By Kevin Price For GCS Athletics The Brunswick High Pirates started Region 1-AAAAA play with a rousing victory as they knocked off defending league champion Effingham 42-20 in Springfield on Friday night. The region opener for both teams was a matchup between the teams that have won the last three region titles. Effingham won the league last season while Brunswick won the region back-to-back in the 2021 and 2022 seasons with perfect records. On Friday night, the Pirates took a big step toward possibly regaining the league crown this season with the victory over the Rebels who fell to 0-3 on the season with the loss. BHS improves to 2-1 with the win and has won two straight since dropping its season opener to unbeaten Camden County which has won its first four games following another victory Friday. The Pirates and Rebels met as two of the highest scoring teams in Class 5A with both squads averaging over 40 points in their first two games. On Friday, only the Pirates could keep up their scoring prowess as they never trailed against Effingham, which also gave up 40-plus points to Houston County and New Hampstead in its first two games of the season while dropping those high-scoring contests. Brunswick took a 7-0 lead early in the first quarter on Friday on a 35-yard run by starting running back William Heck which finished off a 53-yard drive. Heck, a senior, would score four touchdowns in the game for the Pirates. BHS stopped a scoring threat by Effingham after that when Aviyon Addison intercepted a pass inside the Brunswick 10-yard line to turn back the Rebels. The interception was the fourth of the season already for Addison who returned two for touchdowns in the BHS win two weeks ago at Wayne County. The Pirates went up 14-0 on its ensuing possession when Nigel Gardner raced 90 yards for a touchdown on third-and-20 with BHS coming off its own goal line. The Rebels did score next to get within 14-6, but the Pirates would take a 21-6 cushion into halftime when Grant Moore hit Heck out of the backfield for an 18-yard score on the final play of the second quarter. After halftime, Effingham scored first to cut its deficit to 21-13 on a 1-yard run by Jmere Doe-Davis. The Rebels couldn’t stop the Pirates from scoring, though. Josiah Gibbons quickly dashed 56 yards for a touchdown on Brunswick’s following series to put the Pirates back ahead by two scores, 28-13. BHS would then turn an Sekhi Ashley interception into a 10-yard TD run by Heck that put the Pirates in firm control at 35-13 now in the fourth quarter. Before the night was over, Heck would add an 8-yard touchdown run to his impressive performance that punctuated the Pirates’ victory. BHS and Effingham met the last three years in the final game of the regular season with all three games being decided by the three points and the winner being the region champion. This one obviously didn’t end up that close. Time will tell if the winning team still does indeed claim the region title. The Pirates will be back at home for the first time since their opening game next Friday for a region counter against Evans. ...

By Kevin Price For GCS Athletics The Glynn Academy Red Terrors enjoyed a happy Homecoming game as they made easy work of Bradwell Institute on Friday night at Glynn County Stadium, parading to a 57-12 victory over the Tigers. The game was the Region 1-AAAAA opener for both teams. Glynn moved to 2-1 following the win while the Tigers dropped to 1-2 with their second straight loss after winning their opening game against rival Liberty County. GA head coach Rocky Hidalgo, now in his 11th season with the Terrors, is now 9-0 against the Tigers. Glynn has scored 40 or more points in six of those wins and has won all nine games by at least 21 points. The 57 points scored Friday night by the Terrors equal the most ever scored by a Glynn team under Hidalgo. The Terrors als scored 57 in a victory over Richmond Hill back in 2016. The Terrors led the Tigers 45-6 at halftime after scoring 37 points in the second quarter alone while returning a Bradwell fumble and also a short punt by the Tigers for touchdowns in the quarter. Despite the lopsided victory, Coach Rock wasn’t exactly turning