Brunswick finished the game with 567 total yards over just 39 offensive snaps — an average of more than 14.5 yards per play. In by far the Pirates’ best passing performance of the season, three quarterbacks combined to complete 14-of-18 passes for 387 yards and five touchdowns.
“We saw some things with their defense we thought we could take advantage of,” Pender said. “Our kids came out and gave a lot more solid performance than a week ago. We had some things that we kind of messed up here and there, but we were able to fix all that stuff.”
At 34.4 points per game, Brunswick entered the contest as the seventh-highest scoring offense in Class 6A, and the Pirates only bolstered their claim to a top unit with their performance against the Mustangs.
Sutton Ellis got the start for Brunswick at quarterback, and on the team’s third play from scrimmage, he found Chuckobe Hill out of the backfield for a 52-yard touchdown pass. Ellis hooked up with Trey Elvine on a 21-yard throw to set up the Pirates inside the 2-yard line on the ensuing offensive possession, and Ree Simmons punched in the score.
Brunswick stopped South Effingham on 4th and 1 in the Mustangs’ territory on the next drive, and on the third play of the resulting drive, Hill scored his second touchdown of the evening on a 2-yard run just two plays into the second quarter.
Jeffery Waye took over at quarterback on the Pirates’ third possession of the game, and he found TJ Smith on the next drive for a 33-yard reception a few plays before returning to the same well for a 39-yard touchdown toss.
Brunswick carried a 28-7 advantage into halftime, and three plays into the third quarter, Waye dropped a deep ball into Terry Mitchell for a 78-yard score in what was a career game for the sophomore receiver.
On the Pirates’ next offensive possession, Waye and Mitchell connected again on a 25-yard score on a 4th and 8 play. Mitchell also caught a 59-yard touchdown from Tommie Weatherspoon III in the fourth quarter, finishing the contest with three catches for 162 yards and three touchdowns.
“Offensively, we knew we had them outmanned in some areas, especially in the receiving corps, and we haven’t really shown that enough,” Pender said. “We’ve been running backs, running backs, running backs the whole time, and we wanted to see what we could do on the perimeter as well. The guys stepped up and made some plays.”
South Effingham attempted to creep its safeties up close to the line of scrimmage to try and take away the Brunswick run, but it wound up costing the Mustangs in both phases of defense. The Pirates still rushed for 180 yards on the night with Hill recording 94 yards and two scores on the ground in addition to 95 yards and a touchdown through the air on two receptions.
Though it was a banner game for Brunswick’s offense, the “Black Flag” defense has had stronger performances this season. South Effingham was able to break off a couple of long runs that set up scores — the first two touchdowns Brunswick has allowed in three weeks.
A muffed punt inside the 10 set up the Mustangs’ third touchdown of the contest to draw to within 49-21 with just under eight minutes remaining in the fourth.
“Two of their touchdowns happened after big plays,” Pender said. “(Joell Laidee) just broke a big play and scored — we just blitzed ourselves out the play. We blitzed, and we got washed down, and they caught us. Then they busted a big one and scored on that…”