By Kevin Price For GCS Athletics The Brunswick High Pirates moved into the second round of the Class AAAAA state playoffs Friday night as they posted a 78-30 victory over Winder-Barrow at Glynn County Stadium. The Pirates (9-2), who have one of the highest-scoring offenses in the 5A ranks, set a new team single-game scoring record in Friday’s game. They surpassed the previous high mark of 70 points which was held by both the 1998 and 1999 Brunswick teams that played in the state quartefinals and state championship, respectively. “We had good field-position to start drives, with them onside kicking,” said Brunswick coach Garrett Grady when asked about the big night by the offense. “The execution was there. I thought our offensive line played well, opening up running lanes and doing a good job with our pass protection.” Brunswick, the Region 1 champion and league’s top seed, came into the game averaging 44.7 points and had scored as much as 65 points in the regular season. Brunswick already had 54 at halftime against a Winder-Barrow team that gave up 34 or more points in six of its 10 games in the regular season and had allowed 57 in a loss to Region 8 winner Jackson County and 59 to the league’s third seed Clarke-Central in its previous two games. Jackson County defeated Glynn Academy 50-7 Friday in a round-one game and Clarke-Central nipped Effingham 34-33 in a first-round contest. Thing is, the Bulldoggs (4-7), the No. 4 seed from Region 8, were actually within 30-22 of the Pirates in the first half after the home squad played some lackluster defense as well. They also were within 38-30 a little later, but the Pirates would pull away before halftime for a 54-30 advantage at the half following the offensive shootout between the bricks in the opening two quarters. While the teams combined for 84 points, they also combined for 790 yards in the game’s first two quarters. The Pirates had 437 yards with 297 through the air and another 140 on the ground. Winder-Barrow had 195 passing yards and 98 rushing yards for 293 total yards. The second half was a different story, though. Brunswick kept scoring as the Pirates put the ball in the end zone three more times while also adding three two-point conversions and would outscore the Bulldoggs 24-0 over the final two periods to win going away. “Hats off to Winder-Barrow. They didn’t lay down and gave us a challenge,” Grady said. “We made some good halftime adjustments. It went back-and-forth there at the beginning. Our guys really buckled down in the second half. It was just getting lined up, tackling better and doing your job, not trying to do too much and just letting the game come to you.” The fourth quarter was played with a running clock per state rules with the Pirates up by more than 30 points going into the final 12 minutes. BHS led 70-30 after the third quarter. BHS intercepted Winder-Barrow quarterback Westley Booth three times after halftime and four times for the night. “Our guys responded to coaching in the second half,” Grady said. The Pirates finished the game with a whopping 619 total yards. Senior quarterback Grant Moore threw for 344 yards and five touchdowns, going 12-for-14 while completing passes to five different receivers. Moore entered the playoff opener three touchdown passes shy of the single-season school record and established a new mark when he threw for four scores in the first half. Moore now has 29 TD passes for the season. He has now thrown for 2,620 yards this fall and is 99 yards away from setting a new single-season passing record as well. Moore is already Brunswick’s career leader for passing yards and touchdowns throws. “Individual records and accomplishments will come as long as we put the team first and do what we are supposed to do,” Grady said, noting that the Pirates were simply playing to win and not post record numbers against the Bulldoggs who forced only two punts by the Pirates. For BHS, Waseem Murray had three catches for 133 yards including a 77-yard touchdown grab. Senior tight end and Florida commit Heze Kent caught three passes - all touchdowns - that added up to 71 yards. His catches covered 22, 39 and 10 yards. Also, Dontre Butler hauled in a 43-yard scoring catch. Brunswick’s running tandem of Josiah Gibbons and Nigel Gardner - both 1,000-yard rushers during the regular season, went for more than 100 yards each Friday night. Gardner rushed for 112 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries with his scoring runs