cartwheels following the game like two members of the Glynn team who were part of the Homecoming court were following the halftime ceremony on the field. “We’ve got a lot to work on,” Hidalgo said. “We’re improving in areas, but we’re not there yet. “Our pass protection wasn’t very good tonight, and we missed some tackles on defense that we should have gotten. Our discipline in the back end wasn’t very good at times as well. We’ve still got a lot of work to do.” The Terrors didn’t exactly go up and down the field against the Tigers, but they didn’t have to, either. They took advantage of Bradwell’s ineptness on special teams that gave them a short field and took advantage of good field position most of the night, otherwise. Glynn finished with 281 total yards, passing for 123 and rushing for 158 with a balanced attack. The Tigers, hurt by minus-69 yards rushing, ended up with 206 yards that included 153 passing. Bradwell lost three fumbles and the Terrors lost two. Glynn lost its first on the game’s opening series when a mishandled pitch on an option-play was recovered by the Tigers at the GA 38-yard line. The Tigers would move the ball inside the Glynn 15, but the Terrors would force a field-goal try by the visitors. Bradwell would come away empty, however, when its first errant snap of the night sailed over the holder’s head. Glynn would end up regaining possession at its over 48. The Terrors would start the scoring with a 6-play drive that covered the 52 yards. T.Y. Chisolm would weave through traffic for 35 yards on Glynn’s fourth play to set up a 1-yard TD run by Da’Sean Howard. GA converted the first of three straight two-point plays with a run by kicker Tuck Tucker for an 8-0 lead. The Tigers did answer the first Glynn score by going 85 yards to pull within 8-6. A 68-yard pass play to the GA 4 would lead to a sneak for a score by quarterback Carlito Savea. Their extra-point kick was no good. Glynn scored again the next time it had the ball, finishing off a 16-play, 66-yard march with an 8-yard sweep for a TD by senior Greg Peacock. Deuce Hidalgo would take a snap across the goal line for the conversion and a 16-8 lead less than four minutes into the second stanza. It was all Glynn from there. Senior defensive back Zion Gervais would return a fumble 63 yards for the Terrors and a 24-6 lead following another two-point run by Hidalgo. Another Bradwell fumble moments later gave Glynn the ball at the Tiger 22, and the Terrors cashed in on the turnover five plays later with a 1-yard TD run by Howard. Tuck Tucker added the PAT for a 31-6 advantage. Glynn forced the Tigers to punt on their next series from their own 24, and while the punt was high, it didn’t travel very far. It took a big bounce back toward the line of scrimmage, and GA defensive lineman Tae Green grabbed it and headed to paydirt for another easy touchdown and a 38-6 lead. Bradwell’s next possession ended in disaster, too. A high punt snap led to Glynn getting the ball at the Tiger 8. Jayden Ellis would throw to Peacock for an 8-yard score to put the 45-6 halftime score on the board. At halftime, Ellis was named Glynn’s Homecoming king and he could have kept his crown the rest of the night. The senior quarterback gave way to junior Niko Munoz who played the second half which featured a running clock under state mercy rules. Ellis finished the night 4-of-11 passing for 34 yards while also rushing for 37 yards. In the final two quarters, Munoz was 5-of-7 for 89 yards and a score. He threw a pretty ball to junior receiver Qwon Coleman for a 30-yard TD in the fourth quarter that was Glynn’s final score of the game. Howard scored Glynn’s other touchdown after halftime from 2 yards on the team’s first possession of the third period. Bradwell actually opened the second half with a touchdown as junior Wade Cobb, their starting running went 65 yards for a touchdown. Cobb finished as game’s leading rusher with 106 yards on nine attempts. For Glynn, Chisolm gained 37 yards on two tries, Howard had 35 on 11 touches and Peacock had 23 on three carries. Peacock had four receptions for 30 yards as well. The Terrors will go on the road next Friday to face Statesboro in region play. ...

