Byy Kevin Price For GCS Athletics The Brunswick High Pirates have lofty goals for the 2023 season, like winning a third straight region championship and challenging for the Class AAAAAA state title. And with a good many players back from last year’s team that won the Region 2-AAAAAA title before losing tough in the state playoffs, the Pirates have good reason to believe they can achieve their goals. “The success we’ve had here, our kids wanna build on that,” said BHS head coach Garrett Grady who guided the Pirates to a perfect 10-0 regular season last fall in his first season as the helm after previously serving as the team’s top assistant and offensive coordinator. Brunswick’s unblemished regular-season was its second in a row, but the Pirates fell at home in the first round of the state playoffs in a matchup between top-10 teams when Houston County converted a two-point play in overtime after matching a BHS touchdown to clip the Pirates by a point and advance to round two. Brunswick is set to kick off its 2023 campaign Friday night against longtime rival Camden County in a non-league skirmish in Kingsland. The Pirates return a host of play-makers on its offense which averaged more than 33 points a game a year ago. Terry Mitchell, last year’s Region Player of the Year, is back for his senior season and is a big-play threat as the team’s top receiver. Mitchell led the Pirates with 972 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns on 43 catches last season. “He’s had a good offseason,” Grady said. “He’s added about 5 or 10 pounds of muscle as well.” Brunswick also returns senior quarterback J.R. Elkins who started for the first time last year on the varsity team. The 6-foot-5 left-handed thrower passed for 1,503 yards and 19 touchdowns last year. The Pirates will look to make the most of his big arm and experience this season. “Last year was our first year running this offense. He should be more comfortable, should be able to make quicker decisions,” Grady said. “He’s fully capable of doing what we’re asking him to do.” Elkins will have several other capable receivers at his disposal. Those include Grant Moore, Daron Monroe and Jordan Hicks. The Pirates also plan to throw to Heze Kent, a tight end who can split out as well. He provides a huge target as the sophomore is 6-6 and 240 pounds. Kent is already drawing interest from Power 5 schools including Alabama and Georgia. Brunswick lost some offensive firepower when Jayden Drayton, a runner and receiver, graduated along with Ivan Johnson, a starting safety who also ran the ball for the Pirates last year. But, the Pirates still have their top two rushers back from a year ago who were merely sophomores last season. Now juniors, William Heck and Jamarious Towns return to give the Pirates a potent 1-2 punch at running back. Town rushed for 693 yards and five touchdowns last season while Heck carried for 584 yards and five scores as well. “William Heck has had a great offseason, and Jamarious has put on about 10 pounds of muscle,” Grady noted. “One thing I like about both of those guys, they play for each other, block for each other. They’re very unselfish.” BHS also will employ fullbacks Neshiek Cohen, Caleb Butler and Kent who scored a rushing touchdown in the preseason jamboree. The Pirates are rebuilding their offensive line as they start the season. They lost all five starters from last year to graduation including Jamal Meriweather who signed with the two-time defending national champion Bulldogs. One of their starters will be Kasi’yah Charlton, younger brother of former BHS stadout Kanaya Charlton, now in his second year at Florida State. The younger Charlton is 6-6 and will start at tackle along with Chase Richardson. BHS plans to start Garrett Wiggins and Daniel Brown at the guard spots while Jack Hunt, a senior who transferred from Glynn Academy, will start at center. “We have some guys who are really skilled, but they just have to keep working, keep getting reps,” Grady noted. The BHS defense lost standout lineman Ka’Shawn Thomas, now at Wake Forest, and several others to graduation from last year’s stingy defense. But, Brunswick’s stop-em unit has the chance to be formidable again with a strong nucleus back. That returning nucleus includes senior linebacker Devin Smith, a 215-pound major-college prospect who has been offered a scholarship by more than 30 schools. Smith, the Region Defensive Player of the Year in 2022, announced his final five schools that he would consider this summer. His final five included Kentucky, South Carolina, Auburn, LSU and Alabama. “Obviously, he’s pretty good,” Grady said. “But, he’s just a great guy, a great locker-room guy. He’s very physical, has great speed at his size and rushes the passer really well. He’s just a great player, a great kid.” Linebacker is the Pirates’ deepest position. Others in the linebacking corps are Mike Daniels, Jeremiah Robbins, Daniel Gilbert, Jaden Joyner, Kregg Richardson and Ja’shawn Towns, a heavy-hitter who led the team with 88 tackles last season. Despite losing Thomas up front, the Pirates still have some beef on their defensive line. BHS will look for River Creel and Donyea Broughton to anchor the line. Both players are seniors who were honorable-mention all-region selections last year. The BHS secondary will get back the services of senior safety Ty’ler Sams who was lost early last year to injury. Back as well this season is senior Tavion Gadson, who can play safety and cornerback. He blossomed last year after Sams was injured. R’marion Lamar figures to start at one of the corners for the Pirates after taking a lot of snaps last year. “A lot of our turnovers happened around Tay last year,” Grady pointed out. “He’s flying around and making play after play after play. He’s a ball-hawk. And having Tyler back, too, is gonna be very beneficial for us. He’s really worked hard to get back. One way he really helps us is getting everyone lined up, making the calls and communicating. He can do all that for us in the secondary.” Again this fall, McClain Finneran will handle the kicking and punting duties for the Pirates. “He works hard and does everything he can to make sure he can help us anyway he can in the kicking and punting game,” Grady noted.