
The City Championship will be on the line this Friday night as the Brunswick High Pirates and the Glynn Academy Red Terrors clash Between the Bricks at Glynn County Stadium.
Most of these young men have been playing with and/or against each other since they were in rec ball, so the winning team will get bragging rights for the next twelve months.
Oh, and don’t forget the playoffs looming large in about a month. The Georgia High School Association will be switching to a power rankings formula to determine playoff seedings, so just finishing in the top four of the region no longer guarantees a team a playoff berth.
Ultimately, the BHS-GA game could have a huge impact on November football.
Coach Byron Slack’s Pirates are currently 2-1 in the region, 3-3 overall, while Coach Rocky Hidalgo’s Red Terrors are 1-2 in the region and 2-4 overall.
Doctor Slack’s Pirates opened the season with three non-region games, losing to Camden County and Grayson, while whupping the Groves Rebels.
In Region 1-6A play so far, BHS has defeated Grovetown and Greenbrier, but then lost to Bradwell Institute.
Glynn’s non-region schedule included losses to Calvary Day and Camden before beating Savannah Christian.
In region contests, the Terrors have a win over Lakeside-Evans, but have losses to Bradwell and Effingham County.
When Brunswick High and Glynn Academy meet on the gridiron, however, records don’t always mean anything. Both Coaches will be pulling out all the stops to try to secure a win. It would not be a surprise to see five or six trick plays in this game.
Both teams have shown they can score points, (BHS over 40 per game, GA over 32), so we may be talking about a shootout at Glynn County Stadium.
The Pirates will need to stop GA’s flexbone offense, led by Max Noonan and Caiden Robinson.
Glynn’s defense has been susceptible to downfield passing, so look for Brunswick quarterback Keygan Walker to take some shots downfield to receivers Waseem Murray and Israel Henry.
The Pirates running game will also be a big factor Friday night. Nigel Gardner is coming off a 363 yard rushing game—a single game school record—against Bradwell, but Glynn’s defense must also contend with another running back in Josiah Gibbons, averaging over eleven yards per carry.
The BHS-GA series dates back to 1968, the year Brunswick High first opened its doors and only had sophomores on its football team. The 1970 squad was the first Pirates team with seniors.
Glynn dominated the early years, but since then, the series has been somewhat streaky. Brunswick currently holds the series lead, winning 42 games to 38 for Glynn. There have been two ties.
If a team wins three years in a row, the City Championship trophy is retired to that school’s trophy case. The Pirates have won the last two years, so with a win Friday night, will retire the current trophy.
After the City Championship game against Glynn, BHS will host South Effingham and Effingham before its regular-season finale at Lakeside-Evans.
Glynn Academy will travel to Greenbrier and South Effingham and then close its regular season at home against Grovetown.
If there is a tie at the top of the standings after region play is completed, the fewest points allowed will determine the top seed, so defensive stops and turnovers will be another key to the City Championship game.
Kickoff is set for 7:30. Brunswick High! Glynn Academy! It doesn’t get any better than this!
Red Flags For Red Terrors
By: Garrison Ryfun
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Glynn Academy Red Terrors enter the City Championship game at 2-4 (1-2 in region play), looking to get back on track against rival Brunswick High.
The Terrors have shown flashes of what they are capable of throughout the season, particularly on the offensive side of the football, but consistency has been an issue. Now, at the midpoint of the region schedule, Glynn will look to pick up a much-needed win against its biggest rival and even its region record at 2-2.
Brunswick leads the all-time series 42-38-2 and has won the last two meetings between the teams. Glynn Head Coach Rocky Hidalgo is 7-5 against the Pirates during his tenure with the Terrors.
Last season’s matchup was a particularly crushing defeat for Glynn, as the Terrors saw a 16-point fourth-quarter lead slip away in a loss to Brunswick.
If Glynn wants to come away with a victory in this rivalry game and important region matchup, it will have to play a clean game, something the Terrors have struggled to do lately.
The Red Terrors have fumbled on its opening possession in each of its first three region games, with turnovers becoming a recurring issue. Against Effingham County, the Terrors fumbled six times, losing four of them.
