Glynn Academy won its first region title since 1972 when it went 4-0 in region play to claim the 2-AAAAAA championship last season.
Now the Red Terrors are on the brink of another one. A victory this week against Richmond Hill would make Glynn Academy the first team in Class AAAAAA this season to clinch a region title.
And while the Red Terrors are secure in their playoff aspirations, the rest of the five-team region – Bradwell Institute, Brunswick, Effingham County and Richmond Hill – is scrambling for the other three playoff berths.
We conclude our Tuesday series examining the playoff outlooks for every Class AAAAAA team near the beginning of region play with a preview of Region 2.
Here’s a closer look at each of the teams, broken down by playoff likelihood, in alphabetical order within each group:
Safest bets
*Brunswick (4-2, 1-1): The Pirates finished fifth in the region last season and missed the playoffs, but they are vastly improved under first-year coach Sean Pender and are in great shape for a berth. A win this week against Effingham County for all practical purposes will end Brunswick's two-year playoff drought. And, if things work out their way, the Pirates could still get a share of the region title.
*Glynn Academy (4-2, 2-0): The Red Terrors went 2-2 in non-region play and had two other games – against Camden County and East Jackson – wiped out by bad weather. Once region play began, Glynn Academy beat Effingham County 48-27 and had a key 26-13 win against Brunswick last week. Glynn has reached the playoffs 11 times in 12 years and has all but clinched a berth this season.
*Richmond Hill (6-0, 1-0): Richmond Hill is one of just three unbeaten teams in AAAAAA (Lee County and Winder-Barrow are the others), but only one of the six opponents has a winning record. So, the big test for the Wildcats comes this week against Glynn Academy. A victory would put the Wildcats in sole possession of first place and within reach of their first region title since 1966.
In the hunt
*Bradwell Institute (6-2, 0-2): The Tigers went 6-0 in non-region games but are 0-2 in league play and have been outscored 120-49 by Brunswick (64-21) and Richmond Hill (56-28). Bradwell has the week off to prepare for next Friday's do-or-die game against Effingham County. A loss to the Rebels would eliminate Bradwell from the playoffs, even if it beats Glynn Academy in the finale.
*Effingham County (3-4, 0-1): The Rebels have taken a step back from last year's 7-4 team that was the region runner-up, and they find themselves on shaky ground in the playoff race. A victory next week against Bradwell would clinch a playoff berth. They could still get there with a loss to the Wildcats, but they would need to beat Brunswick and Richmond Hill in their other two games to do it.