Kickoff: A look at Brunswick High’s next game: Opponent: Effingham When: 7:30 p.m. Friday Where: Rebel Field at Bob Griffith Stadium, Springfield Records: BHS 1-1, 0-0 Region 1-AAAAA; EFF 0-2, Region 1-AAAAA Last week: BHS did not play: EFF lost 47-44 at home to New Hampstead Last year/All-time: EFF won 31-28 at home; BHS leads 16-12 Game Preview Brunswick High and Effingham will meet in a major matchup to open their Region 1-AAAAA schedules. It’s a game between the two teams that have won the last three league titles. And, the last three times these two teams squared off, the final margin was three points either way. The Rebels won the region crown last fall, securing the championship with a 31-28 win over the Pirates in the final game of the regular season for both teams in Springfield. The Pirates won the region championship in both 2021 and 2022, also defeating the Rebels in the season finale for both teams both times. BHS won the 2022 game 30-27 to complete a second-straight undefeated regular-season while grabbing the top seed for the state playoffs while relegating the Rebels to the No. 2 seed with one region loss. In 2021, Brunswick alo capped a perfect season with a 21-18 win in the regular-season finale. The loss was the second league setback for the Rebels who settled for the No. 3 seed for the state playoffs as a result. Friday’s game will match two of Class AAAAA’s highest scoring teams after the first three weeks of the season. Brunswick is averaging 45 points after its first two games while Effingham is averaging 42.5 after two games. The Pirates are 1-1 on the season. They lost 51-41 at home to Camden County to open the season on Aug. 16 when the Wildcats scored three touchdowns while having to go a combined 12 yards for the scores after execution errors by the Brunswick punt team. Brunswick blasted an 0-3 Wayne County team 49-7 two Fridays ago in Jesup while getting three defensive touchdowns in the second half. Effingham has faced two explosive offenses in its opening two games and its defense didn’t fare well against either one as the Rebels lost at Houston County 44-41 on Aug. 23 in their opener before losing 47-44 last Friday at home to New Hampstead. In the opener, the Rebels trailed the Bears 30-13 before pulling within 44-34 and then adding another score on an untimed down at the very end of the game. Last Friday, New Hampstead led by as much as 33-3, only to see the Rebels storm back and actually take a 44-40 lead with two minutes to play. The Phoenix, though, would drive for the game-winning score behind the passing of senior quarterback Rashawn Truell to pull out a 47-44 victory. Truell threw a 46-yard touchdown pass for the winning score in the closing moments and hit the same receiver three times for 80 yards on the final drive. He passed for 470 yards and five TDS in the win and also ran for two touchdowns. The Rebels have a pretty sporty quarterback, too. Junior Tucker Perkins threw for 378 yards against Houston County and 376 yards and two touchdowns last week. Sophomore running back Jmere Doe-Davis can play, also. He rushed for 82 yards and three scores on 12 carries against New Hampstead and also finished with 124 receiving yards while accounting for five total scores. Senior Ryan Wells is also a favorite target in the passing game for the Rebels. He has 10 receptions for 236 yards and two touchdowns in two games. Brunswick can spread the ball around, too. Junior quarterback Grant Moore is a threat with his arm and legs. Senior Jemarious Towns can catch, run and throw the ball as a running back and receiver and senior William Heck is a big-play threat as the starting running back. BHS got junior tight end Heze Kent heavily involved in the offense against Wayne as he scored running and catching the ball. ...

By Kevin Price For GCS Athletics Kickoff A look at Glynn Academy’s next game: Opponent: Bradwell Institute When: 7:30 p.m. Friday Where: Glynn County Stadium Records: GA 1-1; 0-0 Region 1-AAAAA; BI 1-1, 0-0 Region 1-AAAAAA Last week: GA did not play; BI did not play. Last year/All-time: Teams did not play; GA leads 25-19 Game Preview The Red Terrors are set to kick off their Region 1-AAAAA schedule against Bradwell Institute, an old region foe which is back in their league for the first time since the 2021 season. That’s actually also the last time Glynn faced off against the Tigers. The Terrors won that meeting 35-12 at Olvey Field in Hinesville. Bradwell is back in the state’s second-largest classification this season with the Georgia High School Association going from seven classes to six classes in the latest round of reclassification. The Tigers are one of three new teams in the league this year. The others are Statesboro and Greenbrier. All three teams were in Region 1-AAAAA last season when Class 5A was the third-largest class in the state. Grovetown is no longer in the region, but Brunswick, Effingham, South Effingham, Lakeside-Evans and Evans are all still in it. Glynn opened the season on Aug. 16 with a 16-10 victory at Wayne County which is winless after three games. The Terrors lost two weeks ago to Richmond Hill, 31-12. Bradwell won its first game against rival Liberty County, 11-3, before losing at Westover by a 40-12 tally in its second game. Like the Terrors, the Tigers had an open date last week. Against Liberty, Bradwell scored one touchdown and also got four points on a pair of safeties. The Tigers rushed for 251 yards in the win. They controlled the ball for more than 16 minutes in the first half. Westover scored on four of its first five possessions against the Bradwell defense which had stymied Liberty in the opening game. The Tigers also threw a pair of interceptions and gave up a fumble return for a touchdown in that loss in Albany. Wade Cobb ran 42 yards for a third-quarter touchdown for Bradwell. Deshon Brock is now in his fourth season as Bradwell’s head coach. He is the fourth coach for the Tigers since Rocky Hidalgo became head coach at Glynn prior to the 2014 season. Hidalgo is 8-0 all-time against the Tigers. ...

