By Kevin Price For GCS Athletics A look at all seven games in the inaugural Border Classic set for Thursday through Saturday at Glynn County Stadium: Thursday’s Games McIntosh County Academy vs. West Nassau, 4:30 p.m. McIntosh County Academy enters the opening game of the inaugural event coming off an open date. The Buccaneers actually played their most recent game in GC Stadium when they fell 22-12 to Glynn Academy exactly two Thursdays ago. The Bucs are 1-1 on the season. They defeated Johnson-Savannah to kick off their 2022 schedule at home on Aug. 19. West Nassau will make the short trip north from Callahan into Georgia to kick off this new event against McIntosh. The Warriors, who compete in Florida’s Class AA Suburban, lost big last week to Charlton County which thumped them 56-12. West Nassau defeated Zarephath Academy from Jacksonville 22-6 in its opener. Both teams run a Wing-T offense. West Nassau senior running back Christopher Crews is averaging 74 yards rushing a game while fellow senior running back Ryan Weeks is averaging 72 a game. MCA will feature senior running back Tyreese Campbell. Linebacker Lake Linton, another senior, is a player to watch for the McIntosh defense. Glynn Academy vs. Creekside, 7:30 p.m. Glynn Academy is one of two teams that plays regularly at GC Stadium. The other is Brunswick High which will be in action on Friday. The Red Terrors started the season with a thrilling 43-42 overtime win at Statesboro when they won by having kicker Kody Arnold run for a two-point conversion after the team’s touchdown in the extra frame. The Terrors played at home for the first time the next week and toppled McIntosh County Academy before falling last week 37-7 at Camden County. Creekside won its first two games over Viera and Nease by a combined 111-41 total, but those two teams are both 0-2 on their seasons. The Knights’ offense features running backs Nicholas Williams and Danny Approbato who are averaging 122 and 104 yards rushing, respectively. Glynn has a potential major-college prospect in sophomore running back Greg Peacock and a big-play receiving threat in junior David Prince. Senior quarterback Tyler Devlin can throw the deep ball and is also a run-threat. Players to watch for the GA defense include linebacker Peyton Parker, safety William Tankersley and linebacker Da’Vonte Lang. Friday’s Games Charlton County vs. University Christian, 4:30 p.m. These two teams have a past history, but it’s been a bit since they have squared off. The two teams haven’t played since 1993, though the Indians are 5-0 all-time against University Christian. The Indians and Christians first played in 1979, and then in four straight years from 1990-93. The teams will come into this game looking to stay on an early-season roll. Charlton, ranked No. 3 in Georgia’s Class A Division II, is 3-0 with wins over Jeff Davis by 20-14 in overtime, Yulee (Fla.) by 21-7 and West Nassau by a 56-12 final. University Christian won its first two games, decking Union County 33-14 and Hilliard 41-6. Charlton operates a fun-to-watch spread offense featuring senior quarterback Jayden King, senior running back Jaylen Lilly who has already carried for 461 yards and six touchdowns and also 6-foot-8, 215-pound sophomore tight end Elyiss Williams who received an offer from the University of Georgia in the spring. University Christian is currently ranked No. 7 by MaxPreps in Florida’s Class A Metro. Top players for the Christians are quarterback Desirrio Riles, running back Orel Grey and receiver Jenoa Alford, along with standout linebacker Luke Thomas and star pass rusher Kaydrick Robinson. Brunswick vs Bolles, 7:30 p.m. Both teams enter this much-anticipated showdown with 2-0 records. The Pirates, who will be playing in their own stadium, were off last week after beginning the season with victories over Andrew Jackson from Jacksonville and longtime rival Camden County at home. Bolles began the season two weeks ago with a 34-13 win over St. Augustine before also knocking off Mandarin 27-20 last Friday. Brunswick has a physical and fast defense which has given up just two touchdowns through its first two games. The unit features lineman Ka’Shawn Thomas (Wake Forest commit), junior linebacker Devin Smith who has major-college offers and senior linebacker Lionel Twitty who is also a college prospect. Senior Harvard commit and slotback Jayden Drayton has four touchdowns already this season for