By Kevin Price

For GCS Athletics

 

Glynn Academy saw why Calvary Day School might just win a state championship this season in Thursday night’s season opener at Glynn County Stadium.

 

With the Red Terrors leading 22-7 late in the first half, the Cavaliers would storm back to win going away as they scored the final 42 points of the ballgame to win 49-22 over the home team between the bricks.

 

Calvary Day fell just short of a state title last fall when they lost 28-21 in the private-school state final to Hebron Christian. The Cavaliers are the preseason top-ranked team in Georgia’s private-school division which is made up of the private schools in Classes AA through AAAA.  

 

They return more than 20 seniors from last year’s state runner-up team and 19 starters are back also as the Cavs look to complete a run to a state crown this season. The Class AA power also features seven all-state players who have college offers.

 

Their big-play ability and their experience showed in the comeback against Glynn which might have been the bigger school but couldn’t match the depth or the experience of the Cavaliers despite playing in the Class AAAAAA ranks. The Terrors played a handful of freshman plus several other players with little or no experience in a varsity football game.

 

It was also the Terrors who wore down in the humid conditions as they had more players going on both sides of the ball than Calvary Day, including their defensive backs who also play in the skill-positions on offense. They got leg-weary chasing Calvary’s talented skill players when the visitors had the ball.

 

The outcome wasn’t a surprise, really, and GA head coach Rocky Hidalgo wasn’t discourged by the final score.

 

“Our kids played really hard. Look, they’re really good and aren’t playing anybody both ways. We ran out of half backs and couldn’t run the offense,” Hidalgo said.

 

“We have to develop some depth, get our young guys to give us some plays and we’ve gotta get in better shape. Not being outside for two weeks (because of the heat rules), it’s hard. I’m not down on the kids at all.”

 

The Cavs actually started their comeback before halftime when they went 90 yards in three plays to pull within 22-13 before the break.

 

They would then score on their first two possessions of the second half to grab the lead for the first time on the night.

 

They began to pull away from Glynn in the third period with a highlight-reel punt return for a touchdown by junior Ty Pinckney, one of their many play-makers in the skill spots. He fielded a punt near the Glynn sideline, reversed his field, and with blockers out in front proceeded to parade down the visiting team’s sideline for a 79-yard score that made it 35-22 with just over a minute left in the third quarter.

 

Calvary would score again early in the fourth quarter when it drove 82 yards in four plays and added a final touchdown with just over eight minutes to play when an interception around midfield gave them the ball inside GA territory.

 

The Cavaliers scored on five straight possessions after falling behind by double-digits in the first half.

 

“Their quarterback is really good, and their players are really good.He made a couple of throws tonight when we had good coverage that were dead on the money,” Hidalgo said.

 

“Their offensive line is good, their quarterback is probably as good as anybody we will see all year. Their receivers, with their skill set, are as good or better than anyone we will see all year, probably.”

 

Mobley, the senior signal-caller for the Cavs, threw for 295 yards and three touchdowns while completing 16 of 23 passes. His touchdown throws covered 35, 45 and 27 yards.

 

Senior wideout MJ Knight, a Georgia Southern committ, led the receivers with seven catches for 134 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Jalen Hicks had five receptions including the 45-yarder for a score.

 

The Cavaliers ended up with 502 total yards. They outgained Glynn in the first half, totaling 260 yards to GA’s 123, even though they trailed on the scoreboard.

 

The Terrors finished with 149 yards on the night with all but 16 of that total coming on the ground.

 

Glynn grabbed the early lead with strong punting by senior Patrick Coyle that pinned the Cavaliers deep combining with stops by the defense.

 

GA scored first after starting at the Calvary 43 following short punt. They would capitalize on the starting field position with Caiden Robinson running 22 yards to the 7 before scoring the team’s first touchdown of the season on his next carry from there.

 

Calvary showed its quick-strike ability on its next series when it needed only four plays to go 80 yards to even the score. Mobley and Knight hooked up for a 36-yard pass to the GA 37 on the second snap before Mobley hit Knight again two plays later for a 35-yard scoring pass.

 

Another punt late in the first by Coyle - this one being 49 yards - put the Cavs on their 12 and they couldn’t move. Forced to punt, they got off another short kick, giving Glynn the ball at the Calvary 31.

 

The Terrors would score from there in four plays with Jemayne Leggit taking a pitch on a reverse into the end zone from 11 yards out.

 

GA went up 22-7 the next time it got the ball after a fourth-down stop by the defense. Glynn went 44 yards in seven plays with junior quarterback Max Noonan keeping for the final 10 yards and a touchdown.

 

The Terrors would add a two-point conversion to give them a 22-7 lead.

 

The Cavs would then start their rally after the Terrors were forced to punt after getting the ball near midfield following a Calvary fumble.

 

Coyle punted the Cavaliers inside the 10, but it didn’t matter. Mobley teamed with Pinckney for 47 yards to the Glynn 43 and then tossed the 43-yard pass to Hicks for the quick score that got them within the nine-point margin at the break.

 

“The kids played really hard the first half, but coming out for the second half, we were out of gas,” Hidalgo said. “We had kids cramping and had some young kids kind of screw some things up, but that’s to be expected. We’ve got stuff to learn from.”

 

Glynn will travel to Camden County next Friday night to take on the Wildcats at Chris Gilman Stadium in Kingsland.

 

Camden opens its season Friday night against Brunswick High at GC Stadium.