Aside from the turnovers, Glynn has found plenty of offensive success in the second year of its Flexbone offense, averaging 32 points per game through the first six games of the season. Much of that success has come from under center, with quarterback Max Noonan leading the way.
Noonan leads the team with 7 rushing touchdowns, carrying the ball 79 times for 381 yards. Fullback Caiden Robinson leads the Terrors in rushing yards with 389 on 82 carries, adding 6 touchdowns of his own. Ja’Kori Roman, one of Glynn’s two starting slotbacks, has accounted for 377 total yards and 4 touchdowns on just 23 touches between rushing and receiving. On the opposite side of the formation, fellow slotback Ian Pomiechowski has added 338 total yards and 3 touchdowns on 32 touches.
Defensively the Terrors have struggled this season, to this point they are giving up 36.5 points per game which would be a school record putting them ahead of the 1977 team which gave up 31.2 points per game over 10 games in a 1-9 season.
Most of the struggles for the Terrors have come in coverage, which opposing teams have consistently exploited. Glynn has had trouble slowing down some of the better receivers on its schedule, with several putting together their best performances of the season against the Terrors’ secondary.
That trend continued last week against Effingham County, although in a slightly different way. Glynn was able to hold Trayvis Hunter, who entered the game as the Rebels’ leading receiver, to just 7 yards.
However, Isaiah Brown stepped up in his place, catching 3 passes for 114 yards and 3 touchdowns. Brown’s performance was enough to move him past Hunter as Effingham’s leading receiver on the season.
The Terrors’ defense will have another big test ahead of it against Brunswick, with receivers Waseem Murray and Isreal Henry presenting a real challenge through the air.
The Terrors will also have to account for two dynamic running backs in Nigel Gardner and Josiah Gibbons, who are both are averaging more than 11 yards per carry this season.
Gardner is coming off a record-breaking performance against Bradwell Institute, rushing for 363 yards and 3 touchdowns to set a new Brunswick High single-game rushing record.
With the struggles Glynn has had in coverage this season, the Terrors will have their hands full trying to slow down Brunswick’s passing attack without allowing Gardner and Gibbons to take over the game on the ground.
Glynn Academy Red Terrors 2026 Preview
By: Garrison Ryfun
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Glynn Academy enters the 2026 season looking to make the playoffs for the 18th year in a row and the 13th time under current head coach Rocky Hidalgo.
Last season, Glynn finished 6-5 overall and 5-3 in Region 1-5A, finishing 4th before falling in the 1st round of the 5A playoffs to Jackson County.
This year, the Red Terrors move up to Class 6A as the GHSA returns to a 7-classification system for the first time since 2023.
Despite the change, Glynn will see many familiar opponents, with Brunswick, Bradwell Institute, Effingham County, South Effingham, Lakeside-Evans and Greenbrier remaining on the region schedule. Grovetown joins the region, while Statesboro and Evans stay in 5A.
With the GHSA’s new Post Season Ranking system, it may not be as easy to sneak in the playoffs as a four seed in the region.
The new Post Season Ranking Formula weighs a team’s winning percentage at 35%, its opponents’ winning percentage at 35% and its opponents’ opponents’ winning percentage at 30%. Region champions will still receive favorable treatment, but the remaining playoff spots will depend more heavily on overall record and strength of schedule.
On the field, the biggest storyline will be the second season of the flexbone offense.
The flexbone was introduced at Glynn Academy last year and immediately produced points. The Terrors averaged 29.6 points per game, the 8th-best points per game in school history and the 2nd-highest during Hidalgo’s tenure.
Returning to command that offense is rising junior quarterback Max Noonan, who missed much of spring practice while helping Glynn Academy’s baseball team make a deep playoff run. Noonan led the Terrors in rushing yards and touchdowns last season while quickly picking up the new offense.
Replacing the two-headed attack of Da’sean Howard and DJ Creighton at fullback will be one of the questions on offense for the Terrors. The Terrors have several potential options at the position, including Caiden Robinson, standout linebacker Cooper Reiss and backup quarterback Ayden Wilson, who could all see carries in the backfield.
The Terrors will have only three games to settle on their new-look backfield before region play begins, and even with the new seeding formula region play is still very important for the playoffs.