covering 24 and 35 yards. Gibbons carried for 102 yards on six attempts and scored three times on runs of 9, 10 and 53 yards. Winder-Barrow finished with 353 yards in defeat, passing for 260 and rushing for 93 net yards. Demetrius Dowdy, the leading rusher in Class AAAAA with an average of 184.2 yards per game, ended the game with 110 yards on 31 carries. Dowdy had 98 yards in the first half on 23 attempts. Booth was 14-of-31 passing for 353 yards, but was picked off four times. Zi’Yan Rankin had two of the interceptions for BHS while Samir Dobbins and Rakeim McCaster also had picks. Brunswick’s longest drive of the night was 80 yards and that was late in the first half after Rankin’s first interception in the end zone ended a scoring threat by the Bulldoggs. BHS covered the 80 yards in two snaps with Moore tossing a short pass to Murray who raced pass the defense along the home sideline to complete a 77-yard scoring play that extended the team’s lead to 54-30 before intermission. The Bulldoggs started the game with an onside kick and would continue to do that after their first-half scores. It looked like it would be a total runaway for the Pirates as they went up 30-7 in the final seconds of the opening quarter. But Winder-Barrow scored on a long pass, would recover an onside kick and then quickly score again on another pass to make it a 30-22 game early in the second quarter. The Pirates went back up 16 with another quick score and another two-point play as they went for two all game and also tried onside kicks and pooch-kicks all game with their kickers nursing injuries. Winder-Barrow punched back with another score before the Pirates put the final 16 points on the board before the half for the 54-30 cushion at the break. The Pirates will take on Gainesville next Friday at home in round two. The Red Elephants (9-2), who were ranked fourth in the state in the final regular-season poll, are the No. 2 seed from Region 7. They defeated Dunwoody 48-3 in their playoff opener on Friday. Their losses this season were to Carrollton, a title contender in Class AAAAAA, and Roswell, who won their region and is ranked third in the state coming into the playoffs. “They’re a really good team with a lot of good athletes and coaches,” Grady said. “They’ll be ready to play. We gotta come ready to work on Monday and get ready to play a really good team.” ...

Glynn Academy’s season came to a disappointing finish Friday night as the Red Terrors fell 50-7 at Jackson County in the first round of the Class AAAAA state playoffs. The Terrors were making their 18th straight playoff appearance and 12th in a row under head coach Rocky Hidalgo. Glynn, the No. 4 seed from Region 1-AAAAA, finishes its season 6-5. Both the Terrors and region No. 2 seed Effingham lost their first-round games on Friday. The Rebels were nipped at home by Clarke-Central 34-33. The Gladiators were the No. 3 seed from Region 8. Brunswick won as the Region 1 champion and Statesboro won as the league's No. 3 seed. Jackson County advanced to round two for the first time in school history with Friday’s win as the Panthers were making their second straight trip to the state playoffs. The Panthers went 9-1 in the regular season and won Region 8 with a perfect 6-0 mark. The Panthers scored on their first play from scrimmage Friday with RJ Knapp connecting with Silas McDaniel, his favorite receiver, for a 54-yard score on a slant route. The Terrors would give the ball right back to Jackson County on their first series with a fumble deep in their own territory and the Panthers turned that into a quick score for a 14-0 advantage. It only got worse for the Terrors. The Panthers added two more scores prior to halftime for a 29-0 lead going into the break. Once the second half started, Jackson County went up 36-0 on a scoop-and-score. With the Panthers up 43-0, Knapp and McDaniel teamed for their third score of the night, this one covering 25 yards, to make the score 50-0. The Terrors avoided the shutout when halfback DJ Creighton scored from a yard out before the end of the third quarter. The final period was played with a running clock per state rule with Jackson County leading by more than 30 points. The 50 points were the most Glynn had given up since allowing 55 to Brunswick back in the 2022 season. The Terrors have now lost their last five first-round games. Jackson County advances to play Milton in the second round next week. --- Compiled by Kevin Price for GCS Athletics ...

