It had been more than a decade since Brunswick High last won three straight over crosstown rival Glynn Academy.
The Pirates emphatically corrected that fact Friday at Glynn County Stadium in a 55-21 rout of the Red Terrors.
Over each of the past three seasons, the City Championship game has been decided by just three points per contest, but Brunswick scored its biggest win in the rivalry since a 42-0 triumph in 1999 thanks to a record offensive performance.
Brunswick racked up 471 yards of offense, 281 coming on the ground, and its 55 points were the most the Blue and Gold has ever scored in 79 meetings against the Red and White dating back to 1968.
“(Offensive coordinator Mitch Belker) did a heck of a job calling a great game all night long,” said Pirates head coach Garrett Grady. “Our offensive staff put a great game plan together, and they shredded that defense that came to play.”
It took the Pirates just eight plays to march 80 yards on their opening drive with Jayden Drayton hitting paydirt from 5 yards out to give BHS an early 7-0 lead in the Battle Between the Bricks.
A few plays later, Brunswick’s Black Flag defense got on the board with a touchdown of their own coming on a 22-yard fumble return by Tavion Gadson.
But before the Pirates had much time to celebrate its quick start, the Terrors answered with a 72-yard double pass from Tyler Devlin to Jayden Ellis, who found Hank Noonan open down field for the score as the team combined for 21 points in the first five minutes of game time.
Brunswick drove the ball down field on the ensuing possession, but a missed field goal gave Glynn Academy an opportunity to even the game back up. However, facing the top scoring defense in Class 6A, that was no given.
The Pirates entered the contest holding opponents to just 6.5 points per game, and it was easy to see how as Defensive Player of the Game Ka’Shawn Thomas, River Creel, and Jordan Jimmerson controlled the line of scrimmage while the rest of the defense swarmed to the ball.
Following a Glynn Academy punt, BHS pushed the lead back to two scores on a 30-yard swing pass from J.R. Elkins to William Heck before the Terrors lost a fumble near midfield that was recovered by linebacker Devin Smith.
On the first play of the ensuing drive, Elkins connected with Kevin Thomas deep down the field for a 55-yard touchdown pass that pushed the Brunswick advantage to 28-7.
It was a big night for the Pirates’ junior signal caller, who was making just the fifth start of his career. Elkins had completed just 20-of-44 passes for 266 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions over the first three games of the season before going 4-of-6 for 118 yards and two scores last week against Islands.
With his confidence renewed, Elkins completed 12-of-20 attempts against Glynn Academy for 189 yards and two touchdowns, earning Most Valuable Player honors.
“Looking at the game, there were no bad snaps, I think maybe we lost the ball one time on a fumble,” Grady said. “J.R. really was poised and did a great job in the pocket all night long.”
Brunswick went into halftime cruising 28-7, and it looked as if the contest may be all but decided with Glynn Academy limping to just 113 yards of total offense over the first two quarters.
But just when it looked bleakest for the Terrors, they got the spark they needed.
Facing a 3rd and long on its first drive of the third quarter, Glynn Academy quarterback Tyler Devlin took a shot downfield to 6-foot-5 receiver David Prince, who batted the ball around as he fought with Brunswick’s defensive backs, and right into the waiting hands of teammate Ryan Schueneman.
Schuenenman corralled the loose ball and sprinted to the end zone to complete the 60-yard touchdown play and draw the Terrors back to within 28-14.
Brunswick was unable to respond on its first possession of the second half as it lost a fumble in its own territory, giving the ball back to the Terrors, who went back to their bag of tricks on the next play.
Devlin found Prince on a short pass, and he lateraled the ball back to Greg Peacock, who scored on the hook and ladder to cut the Pirates lead to 28-21 with more than eight minutes remaining in the third quarter.
Still, there was no worry on the Pirates sideline. The message on the sideline was simple.
“Just that we’ve got to our part,” Grady said. “The defense is playing really hard all year long, and we can’t stall out. We have to keep chopping wood.”
Suddenly on the ropes, Brunswick simply handed the ball to Jamarious Towns and let the sophomore running back do the rest. Towns rumbled 69 yards on the first play of the drive to set up Ivan Johnson’s touchdown plunge, and the game was never in doubt again.
Glynn Academy turned the ball over on downs on its next possession when a low snap on a punt forced punter Kody Arnold to take off to try to convert. He was stopped short, and one play later, Towns broke off a 27-yard touchdown run to push the Brunswick lead back to 42-21 with 4:32 to play in the third.
Towns finished with 141 yards rushing for the Pirates, earning Offensive Player of the Game honors.
The Terrors lost another fumble on the ensuing drive, and the Pirates put the finishing touches on the blowout with a 15-yard touchdown run by Heck and a 1-yard score by Terry Mitchell as the clock ticked down near the two-minute mark in the fourth.
It was a complete showing from a Brunswick program that believes its turned the corner over the past two seasons.
“It just feels awesome that everything that we’ve been working towards with these players was just put into full motion,” Grady said. “Defense has been playing lights out all year long, and the only thing they got on us were the trick plays. Even when they hit them, we bounced back.
“We had the defense’s back, just like they’ve had our back all year long. Our guys have responded very well. I’m so proud of them for not laying down when things got tough.”