Kickoff: A look at Brunswick High’s next game: Opponent: Effingham When: 7:30 p.m. Friday Where: Glynn County Stadium Records: BHS 1-1, 0-0 Region 1-AAAAA; Eff 1-1, 0-0 Region 1-AAAAA Last week: BHS did not play; Effingham won 23-20 at New Hampstead. Last year/All-time: BHS won 42-20; BHS leads overall series 17-12 Game Preview Going back to the 2021 season, Brunswick High has won three of the last four region championships. And each time the Pirates have won the league, they have done so with a perfect run through the region schedule. The one season the Pirates didn’t claim the league title was the 2023 campaign when Effingham did. And that season, the Rebels defeated the Pirates 31-28 in the last game of the regular season to complete an unbeaten run to the region crown as well. Last year, Brunswick reclaimed the league title, and the Pirates kick started a perfect march back to the top of the heap with a victory over the Rebels in Springfield in the opening region game. Now, here we are again. The Pirates and Rebels are set to clash a second straight season in their Region 1-AAAAA opener Friday night at Glynn County Stadium as the preseason front-runners for the league championship by most of the so-called experts. Brunswick enters the fray with a 1-1 record after its two non-region games, losing 44-35 at Camden County (3-0) in the season opener before topping Wayne County (0-3) 35-10 at home in Week 2. The Pirates had their first open date last week. The Rebels sat out Week 1, but have played the last two weeks. They lost a shootout at home to Houston County (3-0) on Aug. 22 by a 56-42 final tally before claiming a hard-fought 23-20 victory at New Hampstead last Friday night. The game against Houston County in Springfield two weeks ago was the highest scoring game in Effingham history as the teams combined for 98 points. The Rebels had to rally from behind last week in the fourth quarter to beat New Hampstead (0-3) after the Phoenix scored on three straight possessions in the second half to take the lead. Down 20-15 with 8 minutes to play, the Rebels went 61 yards in seven plays to reclaim the lead with just under four minutes to go. But still, they had to hang on to escape with the 23-20 triumph. The Phoenix drove deep into Effingham territory in the closing moments, when a fourth-down desperation pass fell incomplete in the end zone. Two plays earlier, a receiver was ruled out of bounds on what would have been a go-ahead touchdown catch. Both Brunswick and Effingham have offenses that can pile up yards and points in bunches. The Pirates set a new school-record for points scored in the regular season last year with 460, or 46 per game. Brunswick also set a single-season team record for rushing yards with 3,800 while throwing for another 2,630 yards. Already this season, senior quarterback Grant Moore has had a big game throwing the ball when he passed for 394 yards and five touchdowns in the loss at Camden. The Pirates have a dangerous one-two punch in running backs Josiah Gibbons and Nigel Gardner who can break a long one at any time. BHS is still waiting on a big game from senior tight end and Florida commit Heze Kent. He did have two TD grabs against Camden, but didn’t play against Wayne while nursing an injury. The Rebels have quality skill-players, too. Their offense is led by senior quarterback Tucker Perkins who started for the first time last year and threw for more than 3,000 yards and 36 touchdowns, ranking among the top 5 in Class AAAAA for passing yards last fall. Perkins left the opener against Houston with an ankle injury and did not play last week for precautionary reasons. He is expected to play Friday night. Other standouts for the Rebels are senior running back Jr McKenzie, junior running back Jmere Doe-davis, sophomore receiver Zeke Brown, and junior receiver Trayvis Hunter, younger brother of last year’s Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter, the No. 1 pick by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the NFL Draft in April. The Rebels are putting a young defense on the field while the Pirates entered this season rebuilding on defense also after returning only one player among the front seven starters from a year ago. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at Glynn County Stadium. Also around Region 1-AAAAA, Glynn Academy plays at Bradwell Institute, Greenbrier visits Statesboro, and Lakeside-Evans hosts Evans. South Effingham does not play this week. ---- Compiled by Kevin Price for GCS Athletics