By Kevin Price For GCS Athletics The Brunswick High Pirates saw their season come to a sudden halt Friday night at Glynn County Stadium with a 42-0 loss to fourth-ranked Gainesville in the second round of the Class AAAAA state playoffs. The game actually didn’t finish. It was called with 1:57 left in the third quarter due to a bench-clearing brawl between the Pirates and Red Elephants. It started with some pushing and shoving at midfield between players from both teams following an incomplete pass by the Pirates. It quickly escalated with punches getting thrown by players from both sides during the melee as players and coaches rushed the field from both sidelines. Coaches, game security and administrators did their best to control the situation as quickly as possible. Once the teams were separated and order was restored, a lengthy discussion took place with the athletic directors for both schools getting on the phone with administrators from the Georgia High School Association. A decision was reached to call off the game at that point, and the Red Elephants were declared the winner. The game was headed to a running-clock situation in the fourth quarter by rule with Gainesville leading by the 30-point margin required to have a rolling clock for the final 12 minutes. BHS head coach Garrett Grady said the following when asked about incident that ended the game: “We gotta keep our composure. When something like that happens on the field, we can’t leave the sideline. We gotta learn from our mistakes. I know teams wanna stick up for their teammates, but we wanna finish what we started. That’s not the way we wanted to end our season. Everyone is gonna remember this moment instead of all the good things we’ve done this season. “That’s not we represent at Brunswick High. So, we’ve gotta do a better job with that.” The GHSA will undoubtedly review the incident further. Both schools could face additional suspensions and possible monetary fines following the state’s review. It had already been a frustrating night for the Pirates (9-3), the top seed and champion from Region 1-AAAAA this season. They were shut out for the first time since losing 37-0 to Camden County in 2018. Brunswick entered the game with one of the state’s highest-scoring offenses, averaging 43.75 points per game and the Pirates were gaining more than 550 yards a game. Against the Red Elephants, led by five-star linebacker and Alabama commit Xavier Griffin, the Pirates managed only 105 yards before the game was halted. Gainesville, which has several major-college prospects in its program, checked the Pirates to 75 yards rushing and only 30 passing while intercepting BHS senior quarterback Grant Moore twice in the game. “They took Griffin, and instead of playing him inside at linebacker, they put him on the edge to rush the passer,” Grady said. “He’s incredible. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a player who looks like that. “It was also tough sledding in the trenches tonight, and that’s where the game is won and lost on both offense and defense.” Brunswick’s Josiah Gibbons ran for 50 yards on 11 carries while Nigel Gardner followed with 40 yards on 10 carries. Both junior ballcarriers ran for more than 1,000 yards this season for the Pirates. The Red Elephants, who led 21-0 at halftime, finished with 277 total yards. They ran for 193 yards while getting 84 yards through the air. Nigel Newkirk, a junior with major-college offers, led their ground attack with 88 yards on 14 carries. He scored a pair of touchdowns. Their junior quarterback Kharim Hughley, who is committed to Clemson, was 8-for-15 passing with a short scoring pass. Brunswick started the game with the ball after Gainesville won the toss and deferred to the second half. The Pirates were forced to punt on their first offensive series. Gainesville would drive from its 30-yard line to the Brunswick 37 before the Pirates got the ball back on downs with a stop after the Red Elephants had extended their opening possession with a fake punt and picked up a first down. The Pirates would reach Gainesville’s side of the field on their next series, but on a fourth-and-4 play from the 42, a lofted pass by Moore was intercepted by the Red Elephants at the 16. Gainesville would drive 84 yards in eight plays for the game’s opening score, a 4-yard run by Newkirk for a 7-0 lead with 10:09 now to go in the second quarter. BHS mounted a nice drive on its next series, gashing Gainesville with the run game before also getting a pass interference call against their defense that advanced the ball to their 26. The promising drive would stall out, though. Facing third-and-3 from the 19, Gainesville stopped Heze Kent for no gain as BHS snapped the ball directly to their big tight end from their Pirate Package. Then, when BHS went for it on fourth down, the Red Elephants stopped Gibbons a yard short of the first-down marker to take over on downs. Brunswick questioned the spot. “It looked like he got the first down,” Grady said. Gainesville would then march 83 yards in 11 plays to go on top 14-0 with Newkirk scoring from 9 yards out with 2:10 left before halftime. BHS couldn’t get out of the half without the visitors scoring again, which seemed to be a emotional letdown for the Pirates going into the intermission break. The Pirates had to punt from their own end zone on their next series, and Gainesville returned the kick from the 32 down to the 15. The Red Elephants needed only three plays to score with Hughley tossing a 1-yard pass to Cameron James for a 21-0 cushion after the extra-point kick. The game got away from the Pirates at the outset of the third quarter when Gainesville’s Legend Wilmont returned the second-half kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown and a 28-0 lead. The score quickly went to 35-0 when a long third-down pass by Moore was picked off by Gainesville’s Elijah Watson who returned the interception for a touchdown. The final score by the Red Elephants came with 2:07 left in the third on a 17-yard run by sophomore running back Dwight Lewis that finished off an 11-play, 79-yard drive. Brunswick started its next drive at its own 20-yard line, and that’s when the fight would break out on the field, leading to the decision to call this one off early with the ultimate outcome clearly decided. Gainesville is slated to play at Hughes next week in the state quarterfinals. The Panthers (12-0), who ended the season ranked No. 1, knocked off Lee County 49-31 in a second-round game Friday night. Gainesville and Hughes last played in the Class AAAAAA state championship game in 2022. Hughes won 35-28. ...