Kickoff A look at Glynn Academy’s first-round game in the Class AAAAA state playoffs Opponent: Jackson County When: 7:30 p.m. Friday Where: Panther Stadium, Hoschton Records: GA 6-4; 5-3 Region 1-AAAAA, No. 4 seed; JC, 9-1, 6-0 Region 8-AAAAAA, No. 1 seed. Last Game: GA won 16-13 at Greenbrier. Jackson County won 53-6 at home against Habersham Central. At Stake: Winner advances to second round to face Milton-Shiloh winner. Game Preview Glynn Academy is making its 18th consecutive playoff appearance and 12th in a row under head coach Rocky Hidalgo. The Red Terrors will be looking to advance to the second round for the first time since the 2020 season. Jackson County is back in the playoffs a second straight season, but the Panthers are looking to reach the second round for the first time. They are 0-6 in first-round games. Glynn punched its ticket to the postseason again with a win in the season finale at Greenbrier, winning 16-13 on a field goal as time expired by Patrick Coyle. Jackson played Habersham Central the final week of the regular season in a game that decided the champion and top seed in Region 8. The Panthers rolled, winning 53-6. The Panthers’ only loss this season was a 10-3 defeat at Jefferson back on Aug. 22. Jefferson is the top-seeded team in the Class AAA playoffs in which the field was seeded using power rankings. Jackson County runs a pro-style offense. The Panthers averaged 45.8 points a game. A big and physical offensive front paves the way for sophomore running back Daylan Maxwell who has carried for 1,472 yards and 21 touchdowns on the season. Their left-handed quarterback, senior RJ Knapp, has thrown for 1,711 yards and 14 touchdowns. Five different receivers have at least 220 receiving yards, but Knapp’s favorite target is easily senior Silas McDaniel who has 31 catches for 483 yards and six touchdowns. Glynn needs big games from linebackers Smith Whitehead and Cooper Reiss as well as its defensive line. Jackson County’s defense also features a physical front, so Glynn’s offensive line will be challenged to get physical as well as the Terrors look to hammer the ball at the Panthers with their flexbone attack. The Panthers are allowing only 10.3 points a game. Glynn’s run game is led by sophomore quarterback Max Noonan, along with senior halfbacks DJ Creighton and Da’Sean Howard and also sophomore Caiden Robinson who has shown promise down the stretch. --- Compiled by Kevin Price for GCS Athletics ...

Kickoff: A look at Brunswick High’s first-round game in the Class AAAAA state playoffs: Opponent: Winder-Barrow When: 7:30 p.m. Friday Where: Glynn County Stadium Records: BHS 8-2, 7-1 Region 1-AAAAA, No. 1 seed; WB 4-6, 3-3 Region 8-AAAAA, No. 4 seed Last Game: BHS won 46-19 at home vs. South Effingham; WB lost 59-24 at Clarke-Central At Stake: Winner advances to second round to face Gainesville-Dunwoody winner Game Preview Brunswick High is set to make its seventh straight playoff appearance and will be looking to move past the first round for the third straight season. This is the second straight trip to the playoffs for Winder-Barrow. The Bulldoggs lost in the opening round last year to Thomas County Central which went on to play for the state championship. The Pirates are the top seed from Region 1 and would be at home again next week if they can win this one. Brunswick needed to win its season finale against South Effingham to have a chance for the region championship, and of course the Pirates did that. They also needed help from Effingham which had to defeat Statesboro that same night, and the Rebels knocked off the Blue Devils 42-41 in overtime. That left the Pirates and Rebels tied atop the Region 1 standings, and Brunswick defeated Effingham during region play, so BHS won the tiebreaker over the Rebels for the region crown and the No. 1 seed for the playoffs. Winder-Barrow and Clarke-Central met the final week of the regular season in Region 8, knowing the winner would be the No. 3 seed from their league and the loser would be the No. 4. Clarke-Central won big, so the Bulldoggs became the fourth seed and thus became the opponent for the Region 1 champion which ended up being Brunswick. This is a favorable matchup for the Pirates who finished the regular schedule with one of the highest-scoring offenses in Class AAAAA, averaging 44.7 points per game. Winder-Barrow allows 31.8 points a game and gave up 34 points or more in six of its 10 games. The Pirates have two 1,000-yard rushers in their backfield in junior running backs Josiah Gibbons and Nigel Gardner. Gibbons has carried for 1,165 yards while Gardner has rushed for 1,077 yards. Also for the Pirates, senior quarterback Grant Moore has passed for 2,276 yards and 24 touchdowns. Moore, who already owns the school’s career passing yardage and touchdown records, is 443 yards away from the single-season passing mark and needs three more touchdown passes to break the single-season record. Five different Brunswick pass-catchers have more than 280 receiving yards. Senior tight end Heze Kent leads all BHS receivers with 591 yards while junior receiver Waseem Murray follows closely with 569 yards. The task for the Brunswick defense will be to slow down Winder-Barrow senior running back Demetrius Dowdy. Dowdy is Class AAAAA’s leading rusher and he ranks fourth in the state in rushing with 1,842 yards (184.2 per-game average). He has scored 20 touchdowns for the Bulldoggs. ---- Compiled by Kevin Price for GCS Athletics ...

