By Kevin Price

For GCS Athletics

 

Glynn Academy is set to begin the 2026 season on Thursday night as the Red Terrors will take on Calvary Day School at Glynn County Stadium.

 

The Terrors open the new campaign looking to make their 13th consecutive appearance in the state playoffs under head coach Rocky Hidalgo who has taken Glynn to the playoffs every season he has coached the team.

 

“We just need to kick it off and see what we have,” Hidalgo said. “The only way to get better is play games, get guys on film and see what we have to fix to improve.”

 

Last season, Glynn finished fourth in Region 1-AAAAA and fell to a strong Jackson County team on the road in the opening round of the Class AAAAA state playoffs. That loss saddled the Terrors with a 6-5 final overall record.

 

This season, the Terrors remain in the Georgia High School Association’s second-largest classification, which is now Class AAAAAA.

 

This year also kicks off a new era in the GHSA which will now use power rankings in all of its classifications to set the playoff fields.

 

The top four teams in each of the eight regions are no longer guaranteed a postseason berth. Only the region champions will be automatic qualifiers and will be assured of a top-16 seed, which puts them at home in the first round.

 

The power rankings will determine the brackets as the teams will be placed in the the different fields based on where they land from 1 to 32 in the rankings.  

 

Now, regions could qualify more teams for the state playoffs, but could also get less than the four they were promised in the past.

 

Glynn will once again go with a run-oriented offense that features junior quarterback Max Noonan who will operate the team’s option-based attack.

 

Noonan started for the Terrors last season for the first time and blossomed as the season wore on both as a runner and passer. Hidalgo expects him to be even better this season.

“His efficiency running the offense has gotten better. He’s obviously a weapon for us,” the coach said. “He’s great with the football in his hands, but he also a great leader, tough kid.”

 

The Terrors graduated their top two running backs, but several players who got experience in the offensive backfield last fall are back and will get more chances to run the ball this season. Those include Cooper Reiss, a stalwart at linebacker, but also Caiden Robinson, Troy Mangieri and Ian Pomiechowski.

 

The Glynn offense features an experienced line that will pave the way for the team’s ground-and-pound attack.

 

“I think before the end of the year both lines of scrimmage have a chance to be pretty good,” Hidalgo said. “We will have a lot of guys going both ways who put their hands in the ground.

 

“We just have to get some consistency up there on the offensive front.”

 

The offensive line includes junior Andrew Gleaton who takes over as the starting center, junior tackle Grant Ferrell and senior tight end Greyton Forsyth who is coming back from a season-ending injury last season.

 

The GA defense will be anchored by what Hidalgo thinks is a solid front seven.

 

Along the front, standouts are Zamir Bell, a junior nose guard, Amahry Moore and Kobe Cutler,  a 6-foot-6, 240-pound senior transfer with a large upside as a player who is still very much developing. 

 

The linebacking corps features Reiss who has been a tackling machine for the Terrors. Reiss was the Defensive Player of the Year in the region last season. Hidalgo calls him one of the best linebackers he’s coached in his career.

 

Other linebackers are Barron Hayes, Brock Wilson and Cooper Hidalgo, a freshman.  

 

The secondary is a bit of a concern as the season gets under way. The Terrors will open with several newcomers on the back end of the defense.

 

“We’re just learning what to do. That’s honestly it,” Hidalgo said about the defensive backs. “We have to get some experience back there.”

 

The kicking game will be a strength for the Terrors. Patrick Coyle will be back to kick and punt this season after showcasing his strong leg at several summer camps.

 

“He’s as good as there is in the business in the state,” Hidalgo noted.

 

Glynn’s non-region schedule includes a game at Camden County in Week 2 followed by another home game against Savannah Christian in the third week.

 

The Terrors will have an off week before kicking off their region schedule at home against Bradwell Institute on Sept. 18.

 

In order from there, the Terrors will play region games at Lakeside-Evans and at home against Effingham before another off week leading into the annual City Championship Game against rival Brunswick High on Oct. 16. That game also is part of the region schedule.

 

Glynn will close out its league slate with away games at Greenbrier and South Effingham before hosting Grovetown in the final game of the regular season.  

 

Coming Thursday: A Preview of Glynn’s opening game against Calvary Day which kicks off at 7 on Thursday night.