By Kevin Price For GCS Athletics The Brunswick High Pirates made quick work of Islands High School Friday night, sailing to a 49-0 victory over the Sharks in their annual Homecoming game at Glynn County Stadium. The Pirates scored on five of their seven possessions in the first half to open up a commanding 35-0 lead before halftime. They added two more touchdowns in the second half which was played with a running clock under the 30-point mercy rule. “We wanted to play our game. We wanted to get some offense going, get some confidence in our receivers, quarterback and passing game and we worked on that,” said Brunswick head coach Garrett Grady. “We put some emphasis on that, and our defense wanted to take away some of the things they do well, really key on that, and I think we did that pretty well.” Brunswick ran its record to 4-0 on the season with the easy win. BHS has won 17 straight regular-season games dating back to the 2020 season. The Pirates also rolled past the Sharks (0-5) last season in Brunswick when they won 41-6 in a hard rain that made the grass field a muddy mess. This summer, field turf was installed at the local stadium to replace the natural-grass playing surface. In Friday’s game, the Brunswick defense overwhelmed the Sharks offense as it held the visitors scoreless over the shortened game. Islands had no rushing yards at halftime due to lost-yardage plays and finished with minus-9 yards rushing for the game. Islands managed only 19 passing yards against the Pirates, and thus finished the night with only 10 total net yards of offense. The Pirates came into Friday’s game having allowed only 8.67 points a game over their first three games which was the third-best mark in Class AAAAAA. They gave up 13 points to Andrew Jackson in the season opener, 10 to Camden County the next week and just a field goal last week in the Border Classic win over Florida power Bolles. With the shutout of the Sharks, the Pirates are now allowing only 6.5 points a game. Friday’s shutout was the first for the Pirates since their 21-0 win over Statesboro on Oct. 8 last season. “Hats off to our defense for getting the shutout,” Grady said. Brunswick finished Friday’s game with 380 total yards. They ran for 207 yards and passed for 173. Sophomore Jamarius Towns, in just his second game back from a season-ending injury a year ago, led all BHS ballcarriers with 88 yards on six attempts. William Heck, another sophomore, had 27 yards on six carries, and senior Jayden Drayton carried three times for 22 yards and two touchdowns. Junior quarterback J.R. Elkins was 4-of-6 passing for 118 yards and three touchdowns. Kevin Thomas, a senior wide receiver, also completed a touchdown pass that covered 44 yards, and freshman quarterback Grant Moore completed one of his two passes for 11 yards as he played the second half with Elkins going to the sideline for the rest of the game. Only three Pirates caught passes. Junior wideout Terry Mitchell caught three passes for 123 yards. All three of his receptions were touchdown grabs. Those covered 36, 44 and 43 yards. Thomas caught two passes for 36 yards and Drayton had a 14-yard catch for the Pirates. Brunswick won the coin toss and elected to take the ball to start the game. The Pirates needed only three plays to cover 65 yards for their first score which came on a 36-yard pass from Elkins to Mitchell just 45 seconds into the game. The Pirates started their next offensive series inside Islands’ territory, but lost a fumble after a 15-yard gain on a rushing play to begin the drive. They got the ball back at the Sharks’ 47-yard-line and scored in five plays with Drayton scoring on a 2-yard run. Heck ran for two points and a 14-0 lead late in the first quarter. BHS drove 39 yards on its following possession with Drayton scoring from 16 yards out on the team’s third snap for a 21-0 lead following the extra-point kick by McClain Finneran. Following an Islands punt, Brunswick got the ball at the Sharks’ 44 on its next possession. On the first play, Thomas went in motion, took a handoff, stopped in the backfield and threw a pass on the money to Mitchell who was wide open behind the secondary for a 44-yard scoring play that made it 28-0 with the PAT. Brunswick’s next series was a 4-play, 44-yard scoring drive. On fourth-and-9, Elkins hit Mitchell around the 30 for first-down yardage, but Mitchell put some moves on a few defenders and raced into the end zone for his third touchdown of the game before halftime. In the third quarter, Towns ran 29 yards for a Brunswick touchdown that made it 42-0 with the extra-point. The Pirates’ final score was a 1-yard run by Nesheik Cohen to cap a five-play, 43-yard drive. Brunswick will begin defense of the Region 2-AAAAAA title it won last season next Friday when it kicks off region play against Glynn Academy in the annual City Championship Game. The Pirates talked about playing the Red Terrors next Friday in their team huddle on the field after Friday’s game before heading to the locker room. “We know what’s at state this week. These guys will be ready for that game,” Grady said. “We’re always gonna get everybody’s best. We know Glynn’s gonna be prepared. I know Coach (Rocky Hidalgo) and his staff always do a great job. He’ll have his kids ready to play, so we have to be prepared and be consistent in the way we prepare.”