Glynn’s Schedule:
8/20/2026 – vs Calvary Day
8/28/2026 – @ Camden County
9/4/2026 – vs Savannah Christian
9/11/2026 – BYE WEEK
9/18/2026 – vs Bradwell Institute (Region)
9/25/2026 – @ Lakeside-Evans (Region)
10/2/2026 – vs Effingham County (Region)
10/9/2026 – BYE WEEK
10/16/2026 – @ Brunswick High (Region)
10/23/2026 – @ Greenbrier (Region)
10/30/2026 – @ South Effingham (Region)
11/6/2026 – vs Grovetown (Region)
After making three trips to the Augusta area for region games last season, the Terrors will thankfully make the journey only twice this year to face Lakeside-Evans and Greenbrier.
The path to the region championship has typically run through some combination of Brunswick, Effingham County, and Glynn Academy in recent years.
That is unlikely to change despite coaching changes and excellent talent that graduated for all 3 schools last year.
Brunswick still boasts an explosive backfield with Josiah Gibbons and Nigel Gardner at running back, while Effingham should continue an impressive passing game with standout wide receiver Trayvis Hunter returning on the outside.
The outlook for the Terrors’ 2026 season is very optimistic. With another year in the flexbone offense and several key contributors returning on both sides of the ball, Glynn should once again compete near the top of the region and put itself in position to extend its playoff streak to 18 consecutive seasons.
Glynn Academy Red Terrors Spring Questions
By: Garrison Ryfun
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Head coach Rocky Hidalgo is entering his 13th season as head coach of the Glynn Academy Red Terrors, and just wrapped up spring practice on Thursday, May 14, with the annual spring game.
For Hidalgo, the biggest takeaway from the spring was that the Terrors were able to get quality work in, stay healthy, and evaluate some of the younger players on the roster.
“You know, I thought we had a really good spring for the most part,” Hidalgo said.
“Got in there with no injuries, that’s the most important thing. It was very competitive. The spring game was very physical. Our line of scrimmage play, we have a lot of potential up there. We’ve got to get better on the offensive line from the spring game, which isn’t uncommon. I feel like working on some depth pieces is a big chunk of what we’re going to do. And we had a chance to really work on our young kids, which is why I like spring. You get a chance to coach your young kids when there’s no bullets flying. But all in all, I was pleased with the effort with our kids.”
Hidalgo pointed to several players who stood out during spring practice, beginning with Ayden Wilson, a dynamic player on both sides of the ball.
“I think Ayden Wilson had a really good spring,” Hidalgo said. “Max Noonan wasn’t here for the majority of it because he was playing baseball. But Ayden had a really good spring at quarterback. He got some time at fullback when Max came back, some linebacker. He’s a kid that could play a number of positions for us and go out there and do a good job. I think he was one that had a good spring. Zach Cox is another kid on the D-line and at tight end, he had a really good spring. Mikey Tyler also had a good spring at linebacker. He’s a young kid that’s really found a position and ran around well and did some really good things.”
Last season, the Terrors switched to a flexbone option offense. This new offense not only fit the personnel for Glynn Academy, but also led to them averaging 29.6 points per game which is eighth-best in school history and second best under Rocky Hidalgo.
Speaking about the flexbone offense going into year two, Hidalgo pointed to the returning experience Glynn has in the backfield as a reason for optimism.
“I think we’ve got our quarterback back, Caiden Robinson back, Cooper Reiss, Ayden Wilson to run the football. Ian Pomiechowski back and Brock Wilson who played a bunch for us at halfback.” Head Coach Rocky Hidalgo said.
“So we’ve got some pieces in there to go out there and hand the ball to. We’ve got to develop some kids at wide receiver a little bit to be able to block and catch the football, but other than that, I like our personnel. We’ve got a chance to be a pretty good offensive football team.”
One of those key returning pieces is Max Noonan, the Terrors starting quarterback, who led the offense with impressive poise as a sophomore last season. Although Noonan did not get much practice time this spring due to Glynn Academy baseball’s deep playoff run, Hidalgo said his performance in limited action was still encouraging.
“Yeah, he did some really good things in the scrimmage for only practicing two days,” Hidalgo said.