By Kevin Price For GCS Athletics Glynn Academy survived a scare at Greenbrier on Halloween night, winning 16-13 over the Wolfpack in the season finale for both teams. The Red Terrors won on a 37-yard field goal by Patrick Coyle as time expired to escape Augusta with a victory that clinched a state playoff berth for the team. With the victory, Glynn will go to the Class AAAAA state playoffs as the No. 4 seed from Region 1 and will play at Jackson County in two weeks in the opening round. Jackson County is the No. 1 seed out of Region 8. The Terrors will be making their 18th consecutive playoff appearance and their 12th in a row under head coach Rocky Hidalgo. Glynn went into the game knowing it could reach the postseason with a victory over the Wolfpack. They also were going to get in as long as rival Brunswick defeated South Effingham at home on Friday night, and the Pirates routed the Mustangs at Glynn County Stadium. A loss would have left Glynn and South Effingham with four region losses each, but the Terrors defeated the Mustangs during the season and would have won the head-to-head tiebreaker for the fourth spot. Brunswick will be the top seed from the region for the playoffs. They needed a Statesboro loss to Effingham to be the region champion, and the Rebels defeated the Blue Devils 42-41 in overtime. Effingham will be the No. 2 seed and Statesboro will now be the No. 3 seed. Brunswick, Statesboro and Effingham all entered the night tied for first in the league with one region loss each, with BHS defeating Effingham and Statesboro having beaten Brunswick. Glynn was the team that had beaten Statesboro. Glynn finished the regular season 6-4 overall and 5-3 in the region. Against Greenbrier, the Terrors finished with 321 rushing yards including 137 by quarterback Max Noonan who scored both GA touchdowns. Noonan put Glynn up early with an 87-yard TD run. Greenbrier (2-8, 1-7) answered to tie the game. Glynn went back in front before the half on a 23-yard scoring run by Noonan for a 13-6 lead at halftime. The Wolfpack took advantage of a GA fumble to start the third quarter and tied the game up at 13-13 moments into the second half. Glynn would block a field goal midway through the final quarter to keep it a 13-13 game. The Terrors got the ball back on a punt with 1:30 to play at their own 46 and got in position for the game-winner by Coyle. Noonan would run for a key first down before hitting T.Y. Chisolm with a pass to the Greenbrier 25-yard line with one second left on the clock. Glynn sent Coyle out for a 42-yard try. He missed the kick wide left, and it appeared the game was headed to overtime. However, a Wolfpack defender ran into Coyle after he got his kick off, resulting in a running-into-the-kicker call against the home team. The penalty against Greenbrier moved the ball up 5 yards and gave Coyle another try. This time, he nailed the kick for the victory. The Terrors rushed the field and mobbed Coyle. It ended up being a Happy Halloween night for Glynn. ...

By Kevin Price For GCS Athletics Brunswick High took care of business on the field Friday night, rolling to a 46-19 victory over South Effingham in the final game of the regular season at Glynn County Stadium. That was the easy part of the victory combination it took for the Pirates to claim a second straight Region 1-AAAAA championship. Then, the Pirates had to wait through a nerve-racking finish to the Statesboro-Effingham game at Womack Field in Statesboro to actually get what they needed coming into the night. It ultimately worked out for the Blue and Gold as the Rebels pulled out a 42-41 win in overtime over Statesboro which made the Pirates region champions once again. With the win over the Mustangs, Brunswick finished 8-2 overall and 7-1 in the region, losing only to Statesboro during league play. The Pirates entered the night tied atop the region standings with the Blue Devils and also the Rebels as all three teams had one loss each in the region. Effingham’s lone loss was to the Pirates in the region opener for both teams. The Pirates needed to win their game against South Effingham and also needed Effingham to defeat Statesboro for them to claim back-to-back region crowns and a fourth one in five seasons. Statesboro would have claimed the league title and the top seed for the upcoming Class AAAAA state playoffs with a win over the Rebels had they been left tied with the Pirates because of their head-to-head win over Brunswick earlier this month. With Effingham winning, BHS became the champion again and the top seed from the region for the playoffs as its head-to-head win over the Rebels gave it the top spot. Effingham settles for the No. 2 seed and Statesboro drops to the No. 3 seed. Glynn Academy will be the region’s No. 4 seed. The Red Terrors won 16-13 at Greenbrier Friday to secure the fourth spot. Before Brunswick’s game finished Friday, Effingham had surged ahead 29-14 up in Statesboro late in the third quarter, but that game was far from finished. As the Pirates were walking off the field