Kickoff: A look at Brunswick High’s second-round game in the Class AAAAA state playoffs: Opponent: Gainesville When: 7:30 p.m. Friday Where: Glynn County Stadium Records: BHS 9-2, 7-1 Region 1-AAAAA, No. 1 seed; GHS 9-2, 5-1 Region 7-AAAAA, No. 2 seed Last Week: BHS won 78-30 at home over Winder-Barrow; GHS won 48-3 at home over Dunwoody. At Stake: Winner advances to state quarterfinals to face Hughes-Lee County winner. Game Preview Brunswick High and Gainesville, which have never played, are set to collide in an attractive second-round matchup on Friday night. The game at Glynn County Stadium will feature two of the state’s highest-scoring teams. Brunswick averages 47.7 points per game while Gainesville averages 42.6 points. Both teams come in with the same overall record, sporting nine wins in 11 games. The Red Elephants played the tougher schedule in the regular-season, however. They played the 15th- hardest schedule in Class AAAAA and Brunswick played 56th-hardest schedule in the class. Gainesville’s non-region schedule included Carrollton, a nationally-ranked team which is ranked third in Class AAAAAA. The Trojans, one of the top contenders for Georgia’s largest-classification state crown, defeated the Red Elephants 43-21 back in September. Gainesville’s only other loss was to Roswell in its final regular-season game. Roswell, ranked third in Class AAAAA, won 37-35 to claim the Region 7 title and top seed for the playoffs. The Red Elephants’ region schedule also included Milton, which won state championships in 2023 and 2024. Gainesville defeated the Eagles, who are ranked sixth, 28-16. Last week in the playoff opener, Brunswick set a new single-game scoring record with its 78 points, topping the 70 points scored by both the 1998 and 1999 BHS teams in regular-season games. BHS senior quarterback Grant Moore also came into the game needing three touchdown passes to set a new single-season record and he threw five on the night, giving him 29 for the season. Moore was 12-of-14 on the night for 344 yards and has now thrown for 2,620 yards on the season. He is 99 yards away from setting a new school single-season passing yardage record as well. He already owns the career-marks for passing yards and touchdown passes. Brunswick’s lead running backs, both juniors, also rushed for more than 100 yards in last Friday’s game. Nigel Gardner ran for 112 yards and two scores on 10 carries, while Josiah Gibbons rushed for 102 yards and three scores on six carries. The Pirates average 242 passing yards per game and 309 rushing yards to total 551 yards a game. Gainesville, ranked fourth in the state at the end of the regular season, is easily the best opponent the Pirates have faced this season. The team’s offense features major-college prospects including junior quarterback Kharim Hughley and junior running back Nigel Newkirk. Hughley, a Clemson commit, has thrown for 2,119 yards and 27 touchdowns with five interceptions. Last week against Dunwoody, he threw for 169 yards and four touchdowns. Newkirk, who is 5-foot-11 and 195 pounds, is considering offers from Georgia, Michigan, Alabama, Miami and Florida. He has rushed for 1,321 yards and 17 TDs this season. He ran for 92 yards last week as the Red Elephants opened up a 41-3 lead before halftime. The Gainesville offensive line includes a trio of 300-pounders with major-college offers. Those are 6-6, 340-pound junior tackle Tyler Ford (Georgia, Kentucky, Florida State), 6-3 junior tackle Bryson Hurt (Ole Miss, Georgia Tech) and 6-7, 303 junior Carter Mathis (Georgia, Kennesaw State and Georgia State). The offensive front also includes 290-pound senior Krew Moledor who is committed to Louisville. The Gainesville defense features a pair of Alabama commits. One of those is senior linebacker Xavier Griffin, a five-star who is rated as high as the No. 1 linebacker in the country. The other Crimson Tide commit is senior edge Jamarion Matthews, a 6-3, 240-pounder who is a four-star prospect. Other prospects for the Red Elephants on defense are senior lineman Kadin Fossung who is committed to Tulsa and junior three-star safety Jeremiah Proctor who has 16 offers including one from Georgia Tech. BHS is looking to advance to the quarterfinal round for the first time since 1999 when it played for the Class AAAA state championship. The Pirates would host the quarterfinal with a win. The universal coin toss by the Georgia High School Association to determine who would get home field in the event that like seeds meet in the next round went the way of the teams in the lower bracket earlier in the week. Thus, Brunswick, a No. 1 seed, would host Hughes, another No. 1 seed, next week if the Panthers were to defeat Lee County on Friday. Lee County is a No. 3 seed, so the Pirates would be at home against them as well. Gainesville, a No. 2 seed, would be at home as the higher seed against Lee, but would have to travel to Hughes for the quarterfinals. The Red Elephants are in their fourth season under head coach Josh Niblett. He took the team to the Class AAAAAA state title game in his first season in 2022. Gainesville went 14-1, losing to Hughes in the championship game. Gainesville was 12-1 in 2023, reaching the quarterfinals, and went 7-4 last season, losing in the first round of the playoffs. Niblett came to Georgia from Hoover (Ala.), where he led the Buccaneers to six state titles in 14 seasons. Niblett replaced Rush Propst as head coach of the Bucs. ---- Compiled by Kevin Price for GCS Athletics ...

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 260 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 ...