The Brunswick High Pirates stormed past Lakeside-Evans 60-6 Friday night at Panther Stadium in the Region 1-AAAAA game between the teams. The Pirates rebounded in a big way from their surprising loss a week ago at Statesboro when the Blue Devils knocked off BHS 28-21 to forge a three-way tie for first in the region standings. Brunswick, Statesboro and Effingham all went into the final three weeks of the season with one region loss each, but the Pirates needed to win their final two games and get a Statesboro loss to claim back-to-back region championships because of their head-to-head loss to the Blue Devils. The Pirates own the head-to-head tiebreaker over Effingham which they defeated this season. Effingham and Statesboro meet the final week of the regular season. Effingham won its game Friday against Greenbrier while Statesboro knocked off Evans. Brunswick is off next week before taking on South Effingham at home on Oct. 31 to finish out the regular-season schedule. With Friday’s win, the Pirates ran their record to 7-2 overall and 6-1 in the region. The Panthers, who are rebuilding after finishing second behind BHS in the region last fall, remain winless on the season after losing to the Pirates. They are now 0-9 and 0-7. They finish out the 2025 schedule against Bradwell Institute next week. Bradwell lost to South Effingham on Friday night. The 54-point margin of victory by the Pirates was their second-largest this season. Brunswick defeated Evans 65-0 back on Sept. 12 for its largest-ever victory margin in the history of the program. BHS led only 7-0 after the opening quarter on Friday, but used a 27-point second period to take a 34-6 cushion into the halftime break. Lakeside started the game with an onside kick, but the Pirates recovered the early attempt by the Panthers to steal a possession. Last week, Statesboro recovered an onside kick to open the game and would score to grab the lead from the get-go. Brunswick would score on its first offensive series on a run from its power package by Heze Kent for a 7-0 lead after the point-after kick. The Panthers drove deep into Brunswick territory on its first possession but would miss a field goal. The Pirates extended their lead to 13-0 on their third possession on a 6-yard run by Nigel Gardner for a touchdown after a fourth-down pass from Grant Moore to Isreal Henry picked up a first down for the Pirates inside the Lakeside 10-yard line. BHS zipped down the field the next time it got the ball, scoring on a 19-yard carry by Gardner for a 20- 0 advantage inside the 6-minute mark of the second quarter. The Panthers got on the board on a long run when they got the ball back, but their two-point try failed, leaving the score 20-6 with 3:27 remaining before halftime. Brunswick’s Dontre Butler would return Lakeside’s kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown and a 27-6 lead with the extra-point. BHS decided to give an onside kick a try, and the Pirates successfully recovered their attempt, giving them another chance to score before the close of the first half. The Pirates actually had to punt, but they would get the ball right back on an interception by Rakeim McCaster with just over a minute left in the half. BHS would turn the takeaway into a touchdown when Moore teamed with Josiah Gibbons for a 26-yard scoring pass that gave Brunswick a 34-6 lead at the halftime break. The Pirates immediately found the end zone in the third quarter, too. They attempted a pooch kick to start the second half and would pounce on the loose football before the Panthers did, taking possession at the Lakeside 21. Brunswick called Gardner’s number on the first play and he dashed to paydirt for this third rushing touchdown of the night and a 41-7 lead. Before the end of the third quarter, the Pirates tacked on two more scores. Moore hit Kent for a 30 yards and a touchdown. And after a Samir Dobbins interception, the Pirates went on a drive that was finished off with a Gibbons’ 5-yard scoring run for a 54-6 advantage. The clock ran continuously in the fourth quarter under the 30-point mercy rule. The Pirates did put one last score in the books when Brody Marshall carried for the team’s final touchdown of the night. ----- Compiled by Kevin Price for GCS Athletics