“I feel really good about the two quarterbacks that we have. We have two really, really good quarterbacks that I feel like we can go and compete with either one of them. That’s a good problem to have. Max is a tough kid. He’s got a lot of moxie. All those intangibles you want, on top of being a really talented player.”
While spring practice gave Hidalgo a chance to evaluate the physicality of his team, the focus now shifts to what Glynn needs to improve over the summer. For the Terrors, that starts with developing the passing game and improving conditioning.
“We’ve got to work on throwing the football,” Hidalgo said. “The spring for us is about running the ball, physicality, and run defense. The summer is about pass defense, working on our passing game, and all those perimeter aspects. I want to see us get better at those things. That’s a big part of it. Our conditioning’s got to get better. We’re going to have a lot of guys who are going to be playing on both sides of the football, so we’ve got to be prepared to play 80 snaps week one or two of the season,” Hidalgo said.
Glynn will also have several position battles to sort out before the season begins, with Hidalgo pointing first to the secondary.
“I think we’ve got to find a free safety. That’s the biggest thing,” Hidalgo said. “Trying to figure out who that guy is going to be in the secondary. We’ve got some guys competing at the other quarterback position. And then who’s going to go out there and do the things necessary to get on the field at halfback? We’ve got about six or seven kids that have a chance to go out there and play. See which of those guys are going to go out there and earn some playing time.”
Glynn Academy opens the season against the Calvary Day Cavaliers on August 20, 2026.
Red Terrors Moving Forward
By: Joe Delaney
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The 2025 season is in the books for the Glynn Academy Red Terrors.
Jackson County ended the season with a first round romp over the Terrors.
The top seeded Panthers moved to 10-1 on the season and the fourth seeded Terrors take a long bus ride home ending at 6-5.
Looking back, it truly is a season of ups and downs for Glynn. I had predicted at the first of the year that the Red and White had a great chance to go 7-3 or 8-2 on the season.
Well, as the saying goes ‘close…….. but no cigar’.
Glynn dropped three games by 7, 4, and 3 points. It’s the difference between a winning season that the Terrors are very used to under Rocky Hidalgo and a very good season which was oh so close.
Let’s take a look back at the crazy wacky season that was Red Terror football in 2025.
Wayne County and Richmond Hill started the season for the Terrors. They split these first two games.
They take down Wayne County as expected 38-14 in the season opener and then stepped up in class and dropped a 21-0 game to a very tough Richmond Hill squad.
Next up was the shocker…… Glynn traveled to Hinesville to take on the Bradwell Institute Tigers. The Red Terrors have more infractions and yellow flags thrown at them than some of the inmates down the road in Reidsville and lost their second game 35-28.
How they committed a dozen or so penalties in the second half is beyond me. Bradwell finished the season 2-7. I could go on but it is what it is.
Next up was the Statesboro Blue Devils and the Terrors took care of business 36-8. Funny that the next week Statesboro took care of Bradwell 38-28. I could go on….
The Red Terrors took out Lakeside the next week and put 54 points on the board in a 54-28 victory.
Next is the City Championship game with the Brunswick High Pirates. Besides the Bradwell loss, here is the stunner.
Glynn led and controlled the game for three quarters and looked to close out the Pirates; driving down to the Brunswick goal line to really put the game away when they fumbled inside the Brunswick 3-yard line.
Brunswick proceeded to score, and score, and score in the fourth quarter and came back to take down the Terrors 41-37. It truly was a heartbreaker for the Terrors who gave up over 300 yards passing with much of it in the last terrible 12 minutes.
To the Terrors credit they bounced back and took 3 of the next 4 games.
They beat Evans, South Effingham, and Greenbrier and lost only to Effingham in a close one 45-42.
Glynn ended the regular season 6-4 and the region 4th seed.
After the long bus ride to Jackson County the Red Terrors failed to really get off the bus and gave up big plays and fumbled their way to a season ending loss.
The Terrors finished 6-5 on the year.
Looking ahead to 2026 the Red Terrors should be solid.
They played a large number of sophomores and juniors.
Back on offense will be 7 or 8 starters and 6 on defense plus Patrick Coyle with the kicking duties.
Terror fans are looking forward to seeing Max Noonan progress and get better at quarterback.