the Pirates. Bolles has a talented quarterback in junior DJ Moore who has passed for almost 350 yards and three scores in two games. Trent Carter, a 210-pound junior linebacker, is one to watch on defense for the Bulldogs. Bolles is ranked No. 7 in the Florida Class AA rankings by MaxPreps. The Bulldogs made the state semifinals last year and played for the state championship the two previous seasons. Saturday’s Games Fitzgerald vs. Madison County, 1 p.m. The third and final day of the first Borders Classic will start with a very attractive matchup. This early-afternoon affair will feature two teams that won state titles last season. Madison County won Florida’s Class A state championship last year while Fitzgerald claimed the Class AA state crown here in Georgia. The Cowboys are off to a 2-0 start this season, having outscored their first two opponents by a combined 75-39 count. They got past Carrollwood Day two Saturdays ago 40-33 in their opening game before decking Godby 35-6 last Friday in their home opener. MaxPreps ranks the Cowboys No. 23 in all of Florida while having them atop the Class A Rural rankings in the state. Former Madison player Price Harris is in his first year as head coach with the program after former head coach Mike Coe left to take the job at Coffee here in South Georgia after winning his fourth state title with the Cowboys last season. The Purple Hurricane is currently ranked No. 1 in Class AA ahead of fellow South Georgia power Pierce County. Fitzgerald’s head coach is Tucker Pruitt who played for the Purple Hurricane under his dad Robbie Pruitt who of course had also coached at Coffee for several years until leaving Douglas after last season to go back to coach in Florida as he did earlier in his career. The Fitzgerald offense is averaging more than 370 yards a game. The offensive line features preseason all-state player Xavier Walker. Senior all-state linebacker Daniel James leads the defense. Coffee vs. St. Augustine, 4 p.m. Saturday’s middle game matches up a pair of 1-1 teams. Coffee won its opening game under Mike Coe, who as noted above came from Madison County in the Sunshine State. The Trojans rolled to a 55-7 victory on the road at Tift County on Aug. 19. However, they lost a close one two weeks ago at Bainbridge when they fell 24-21. St. Augustine, meantime, dropped its opening game 34-13 to Bolles on Aug. 26 before bouncing back last Friday with a home win over Gibbs from St. Petersburg, Fla., by a 48-12 final score. For St. Augustine, sophomore quarterback Locklan Hewlett has thrown for 358 yards and two touchdowns but has been intercepted four times. Devonte Lyons, a 180-pound junior running back, is off to a solid start with 305 yards and two touchdowns. He is averaging 7.6 yards per carry. For Coffee, senior running back Antwan Mcduffie is averaging 104 yards a game. He has scored four touchdowns in two games. Richmond Hill vs. Baker County, 7:30 p.m. Richmond Hill is competing in Georgia’s largest classification - Class AAAAAAA - this season for the first time. The Wildcats are off to a 2-1 start, having blanked Effingham (14-0) at home before falling at Ware County (20-7) in a driving rain and then bouncing back last Friday to defeat Jenkins 38-10 at home. Baker County, which plays in Class AA Suburban in Florida, opened its season last week with a 25-20 home win over Oakleaf. The Wildcats trailed early in that game, but ended up finishing with 326 total yards to 352 by Oakleaf which had five turnovers. Junior Cam Smith rushed for 166 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries for the Wildcats. One of his scoring runs covered 70 yards. He ran for almost 1,400 yards a year ago as Baker County reached the state semifinals. Sophomore Davion Dean was 7-for-17 passing for 97 yards. Senior defensive end Orlando Holland, who is 6-foot-3 and 190 pounds, made 18 tackles and had two tackles for loss. He ranked among the state leaders for sacks last season with 27. Baker County is currently No. 9 in Class AA Suburban in the MaxPreps rankings. For Richmond Hill, senior QB Ty Goldrick has completed 33 of 59 passes for 276 yards and three touchdowns in the team’s first three games. These Georgia-based Wildcats are averaging 131 yards on the ground with senior Zion Gilliard currently leading the team with 82 yards a game. The Wildcats have made 23 tackles for loss in three games. Junior defensive end Brian Ruland has four sacks.