By Kevin Price For GCS Athletics The Brunswick High Pirates started Region 1-AAAAA play with a rousing victory as they knocked off defending league champion Effingham 42-20 in Springfield on Friday night. The region opener for both teams was a matchup between the teams that have won the last three region titles. Effingham won the league last season while Brunswick won the region back-to-back in the 2021 and 2022 seasons with perfect records. On Friday night, the Pirates took a big step toward possibly regaining the league crown this season with the victory over the Rebels who fell to 0-3 on the season with the loss. BHS improves to 2-1 with the win and has won two straight since dropping its season opener to unbeaten Camden County which has won its first four games following another victory Friday. The Pirates and Rebels met as two of the highest scoring teams in Class 5A with both squads averaging over 40 points in their first two games. On Friday, only the Pirates could keep up their scoring prowess as they never trailed against Effingham, which also gave up 40-plus points to Houston County and New Hampstead in its first two games of the season while dropping those high-scoring contests. Brunswick took a 7-0 lead early in the first quarter on Friday on a 35-yard run by starting running back William Heck which finished off a 53-yard drive. Heck, a senior, would score four touchdowns in the game for the Pirates. BHS stopped a scoring threat by Effingham after that when Aviyon Addison intercepted a pass inside the Brunswick 10-yard line to turn back the Rebels. The interception was the fourth of the season already for Addison who returned two for touchdowns in the BHS win two weeks ago at Wayne County. The Pirates went up 14-0 on its ensuing possession when Nigel Gardner raced 90 yards for a touchdown on third-and-20 with BHS coming off its own goal line. The Rebels did score next to get within 14-6, but the Pirates would take a 21-6 cushion into halftime when Grant Moore hit Heck out of the backfield for an 18-yard score on the final play of the second quarter. After halftime, Effingham scored first to cut its deficit to 21-13 on a 1-yard run by Jmere Doe-Davis. The Rebels couldn’t stop the Pirates from scoring, though. Josiah Gibbons quickly dashed 56 yards for a touchdown on Brunswick’s following series to put the Pirates back ahead by two scores, 28-13. BHS would then turn an Sekhi Ashley interception into a 10-yard TD run by Heck that put the Pirates in firm control at 35-13 now in the fourth quarter. Before the night was over, Heck would add an 8-yard touchdown run to his impressive performance that punctuated the Pirates’ victory. BHS and Effingham met the last three years in the final game of the regular season with all three games being decided by the three points and the winner being the region champion. This one obviously didn’t end up that close. Time will tell if the winning team still does indeed claim the region title. The Pirates will be back at home for the first time since their opening game next Friday for a region counter against Evans.