The junior to be had a solid first season and gives the Red Terrors a solid foundation on offense. Add in Caiden Robinson, Grant Ferrell, Zamir Bell, Ian Pomiechowski and others and the Terrors should be solid on offense.
Defensively the Terrors will return 6 starters including Cooper Reiss, Kori Roman, Sam Ricks, Cam Cleghorn, Aaden Ward, Amari Moore and several youngsters who got valuable playing time.
The key here will be restocking the DBs.
All in all, the Red Terrors look to be in good shape moving forward after another winning season on the Southside.
Unbelievable
By: Jason Bishop
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The City Championship Game between the Brunswick High Pirates and Glynn Academy Red Terrors makes for great Friday Night Football most years.
The 2025 edition was more than a great game; it may go down as the greatest City Championship game ever and with that launched Brunswick QB Grant Moore into legend Stratosphere.
Going into the game the Brunswick High Pirates were huge favorites. The Pirates came in with a 4-1 record and were undefeated in Region 1-5A.
Meanwhile, the Glynn Academy Red Terrors came in 3-2 and already lost a region game in an upset to Bradwell Institute.
The game was back and forth in the 1st half and the Red Terrors took a 14-13 lead into the locker room at the half.
The 3rd quarter and early 4th quarter belonged to the Red Terrors as they extended their lead to 37-21 with about 7 minutes left in the football game.
Red Terrors Coach Rocky Hidalgo had pressed all the right buttons, 2-pont conversions, trick plays, a fake punt and more importantly had limited the Pirates’ offense playing a ball control type of game.
Glynn was driving late in the 4th and had the ball inside the Brunswick 20-yard line and were about to score the back breaking touchdown that would have created chaos in the region and given the Terrors an inside track to a region title.
Then things got crazy. Glynn fumbled the ball when they were about to score the knockout blow and the Grant Moore Show took centerstage at Glynn County Stadium.
Moore marched the Pirates down the field making big throw after big throw. The Pirates scored again on a TD pass from Moore and cut the lead to 37-34.
The Pirates attempted an onside kick and recovered with just under 2 minutes to play. Once again Moore made clutch pass after clutch pass before Nigel Gardener scampered into the end zone with 31 seconds to play giving the Pirates a miracle 41-37 lead.
Moore finished the football game 14/18 passing for 336 yards and 4 TDs.
The Pirates would intercept a desperation throw from Glynn QB Max Noonan to seal an improbable come from behind 41-37 win to remain unbeaten in the region and more importantly win their second consecutive City Championship.
Both Rocky Hidalgo and BHS coach Garrett Grady coached their tails off in this game and proved once again they are elite coaches in the state of Georgia.
If Grant Moore does not receive more Division 1 offers after his performance against Glynn I am not sure what scouts are looking for.
Walking Terrors
By: Joe Delaney
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Summer is upon us and while most people plan vacations, go to the beach, cookout and enjoy the Golden Isles etc, there is a large group of teenage boys who are focused on one thing. That thing is high school football.
So, I wasn’t surprised when I pulled up to the Glynn Academy fieldhouse to meet with Red Terror Coach Rocky Hidalgo that there were 50 plus kids working out in the hot sun with another 30 inside lifting weights.
For the really good teams, this is the time they get ready. Glynn wants to be a really good team.
In my conversations with Coach Hidalgo, he was very upbeat about the 2025 edition of Red Terror Football.
While last year’s team had a winning record and went to the playoffs, you could tell the Terrors and Coach Rock wanted more. With multiple returning starters, they have a chance to be much better.
Offensively, the Terrors return multi-year starters in Aiden Ward and Josh Baker up front. Add in starter Grant Ferrell and this offensive line could be very good. It is a great nucleus to start with.
Running the ball behind these guys are returners Dasean Howard and D J Creighton. These guys are quick and fast and should be fun to watch. Veterans make a difference.
Outside are returning starters Sean Wallace at the slot, Lavonte Lockett and TY Chisholm at the wideouts.
The key to the offense will be the play of incoming quarterback Max Noonan. He has looked great in practice and the young 5’11” 165 lb QB just needs to distribute the ball to all those playmakers and limit his mistakes.
