Rome Wolves
Terrors Downed
By: Joe Delaney
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Glynn Academy Red Terrors saw their 2024 season come to an end.
After a long 7-hour bus trip to Rome, the Terrors ran into a bunch of hungry Wolves and the outcome wasn’t pretty. The turnover plagued Terrors fell 49-17 and it really wasn’t that close. The number 1 seeded Wolves feasted on those Terror turnovers early and often.
While the Terrors had shown resiliency and fight throughout a tough season, this one was over quickly.
The superior Wolves broke a 47-yard touchdown in the first minute of the contest. It was 7-0 before everyone had gotten into their seats.
Two Red Terror turnovers on the next two Terror possessions in the first quarter doomed the Terrors as Rome quickly went on scoring drives breaking off chunks of yardage and going up 21-0.
By halftime the Terrors had fallen into a 42-3 hole and the second half was played with mostly Rome second teamers.
While the Terrors were outgunned and outclassed they never quit against a much better team and put two scores on the board in the second half.
The first was on a blocked punt. Cooper Reiss blocked the punt and scoop and scored to put Glynn on the board and then T. Y. Chisolm scored on a determined 33-yard run in the final minute to put the final points on the board.
The first-round playoff loss left the Terrors with a final 6-5 record and a long bus ride home.
The Terrors final record included wins Wayne County, Bradwell Institute, Statesboro, South Effingham, Greenbrier, and Evans.
The losses were to Richmond Hill, Lakeside Evans, Brunswick, Effingham County, and the Wolves.
The win over Wayne County was a milestone as the Red Terrors became the 25th school in the state of Georgia history to win 600 games! Yes that’s SIX HUNDRED!
The Glynn seniors ended up going 20-13 for their 3 years and will be sorely missed.
The Red Terrors of 2024 showed remarkable poise and determination.
They were knocked down and always got back up. Having a winning season and making the playoffs for the 17th season in a row was a testament to the grit, determination, and hard work of the boys and the coaching staff.
When you reach the playoffs in any sport for over 15 years in a row, it says something about your team and program.
In the Rome Wolves, the Terrors took on a hot team. After losing their first 2 games, the Wolves had been on a 7-game winning streak, now 8.
The Wolves are prolific on offense scoring 59, 28, 70, 63, 35, and 50 in their last 6 games going into the 1st round matchup with the Red Terrors in the first round of the GHSA 5A playoffs.
Defensively in those six games, they’ve given up 35 points total. The Terrors definitely hand their hands full.
After a long season full of highlights and a few lowlights the Terrors can begin looking toward the 2025 season.
The old adage that says winners never quit and quitters never win was never more appropriate than with this outfit. So now the Terrors will look to off season workouts and start laying the foundation for the 2025 edition.
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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Bringing Home The Hardware
By: Kenneth Harrison Jr.
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The 2016 Georgia state championships are in the books and eight champions have been crowned. This is the last year it will be held at the Georgia Dome before moving next door to the new Mercedes Benz Stadium and there were some memorable games.
The first game was the single A private school championship played Friday morning between Eagles Landing Christian Academy and Fellowship Christian School. The game went to double overtime with the ELCA Chargers winning 34-27.
The Class A public game was very one sided. Macon County beat McIntosh Academy 35-0. Macon County only led 7-0 until the final seconds of the 3rd quarter before scoring on four consecutive possessions. This is their second state championship and first in 20 years.
The AA game was also not close. Benedictine defeated Fitzgerald 49-26. Benedictine scored on its first five possessions to take a 35-6 first half lead. This is their second state title and first since 2014. They are the first Savannah school to win two state championships and this is their first undefeated full season since starting football in 1908.
The AAA game featured two metro Atlanta teams, Cedar Grove from Dekalb County and Greater Atlanta Christian from Gwinnett County. The Saints took a 23-3 lead with 1:09 left in the first half after Tre Shaw returned an interception 34-yards for a touchdown. Cedar Grove beat GAC 30-19 to win their first state title.
Cartersville and Thomson played for the AAAA championship. The Purple Hurricanes destroyed Thomson 58-7. This was the second-most points scored in GHSA finals history. Cartersville has won 30 consecutive games since they have had two consecutive 15-0-championship seasons.
The 5A game saw perennial power Buford match up with Rome. Both teams have the same Wolves mascot. Rome iced the game by scoring on an 18-yard naked bootleg on fourth-and-inches with 1:12 remaining in the 4th quarter. They won 16-7 giving Rome their first title since opening in 1992. Before East and West Rome merged to form Rome High they combined for seven state titles from 1965 to 1985.
Valdosta beat Tucker 17-7 in the 6A championship. The Wildcats scored on their first two possessions to take a 14-0 lead. This is Valdosta’s first title since 1998 but they did extend their state record to 24 state championships. Alan Rodemaker became the first Valdosta head coach to win a state title in his first season.
The final game was the heavy weight 7A match up between Grayson and Roswell. This is the first year of 7A and it looks like Gwinnett County will continue to dominate the state’s largest classification. The Grayson Rams are ranked in the top 5 nationally.
The Hornets from Roswell were undefeated, ranked No. 2 in the state and appeared in their second consecutive state championship. The Hornets dominated the game and led for most of it. Grayson took their first lead of the game with 1:04 remaining. The Hornets scored on a 20-yard touchdown pass from Malik Willis to Kentrell Barber on the final play of regulation to tie the game 20-20. The Rams won in overtime 23-20. This is Grayson’s second state title and first since 2011 when they were led by Robert Nkemdiche. Head coach Jeff Herron became the first coach to win state titles at three Georgia schools (Oconee County & Camden County were the others).