following their postgame meeting, the Blue Devils had already climbed back within 29-27 with about three minutes left in regulation. And probably before the BHS team could even get back to the school, Statesboro had quickly driven some 70 yards to go ahead 35-29 with now less than two minutes to play in the fourth quarter. With some Brunswick coaches hanging around outside the stadium locker room and watching the television broadcast on their cell phones, the Rebels recovered an onside kick by Statesboro and marched right down the field to tie the game up in the final seconds at 35-all. Effingham’s kicker is about as sure-footed as they come, but yes, you guessed it. He missed the extra-point, and the game was headed to overtime. Statesboro had possession first from the 15-yard line and scored, but the Blue Devils then missed their point-after try. When the Rebels got the ball in OT, they scored in a flash to tie it up at 41. This time, their kicker booted the ball right through the middle of the uprights for the win. The final, 42-41 Effingham! Obviously, the Brunswick-South Effingham game was nowhere near as thrilling as that one or the rides at the local fair taking place beyond the stadium here on Friday night. The Pirates, who honored their seniors on Senior Night, jumped out to a 16-0 lead in less than three minutes and proceeded to open up a 38-0 advantage by halftime. “We came out with a fast start, clicking in all three phases of the game. That’s what we wanted to do,” said BHS coach Garrett Grady. With a running clock in the second half, Brunswick did tack on one more score while the Mustangs scored three times including their Hail Mary for a touchdown on the final play of the game. The Pirates scored on five of six first-half possessions, driving 50, 45, 69, 69 and 59 yards for their touchdowns. Their longest drive was their first 69-yard drive which was 10 plays. Senior Heze Kent ran 13 yards for a touchdown on Brunswick’s opening series to start the game. Junior running back Nigel Gardner carried for a 6-yard TD on the team’s second series after the Pirates recovered an onside kick. BHS never kicked it deep and went for two points after every score with its starting kicker nursing an injury. The Pirates’ third score was a 7-yard pass from senior quarterback Grant Moore to Isreal Henry near the end of the first period. In the second quarter, Josiah Gibbons ripped off a 61-yard TD run, and Brunswick’s final score in the opening half was a leaping grab in the corner of the end zone by Kent who also caught a pass from Moore on the conversion attempt for the 38-0 halftime score. BHS converted four of its five two-point plays before halftime. Kent ran for two conversions, and Antwan Thomas also caught a two-point pass from Moore for the other conversion. The Mustangs got on the scoreboard in the third quarter after starting a drive at the Brunswick 32-yard line when they returned a Brunswick fumble inside BHS territory and converted the turnover into points. Another Gibbons’ TD jaunt, this one covering 55 yards, was the final score for the Pirates. They gave the ball to senior lineman Kasiyah Charlton who ran for two points and a 46-6 lead with 7:41 to play. The Mustangs started their next drive on Brunswick’s side of the field with the Pirates getting flagged for celebrating on the two-point play. Charlton tossed the ball high into the air after he scored, which brought out the yellow penalty flag. South Effingham took advantage of the starting field position to score its second touchdown. They would onside kick after the score and recovered their second one of the game. Grady pointed out that not recovering the two onside kicks were blemishes in the victory. BHS also mishandled onside kicks in the loss at Statesboro a few weeks back. The Mustangs would complete that 37-yard heave to the back of the end zone on the final snap of the game for a touchdown. The Pirates finished with 297 rushing yards and 130 passing yards for 427 total yards. Moore was a perfect 11-of-11 passing on the night with the two touchdowns. Kent showed three receptions for 40 yards and the touchdown. Gibbons led BHS with 167 rushing yards and two scores on eight carries while Gardner added 60 yards on eight attempts. Both Brunswick backs eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark for the season with their yardage totals. The Mustangs ended up with 151 total yards, getting just 61 on the ground and 90 through the air. Senior Deonte Berry had an interception for the Pirates. Grady was frustrated by the several 15-yard penalties against the Pirates including the celebration penalties after scores. “We’ve gotta fix that,” he said. “We can’t do that. “Those have to be addressed. Those are big momentum things. Those give someone a short field. They put our defense in a bad spot. We don’t teach that. We don’t coach that. Those are selfish.” Next up for the Pirates is the playoffs. They will be at home in the opening round in two weeks against Winder-Barrow, the No. 4 seed from Region 8. ...