He has a lot of players around him and doesn’t need to make a ton of plays. If he limits the mistakes this could be a very good offense.
Defensively, everything will rest on the play of the young D-line.
Glynn will be very solid in the back seven with returning starters all over the place.
If young bucks like James Kennedy, Amahray Moore, and Zamir Bell step up on the defensive line then the Terrors will be very good.
Smith Whitehead, Anson Gallon, and Cooper Reiss all return at linebacker. Throw in returning starters Sean Wallace, and Quan Coleman at DBs and it should be a solid unit.
The kicking game is always a strength for Glynn Academy and 2025 shouldn’t be any different. When the Glynn Academy Soccer team wins about 15 games every year…well you get the idea. Patrick Coyle is the next man up.
The Red Terrors will face stiff competition in the region with Effingham and Brunswick the region co favorites.
Add in Richmond Hill and some of the games will be brutal.
But with a nice group of returning starters and solid coaching staff, Glynn should be competitive in every game. The play at QB and on the D-line will have a lot to say about how far this Terror team will go.
They don’t have to be great. They just have to be solid and let the veterans make plays and the Terrors will be dangerous.
Schedule
8/15 @ Wayne
8/22 @ Richmond Hill
8/29 Bye
9/5 @ Bradwell
9/12 v. Statesboro
9/19 @ Lakeside
9/26 v. Brunswick
10/3 @Evans
10/10 v. South Effingham
10/17 Bye
10/24 v. Effingham
10/31 @ Greenbriar
Terror Character
By: Joe Delaney
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
When you reach the playoffs in any sport for over 15 years in a row, it says something about your team and program.
That was all on the line last Friday night for the Glynn Academy Red Terrors.
After an up and down season, the Terrors found themselves down 24-21 late in the fourth quarter to the Evans Knights.
It was literally win and you’re in or lose and close but no cigar. The winner would be the region’s last team in and the loser could start pumping up basketballs.
With under 6 minutes to go in the game and trailing, the Red Terrors reached down and found that little extra they needed. They stood up and took charge of a game that they had made close with some crucial mistakes in the 3 ½ quarters before.
Behind the play of T. Y. Chisholm, Da’Sean Howard and Sean Wallace on offense and Tae Green on defense the Terrors came back to take a 28-24 victory and win a trip to take a six-hour bus ride to take on the Rome Wolves in the first round of the state playoffs.
In those final 6 minutes the Terrors showed the character of a team full of winners.
First, Howard put the team on his back and carried the ball on pretty much the same play three times in a row. The third one, a tackle breaking run went for 39 yards and the go-ahead touchdown. Tuck Tuckers extra point made it 28-24.
That left it up to the Red Terror D that had played well all night but had given up several big plays for scores.
They responded by making interceptions the last two times Evans had the ball. The last by Ervan Rowe on a 4th down and 28 Hail Mary pass. That 4th and 28 was set up by Tae Greens’ SIXTH sack of the night. The guy was a true Terror, all over the field.
Coach Rocky Hidalgo was “relieved” that the Red Terrors had won but bemoaned the errors that his Terrors had made.
All teams make errors and nobody is perfect but character stands out. In the last 6 minutes with the season on the line the Red Terrors showed character.
Can they stand up to the 5A #1 seed Rome Wolves? We will see. But the Terrors definitely have the right attitude and it begins with Coach Hidalgo’s comments following the game.
He stressed that the Terrors had to be ready not only for next Friday night in Rome but on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday on the Glynn practice field. That’s why the Terrors are in the playoffs for the 16th consecutive season.
In the Rome Wolves, the Terrors will take on a hot team. After losing their first 2 games, the Wolves have been on a 7-game winning streak.
The latest being a 50-3 pasting of Kennesaw Mountain. The Wolves are prolific on offense scoring 59, 28, 70, 63, 35, and 50 in their last 6 games.
Defensively in those six games, they’ve given up 35 points total. The Terrors definitely will have to play their absolute best to hang with Rome.
If they make crucial errors at times in this game they could get hammered. The Terrors will head into the game at 6-4 and the regions 4th seed.
After a long season full of highlights and a few lowlights the Terrors can head up north knowing they are big underdogs.
