By Kevin Price For GCS Athletics The Brunswick High Pirates continued their march through the regular season Friday night, sailing past Lakeside-Evans 44-10 at Glynn County Stadium in a Region 2-AAAAAA game. With the victory, the ninth-ranked Pirates are now 7-0 on the season and 3-0 in region games going into an off week next week before playing their final three league contests as they try to complete a second straight perfect regular season. “This does make me feel a little better,” said Brunswick first-year head coach Garrett Grady who was battling an illness all day Friday. Brunswick has also now won 20 in a row in the regular season dating back to the 2020 campaign. Also with Friday’s triumph, the Pirates recorded the program’s 300th all-time victory. Now in their 55th season, the Pirates are 300-281-6 all-time. The Pirates displayed a balanced rushing attack Friday that led the way to a 428-yard night for the Brunswick offense. Four BHS rushers had at least 65 yards each with three of them going over 70 yards. Senior Jayden Drayton carried 10 times for 76 yards while senior Ivan Johnson also carried just three times for 76 yards, going 65 yards for Brunswick’s final touchdown in the fourth quarter. “He’s very talented,” said Grady of Johnson who also starts at safety on defense and returned a fumble for a touchdown as well. Brunswick’s sophomore running backs also had productive nights. William Heck, who started in the backfield, ran 14 times for 65 yards and a touchdown while Jamarius Towns carried seven times and went for 74 yards. Brunswick gained 282 yards on the ground, despite a few big lost-yardage plays. Through the air, junior quarterback J.R. Elkins completed 12 of 17 passes for 146 yards and two touchdowns. Junior receiver Terry Mitchell had four catches for 42 yards and Drayton had three receptions for 58 yards and a score. “I thought we had a good run-pass balance,” Grady said. “We were substituting a lot of guys in, getting guys good reps and getting them experience which will help us down the road. Our defense prepared very well, showed up and played well also.” The BHS defense checked the Panthers to 171 yards. The visitors ran for 102 yards, getting over the 100-yard mark in the final minute of the game. Lakeside completed only two passes in seven attempts for 69 yards. The Panthers’ second completion went for a 60-yard score in the fourth quarter which was the team’s lone touchdown in the game. Lakeside (3-3, 0-2) kicked a field-goal in the first half and trailed 30-3 at halftime. Brunswick opened up a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. The Pirates drove 90 yards in 16 plays on their second possession of the game to score their first touchdown. They scored on third-and-6 from the Lakeside 7-yard line with Elkins tossing a pass to tight end Caleb Butler for the touchdown. The extra-point try bounced off the left upright and the score was 6-0. The Pirates wheeled 51 yards on their next possession for another touchdown. On the final play of the the first stanza, Elkins threw a pass to Drayton that was good for a first down. But Drayton broke loose from would-be tacklers and raced into the end zone for what was a 28-yard scoring play. Brunswick opted to go for two points after the touchdown, and with Drayton taking the snap from the shotgun, he fooled the Panthers who were thinking he was about to run the ball off the right side. Instead, he threw a pass to Butler who was all alone on the left side of the end zone for the two points and a 14-0 lead going to the second quarter. Lakeside started its next offensive series at its own 1-yard line which isn’t a good spot to be against Brunswick’s tenacious defense. On the first snap, the Pirates’ defensive front penetrated the Lakeside line, and with the ball coming free, Lakeside quarterback Jason Whitaker intentionally knocked it through the back of the end zone to give the Pirates a safety instead of possibly more. With the score now 16-0, BHS went on offense again at its own 40 after Lakeside’s kick and a return of 22 yards by Mitchell for the Pirates. On the fourth play of the series, Towns ripped off a 36-yard run to the Lakeside 8, and then on the next play, Heck scored on first-and-goal for the Pirates. The extra-point kick made it 24-0 just more than two minutes into the second quarter. The Panthers moved the ball into BHS territory on their following possession, but then catastrophe struck. They lost the ball on a fumble, and Brunswick’s Johnson picked up the loose ball and sped along the BHS sideline for a 68-yard score on the return. Another PAT made it 30-0. Lakeside did score on its next possession, getting a 38-yard field goal from Will Hattaway who showed off his strong leg as both a kicker and punter. His field goal came in the closing moments of the opening half and made the score 30-3 at intermission. Following a scoreless third quarter, the Pirates added a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns. They scored with 5:17 to play on fourth-and-goal from the 1 on a run by Mitchell who took a direct snap from center. His touchdown capped a 10-play, 55-yard drive. Mitchell also caught an 18-yard pass from Elkins on the drive that set up the Pirates first-and-goal at the 9. The Panthers scored their only touchdown right after Brunswick’s TD when Whitaker lofted a pass to Mikeal Grissom who caught the ball over a BHS defensive back and raced away for the 60-yard score. The Pirates came right back with the big run by Johnson who dashed 65 yards for the last score of the night that made for the final 44-10 score after the extra-point kick. Brunswick will be back in action on Nov. 21 at South Effingham which lost to Glynn Academy at home on Friday. The Pirates will not play again at GC Stadium until Nov. 4 when they face off against Effingham in what could end up being a game that decides the region championship.