By Kevin Price For GCS Athletics Glynn Academy couldn’t keep pace with Richmond Hill over the long haul Friday night as the Red Terrors fell 31-12 to the Wildcats at Glynn County Stadium. The Red Terrors (1-1) trailed the Wildcats (1-0) just 18-12 at halftime, but were held scoreless over the final two quarters while the visitors pulled away for the 31-12 victory in the non-league game between the former region rivals. The game, which was played in a rain shower for some of the second half following a rainy afternoon in the Golden Isles, was the home opener for the Terrors who kicked off their season with a 16-10 win over Wayne County last Friday in Jesup. Richmond Hill, which has high expectations this season with a senior-laden team and a host of returning starters, was playing its first game of the season after having an open date last week. “They’re good. They’ve got a good football team,” said GA head coach Rocky Hidalgo. “They’ve got 1,000 more kids in their school than we do, and they’ve been playing in Region 1 (in the largest class) the last two years. They’re good.” The Wildcats finished with 441 yards on offense which included 405 yards from their rushing attack. Running behind a physical offensive line, two Richmond Hill ballcarriers ran for more than 100 yards apiece. The cat-quick Caleb Easterling carried only five times for 145 yards and two touchdowns while Joshua Troupe had 22 carries for 124 yards as the workhorse-back. Both Easterling and Troupe, the nephew of former Florida tight end Ben Troupe, are seniors. Kirk Scott, another senior and Richmond Hill’s starting quarterback, added 82 yards on seven attempts. Glynn gained 178 yards before halftime while going 65 and 54 yards for its two first-half scores. The Terrors would end the night with 221 total yards as Richmond Hill took over the game. GA junior quarterback Jayden Ellis finished with a team-high 24 yards rushing on 14 carries while going 5-for-14 through the air for 110 yards. “We’ve got three new players in the offensive line, and their front seven is really good,” Hidalgo said. “We kind of knew banging it in there wasn’t gonna be the option. “They’ve got a bunch of big people. I don’t know if you noticed, but they’re a lot bigger than us.” Despite their size disadvantage, the Terrors were in the game at halftime as they trailed by only six points coming out for the second half. Actually, Glynn could have been tied or leading at the half had they punched the ball in the end zone late in the second quarter with a first-and-goal situation from the Richmond Hill 3-yard line. But, the Wildcats kept the Terrors from scoring on four straight running plays to keep the lead going into intermission. Glynn tried to run a jet sweep on fourth-and-goal from the 2 after calling a timeout, but Richmond Hill stopped T.Y. Chisolm for no gain to turn back the Terrors. “They did a good job scraping from the back side,” Hidalgo said of the fourth-down play. “They brought the back side safety and fitted down. We were hoping they’d pinch it in there and we’d hit the perimeter and get them on the perimeter. But, that was a good call, a good job.” Hidalgo noted Glynn should have scored on one of their earlier plays, but a blocking assignment was missed by an inexperienced lineman which prevented a “walk-in” touchdown. The Wildcats, who deferred to the second half after winning the coin toss, went up two scores with a 51-yard TD drive to open the third quarter. Scott threw an 18-yard pass to his tight end, senior Colton Sanchez, for the score that made it 24-12. Sanchez was wide open over the middle on the play. Scott actually ran for a touchdown a few plays earlier, but a holding penalty on the Wildcats wiped out his score. Richmond Hill added another touchdown in the fourth quarter after Glynn was forced to punt from its own end zone. A 51-yard kick by Tuck Tucker was returned to the GA 38 where the Wildcats went on offense. They would score on a 6-yard run by backup