Richmond Hill ended a 23-year region championship drought in 2019, essentially claiming the 2-AAAAAA title when it defeated three-time defending champion Glynn Academy 23-14 on Oct. 18 in the second game of the region schedule.
Now, with a wealth of talent returning from a team that reached the state semifinals for the first time in program history, Richmond Hill will enter the 2020 season as the favorite to win the region again.
The Wildcats will have to replace running back Jalen Rouse, the region player of the year and a Tennessee State signee, but they return seven players who made first-team all-region in 2019. Among those is Nathan Vickers, who was named the defensive player of the year after finishing with 57 solo tackles, 27 assists, 25 tackles for loss, 14 sacks and 17 QB hurries.
Another region championship would give the Wildcats back-to-back titles for the first time in program history.
Glynn Academy had its three-year title streak broken and finished with its worst record (6-5) in Rocky Hidalgo’s six seasons as head coach, but the Red Terrors still managed to win at least one playoff game for the sixth consecutive season. The Red Terrors must replace running back Nolan Grant, a Harding University signee who was named the region offensive player of the year, as well as three players who earned all-state recognition – defensive back Byron Bacon (Mercer), offensive/defensive lineman Jordan Swain (Mercer) and kicker Chase Gabriel (Florida International). Rising sophomore wide receiver Jayden Draton and rising senior linebacker Miles Smith return after being named first-team all-region in 2019.
Brunswick, which finished in third place in 2019 in its third season under coach Sean Pender, won a state playoff game for the first time since 2010 when it beat Morrow 34-13 in the first round before losing to eventual champion Harrison in Round 2. The Pirates return running back Chuckobe Hill, who rushed for 1,185 yards as a sophomore, and fellow first-team all-region players Xavier Bean (tight end) and Caleb Cook (offensive line), as well as six players who were honorable mention selections.
Former Campbell, Pope and Shaw head coach Kyle Adkins went 3-7 in his first season at Bradwell Institute, but one of those victories – 31-28 over Effingham County on Oct. 11 in the region opener – was enough to get the Tigers in the playoffs for the second consecutive year. That hadn’t happened at the school since the 2008-2009 seasons. Bradwell Institute had six players named first-team all-region, but only two of them – defensive lineman Kairen Cheneau and linebacker/running back Eli Leiataua – weren’t seniors.
Effingham County opened the season with an 18-15 loss to Region 3 champion Evans and a 54-0 victory over Groves but won just one more game the rest of the way and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2015. Wide receiver/cornerback Khiry Wallace is the only player among the Rebels’ four first-team all-region selections that will be back in the fall.
Former Region 2-AAAAA teams Statesboro and South Effingham will move up one classification and join the five returning teams to form a seven-team Region 2-AAAAAA in 2020.
Statesboro went 5-5 and reached the playoffs last year, the best season for a longtime state power that has had some lean years since finishing 10-2 in 2013. Coach Jeff Kaiser, who inherited a team that went 0-10 in 2016, his improved the Blue Devils each season, going 2-7 in 2017 and 4-7 in 2018. The Blue Devils return three first-team all-region players – defensive end/running back Dake Williams, defensive back Hunter Saussy and place-kicker Cody Parker.
South Effingham’s Nathan Clark, in his first season as head coach, led the Mustangs to a 6-5 record and a playoff berth at a program that had posted a combined record of 4-28 over the previous three seasons. South Effingham had five players on the first-team all-region team last year, but all were seniors.
2019 Region 2-AAAAAA standings
Team / Region record / Overall record / Playoff result
Richmond Hill / 4-0 / 9-4 / Lost to Allatoona 17-14 in semifinals
Glynn Academy / 3-1 / 6-5 / Lost to Dacula 42-20 in second round
Brunswick / 2-2 / 6-6 / Lost to Harrison 51-19 in second round
Bradwell Institute / 1-3 / 3-7 / Lost to Stephenson 47-20 in first round
Effingham County / 0-4 / 2-8 / Did not make playoffs
(Teams moving in)
Statesboro (from 2-AAAAA) / 2-2 / 5-5 / Lost to Dutchtown 20-0 in first round
South Effingham (from 2-AAAAA) / 1-3 / 6-5 / Lost to Jones County 26-13 in first round
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