By Kevin Price

For GCS Athletics

 

It took two days to complete the season opener between Brunswick High and Camden County.

 

But when the game finished around the high-noon hour on Saturday at Glynn County Stadium, the Wildcats had defeated the Pirates 35-21.

 

The longtime rivals were tied at 14-all when the game reached halftime Saturday morning, but Camden outscored the Pirates 21-7 in the second half to pick up their third straight victory in the series and first for new head coach Tucker Pruitt who was making his debut with the Wildcats.

 

The Pirates’ inability to get Camden off the field on third down and a fumble inside the Wildcats’ territory with a chance to tie the score a second time in the third quarter would cost Brunswick the game.

New BHS head coach Byron Slack, who was hired in January to take over the local program, credited the Wildcats with a job well done, but he also spoke matter-of-factly about the Pirates’ performance after the game.

 

“We are a totally undisciplined ballclub right now,” Slack said. “That is on me and my coaches, and we’re gonna fix it or go down in a blaze of fire trying to fix it.

 

“It was just some penalties, and they didn’t give us anything we hadn’t seen. They just did a couple of things and we didn’t play it the way we were supposed to. When you make the mistakes we made, you can’t expect for anything else to happen.”

 

The longtime rivals did kick off Friday night as planned, but played just into the second quarter when the contest had to be stopped due to a lightning storm that would last well into the night on the Georgia coast. The game was suspended following a short wait and play was scheduled to resume at 10 a.m. on Saturday.

 

Camden led 14-7 and had the ball at its own 40-yard line following a Brunswick punt when the action was halted Friday night.

 

The game restarted where it left off and Camden would miss a field goal at the end of that possession, leaving the score the same when the Pirates regained the ball.

 

Brunswick immediately tied the score Saturday with an eight-play, 80-yard drive capped on a 2-yard run by senior running back Josiah Gibbons which was followed by the point-after kick.

 

The teams remained deadlocked at 14-all when the game reached halftime. Brunswick’s Samir Dobbins picked off a Camden pass deep in BHS territory on the final play of the opening half to end a Camden drive.

 

The Wildcats regained the lead on their opening series of the third quarter and would never trail over the final two periods. They needed only two snaps after receiving the second-half kick to go back in front, 21-14.

 

Senior quarterback Xavier Collins, a transfer from Florida, rushed for a 22-yard gain on the first play from scrimmage before senior receiver and Florida State committ Sean Green went 53 yards on a reverse for the score as he sprinted away from the Brunswick defense.

 

The Pirates answered on their first series after halftime, going 69 yards in four plays and scoring on a 30-yard pass into the end zone from senior quarterback Keygan Walker to senior receiver Waseem Murray. Walker hit Murray to start the drive on a shorter pass that ended up going for a 45-yard gain.

 

The touchdown throw to tie the game at 21-21 came on third down following a holding call against the Pirates.

BHS had a chance to get the Camden offense off the field the next time the Wildcats got the ball but the Pirates couldn’t do it. They broke up a third-down pass that was almost intercepted just outside the end zone. Then, on a fourth-and-12 play from the 31, Camden converted a pass to the Brunswick 2-yard line to set up a first-and-goal.

 

“That right there was a simple route-concept. The coverage we played, we were playing for that route,” Slack said. “The (cornerback) ran with his man over the top, and the guy wheeled and the corner was supposed to come off and he didn’t.

 

“But again, they play like you coach ‘em, and we gotta do something to get them more disciplined in the moment.”

 

Following the third-down play, Camden’s senior running back Jesse Newsome then ran for the touchdown on the next play to put Camden back in front at 28-21 following the extra-point.

 

It looked like the Pirates might march to tie the score again as they quickly went from their 30 to the Camden 23, but a fumble by Gibbons who was fighting for extra yardage as he went down was recovered by the Wildcats. The officials gathered to discuss the play and ended up ruling that the ball came loose before the runner was down.

 

That proved to be a back-breaker for the Pirates. Camden would capitalize, going 77 yards in 10 plays to widen its lead to the final 35-21 tally just moments into the fourth quarter. Camden scored from the 4 on a third-and-3 carry by Quan Mercer.

 

Between the third and fourth quarters, Slack was visibly upset as he yelled at the officials during the break. Moments earlier, the Brunswick sideline was flagged between plays for a second time in the game which resulted in a 5-yard penalty against the Pirates.

 

The Pirates had to punt on their next possession which ended up actually being there last of the game. Camden went back on offense with just over nine minutes left in the game at their own 27, and yet again, Brunswick’s defense could not get the Wildcats off the field.

 

Camden ate up the rest of the final quarter, driving down to the Brunswick 2 before kneeling on the ball twice to end the contest.

 

“We weren’t getting them on the ground like we should,” Slack said. “All in all, it came down to tackling at the end. They got in that heavy stuff and kept the ball. It’s a testament to them and what they were doing offensively.

 

“I don’t know how many times we had them in third-and-9, 10 and 11 and we just gave up big plays. You can’t do that with that offense.”

 

Camden ended the game with 368 total yards, running for 212 yards while using several different ballcarriers. The Wildcats were 9-of-15 passing for another 156 yards, all of those by Collins who threw all but one pass in the game for Camden.

 

Sophomore Malakhi Poole led Camden with 84 yards on 16 carries. Newsome followed with 67 yards on 16 attempts and Collins kept 18 times for another 60 on the ground.

 

Green went for 53 yards and the Camden score on his only carry in the game. The senior speedster also caught a pass in one-on-one coverage Friday night for a 53-yard score.

 

Slack noted that play, too, in his postgame comments as another mental mistake by the Pirates which they paid for by giving up the touchdown.  

 

“Everyone knows they throw slants to No. 3 out of the boundary, and so do we,” he said.

 

The Pirates led only once in the game, and that was right at the start Friday when they wheeled 80 yards in seven plays after receiving the opening kick. The Pirates scored on a third-down pass from Walker to Gibbons that went for 26 yards and the first touchdown of the season.

 

Camden also scored the first time it had the ball. The visitors drove 75 yards in 14 plays with Collins keeping for a 1-yard score to tie the game up after the point-after.

 

Brunswick got a 48-yard kick return by one of its big-play threats in senior running back Nigel Gardner on the ensuing kickoff when Camden was also hit with a 15-yard penalty for a horse-collar tackle.

 

That gave BHS the ball on the 36, but with the Pirates electing to go for a quick score, a pass by Walker into double-covering near the goal-line was intercepted by Camden.

 

The Wildcats went right back on offense and needed only two plays to score with Green taking the short pass from his quarterback for the 53-yard score that gave Camden its first lead at 14-7.

 

The Pirates’ next offensive series ended with a punt right before the game was stopped by the lightning within 5 miles of the stadium.

 

BHS finished the game with 287 total yards - 120 rushing and 167 passing.

 

Gardner had nine carries for 63 yards while Gibbons ran nine times for 43 yards.

 

Murray led BHS receivers with 86 yards on three catches.

 

The Pirates were penalized 11 times for 73 yards.

 

Brunswick will be back at home in Week 2 against Groves. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. next Friday.

 

Camden will play its home opener next Friday against Glynn Academy, which fell at home to Calvary Day School on Thursday night to open the season.

Kick time next Friday in Kingland is also 7:30 p.m.