The official website for Rome says they are playing the GLYNN COUNTY SCHOOLS. They evidently don’t even know who Glynn Academy is! Glynn should go and let it all hang out.
As the old saying goes, they’ve really got nothing to lose.
Terror-tory
By: Joe Delaney
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Its July and its hot and sticky. The weather forecast says RAIN every afternoon.
Lazy summer days with afternoon thunderboomers. But for so many of us it’s really time to start thinking about FOOTBALL. And today it’s specifically GLYNN ACADEMY RED TERROR football.
The Red Terrors of Rocky Hidalgo had a very successful 2023 campaign. 8-3 with an ohhhhhh so close agonizing first round loss in the playoffs.
The Red Terrors picked a bad game to play mediocre football and it cost them in a one point first round loss. On the positive side was another city championship running Rocks record against the Brunswick Pirates to 7-3. But let’s move on and look at 2024. As of today the Terrors are undefeated.
Defensively the 2024 squad should be good. While the number of returning starters may not be overwhelming. The fact is that this Terror team has a lot of juniors and seniors who have played a lot of minutes for the Red and White.
A few years ago as we came out of the pandemic, the Red Terrors were looking at maybe a dozen or so juniors and seniors on the team.
That has drastically changed in the past couple of years and the Terrors will have close to 50 juniors and seniors ready to play on Friday nights.
It’s a big difference. Especially on defense where there are holes to fill.
Quay Evans and Tay Green return on the D-line for the Terrors and Ty Chishom returns in the defensive backfield.
Several other of last year’s contributors will step into starting roles this year. With the depth the Terrors have built recently, Coach Rock feels the defense will be very good.
I think that the key for Glynn will be having some linebackers step up and play big time. If that happens the Terrors could be dangerous.
They could be dangerous because the offense will be lethal.
On offense the Terrors return a great mix of players including 3 offensive linemen.
The games are won or lost in the trenches and this group of road graters should be good.
Add in Josh Baker at center and this group should be solid. They are definitely going to have some guys in the backfield that can take advantage of every crease or hole the Oline gives them.
Returning are TE Deuce Hidalgo, WR Sean Wallace, QB Jayden Ellis and RB Greg Peacock. That’s 7 returning starters and a dozen or so with experience from last year. The Terrors will be fun to watch fosho!
And keep an eye out for Nico Nikomunoz. He’s a young QB who can sling it. If he gets on the field and can distribute the ball it will free up Ellis and Peacock to wreak havoc. Either way this offense has the potential to be VERY good.
Special teams are just that at Glynn and it’s just a question of how good. Returning will be Tuck Tucker to do the punting, kickoffs and FGs. Any time the Red Terrors get in the red zone it should be at least 3 with Tuck.
And keep an eye out for up and coming Patrick Coyle. He would start for most teams in the region but will give Glynn a great backup.
The return teams should be emphasized by Rocky and the staff. They could be electric this time around! Peacock is being recruited by all the D1’s. So, lets hope the Rock puts him back deep and lets the opposing teams kick it to him.
Glynn rolls into 2024 with several new coaches on staff including Steve Sigemund with the DB’s and all important Weightroom. Matt Moore comes on board with the RB’s. And Gage Sills heads up the QB’s. Welcome to the Terrortory gentlemen!
While I’m not going to break down the season game by game, the schedule is formidable.
Richmond Hill returns 18 starters and is in one of the fastest growing areas in the state. Ditto for the Rebels of Effingham. Evans will be loaded this year and Brunswick has talent.
Eight wins for Glynn Academy in the regular season again would be workable if things fall into place. Now let’s see if they can make a playoff run.
Terror Town 2023
By: Joe Delaney
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Well, as we head toward the holidays, it’s time to take a look back at the 2023 Red Terrors football season.
The Terrors rolled to a successful 8-3 campaign, claiming the second seed in the region, and barely missing out on another playoff win. And while the Red and White southsiders would have loved a few more W’s, it was all and all a great season capped off with an overtime sinking of a Pirate ship. Any season with a city championship win over the Brunswick Pirates is considered a successful campaign for the Red Terrors. Trust me, I know!