running back Amire Miller who carried 10 times on the night for 56 yards. The Wildcats went up 7-0 from on their first series when Caleb Easterling went 77 yards for a touchdown on the visitors’ first offensive snap of the season. Glynn answered on its second possession of the game when Jayden Ellis found Shawn Wallace for a 34-yard touchdown pass as the junior receiver was wide open behind the Richmond Hill secondary. The Wildcats threatened the next time they had the ball, too, driving deep inside GA territory before Wallace picked off a Scott pass around the 5-yard line and returned the pick out to the 46 to give the Terrors good starting position. Glynn would cover the distance in just three plays. Ellis ran for 12 yards on first down. The next Glynn play was a lateral from Ellis to Wallace who then threw a pass to De’Sean Howard who would carry the ball down to the Richmond Hill 9-yard line. On the next play, Ellis kept up the middle to give the Terrors the lead with just over four minutes left in the first quarter. Richmond Hill answered immediately when Easterling dashed 42 yards on his second carry for another touchdown to tie the score 12-12 in the closing moments of the first quarter. Easterling, also a starter at cornerback on defense, had 119 yards and two touchdowns on his first two carries. Richmond Hill regained the lead almost halfway through the second quarter when it finished off an 8-play, 58-yard drive that used up 5 minutes and 9 seconds with a 27-yard scoring run by Troupe. The visitors kept the drive alive with two third-down conversions including one on third-and-12. The Terrors got into position to score a tying touchdown late in the half after a 49-yard bomb from Ellis to Wallace to start their next drive. But, GA couldn’t punch it in from inside the 5 and went into the break trailing by the six points. “We were good,” Hidalgo said. “When it was 18-12, I told the kids if we play good defense we have a chance to win this game. “But, we screwed some stuff up. It was really mistakes by us. When we got behind the second score, that made it tough. We had to throw some shots to try and get back in it.” Glynn will be off next week before beginning Region 1-AAAAA play on Sept. 6 at home against Bradwell Institute. ...

The Brunswick High Pirates blew out Wayne County Friday night as the Pirates clicked to a 49-7 victory over the Yellow Jackets at Jaycee Stadium in Jesup. Brunswick led only 15-7 at halftime, but the Pirates turned this one into rout after the intermission break as they scored the final 34 points in this non-region meeting. The Pirates are now 1-1 on the young season as they quickly rebounded from last week’s 51-41 loss to Camden County in the season opener at Glynn County Stadium. This was the second game at home for the Jackets to start the season. They lost last week on their own field by a 16-10 final score to Glynn Academy. Brunswick and Wayne had not met since the 2017 season. The BHS defense led this victory over the Jackets. The Pirates scored twice on interception returns in the second half and forced repeated turnovers by the Wayne offense over the final two quarters. Last week, the Pirates gave up three touchdowns in the second quarter when Camden went a combined 12 yards for those scores after mishaps by the BHS punt team. A 14-10 Brunswick lead turned into a 30-14 lead for Camden at halftime. The Pirates only had to punt once Friday in Jesup, but the punt team executed from snap to kick as planned. Also in the opener, the Pirates gave up a kickoff return for a touchdown, but their kick coverage was better against Wayne, according to other published reports on the game. Brunswick will now have next week off before swinging into Region 1-AAAAA action at Effingham on Sept. 6. The Rebels are the defending league champions from old Region 2-AAAAAA. Brunswick went to the state playoffs as the No. 3 seed from the region last year after winning the league the two previous seasons. ...