So, let’s do a quick recap of another fine season for the Terrors and take a quick look at what’s coming back for the 2024 outfit.
8/18 Glynn Academy vs Statesboro Blue Devils. Terrors roll in the opener 21-0.
8/25 Glynn Academy @ MCA Buccaneers. The Red Terrors cruise up Highway 17 and take out the always tough Buccaneers in a close one 14-6. McIntosh Academy always plays bigger than they are and this one was no exception.
9/1 Glynn Academy vs Camden County Widcats. The Terrors find out on this Friday night that they aint the biggest boys on the block as the Wildcats rough up the homestanding Terrors 44-13. The Wildcats and Jeff Herron go on to the Final Four of the 7A playoffs.
9/7 Glynn Academy vs Baker County (FL) Wildcats. Glynn grounds out a tough 27-20 win over the Wildcats to bounce back into the win column and all eyes turn to the Pirates, who have already taken out a Camden team that ripped Glynn the week before.
9/22 Glynn Academy vs Brunswick High Pirates. Ahhhhhhhhhhh lets enjoy this one again. The Red Terrors sink the Pirates in a 22-15 overtime thriller.
The City Championship once again resides in the Glynn Academy trophy case. In this one the Terrors and Pirates find common ground from the top down to the 3rd stringers. We don’t like them and they don’t like us. Agreed……. Once again GLYNN 22 Brunswick 15.
9/29 Glynn Academy @ Effingham County Rebels. What goes up………… The Red Terrors play like they have a hangover that a whole bottle of aspirin won’t help. 49-3 Rebels, who go on to win the region championship.
10/6 Glynn Academy vs South Effingham High School Mustangs. The Terrors regroup and pulverize the Mustangs 35-0.
10/12 Glynn Academy @ Grovetown Warriors. Glynn has a nice trip up north and walks and runs all over Grovetown 43-3.
10/20 Glynn Academy @ Evans Knights. Another road trip and another win as the Terrors take out a tough Evans team 22-14.
11/3 Glynn Academy vs Lakeside Panthers. The Terrors get tuned up for the 6A playoffs with a 50-7 pasting of the Panthers at Glynn County Stadium.
11/10 Glynn academy vs Jonesboro Cardinals. Let’s see, what do you get when you fumble 3 times and have 2 punts blocked? It doesn’t matter who you are. 98% of the time you lose.
Well, the Terrors did their absolute best to be in the 2% but fall short in a heartbreaker 32-31.
Too many mistakes to overcome against a team that took advantage of them.
The Terrors lose at home in the final game of the year and end up with an 8-3 record. Not what Coach Rock and the Terrors wanted but another successful campaign for the Red and White.
The Terrors graduated some real leaders in 2023. Kids that worked their tails off and stuck with the program.
Among them were Peyton Parker, who earned Region Defensive Player of the Year, and David Prince Glynn’s great wide receiver.
The all-region team was well represented with Jayden Ellis at QB, Parker, Prince, RB Willie Butler, Max Poysky OL, Quay Evans DL, Da’Vontae Lang ILB, Trent Tankersley OLB, Ryan Young DB, Marshan Turner DB and Tuck Tucker P all First Team selections.
Second teamers included Deuce Hidalgo TE, Harrison Knight OL, Camden Wilson DL, Gavin Wells OLB and T.Y. Chisom DB. Honorable Mentions were Michael Torello FB, Zeb Jackson WR, Sean Wallace WR, Caziah Alston, Benton Dyal and Josh Baker all on the OL, Tae Green DL, Chandler Owens LB, Bruce Edwards DB and LS Jeb Carson.
Quite a list and a testament to the consistent work ethic put in by the Terrors and the coaching staff.
As the Terrors look forward to 2024, they do so with a great nucleus to build on. The Offense has 3 linemen and 4 of the best skill players in southeast Georgia coming back. If the young line develops the Terrors will be very dangerous next year.
Defensively it’s the same story, 3 seasoned linemen, a linebacker, and a very good DB form a solid group to build around.
Tuck Tucker returns to kick and punt also. The coaching staff has a lot of work to do but a great core to work with.
Look for Rocky Hidalgo and the Terrors to build on the success of the young 2023 outfit and fight for more in 24!
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