Four High School Football Games to Watch in Savannah Area in Last Week of Regular Season

By Press release submission

Nov 6, 2022

From November 1, 2022 post

The final week of the high school football regular season in the Greater Savannah area is upon us.

Benedictine and Calvary Day locked up their region championships on Friday, and Effingham County will be at Brunswick on Friday as the teams battle for the Region 2-6A championship.

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Here are four games to keep an eye on this week, along with the complete schedule of games:

Benedictine at New Hampstead, 7 p.m. Thursday at Pooler Stadium

The Cadets locked up the Region 3-4A title with a 49-3 win over Islands on Friday, but coach Danny Britt wasn't pleased with his team's first-half performance against the winless Sharks as BC led 14-3 at the half.

Benedictine's Za'Quan Bryan looks for an opening up the sideline past Wayne County's Dra Fullbright, 22, and Jah Ross, 5, during a game at Memorial Stadium on Oct. 21, 2022.

Junior quarterback Luke Kromenhoek had a strong performance, completing 9 of 15 passes for 190 yards and three touchdowns. Ack Edwards was a productive target coming out of the backfield as the junior had three catches for 91 yards and a score.

Na'Seir Samuel came on strong in the second half as the junior rushed for 78 yards and a touchdown on eight carries — all in the second half for the Cadets (4-2, 4-0 in region play).

Za'Quan Bryan, the senior receiver/defensive back who has committed to Minnesota, had a big-time performance as he picked off a pair of passes, ran back a punt for a 50-yard touchdown and caught a 27-yard scoring pass. Bryan has been dealing with a leg injury, and tweeted out that he is feeling healthy and ready to go as the playoffs approach.

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The BC defense was rugged once again as the Cadets shut down the Sharks' run game, which picked up minus-24 yards. An 82-yard pass on the first drive of the game was the big play for Islands, which passed for 164 yards in the contest.

New Hampstead played on Wednesday night at Burke County, where the Phoenix were tough on the road once again in a 37-27 loss to the Bears.

Senior Pauly Seeley, who has committed to play at Wofford College, had another strong game at quarterback. He threw for 281 yards and two scores and has 24 touchdown passes on the year.

Jaylen Hampton had an incredible catch for a touchdown that was worthy of an ESPN Top-10 billing.

The Phoenix (6-3, 2-2) are already locked in as the No. 4 seed coming out of Region 3-4A, but pride will be on the line in this one as New Hampstead wants to have a strong showing against the Cadets.

New Hampsted quarterback Pauly Seeley scambles looking to make a play in a 2021 game against Jenkins.

Effingham County at Brunswick, 7:30 p.m. Friday

The Rebels travel south to take on an undefeated Pirates squad with the Region 2-6A championship on the line.

Effingham County (7-2, 5-0 in region play) has reeled off seven wins in a row since opening with losses at Richmond Hill and Burke County.

On Friday, the Rebels went on the road and knocked off Lakeside-Evans 27-7. Nate Hayes was 17 of 25 for 230 yards and three scores, while Jayden Evans racked up 139 yards and a touchdown on just nine carries.

Effingham County's Nate Hayes trots in for a two-point conversion during a game against South Effingham.

Timmy Brown had four catches for 135 yards and a score, and Luke Roberts led the defense with 10 tackles.

Now the Rebels have a chance to win the region championship, but they have to take down an undefeated Brunswick squad (9-0, 5-0) that is coming off a 28-7 win at Evans.

Brunswick is led by quarterback Jarrod Elkins, who has thrown for 1,235 yards with 17 touchdowns. Terry Mitchell is his prime target with 33 catches for 766 yards and 10 touchdowns.

The Pirates average 233 yards rushing per game led by Jamarious Towns and William Heck, who have combined for 1,093 yards and nine touchdowns.

The Rebel defense, allowing just 13 points per game, is led by Roberts and a backfield featuring Brown, Ashley Thompson, Keion Wallace and Messiah Bacon, who leads the unit with five interceptions.

Long County at Johnson, 7:30 p.m. Friday at Islands Stadium

Johnson is coming off a 29-6 loss at Savannah Country Day as the Atom Smashers fell to 5-4 overall and 3-3 in region. Now Johnson is set to host Long County with a playoff berth on the line.

Long County was shut down by host Calvary Day last week in a 48-0 loss; now the Blue Tide are fighting for a postseason berth.

Johnson played without starting quarterback Malachi Bacon, who has a broken right thumb, in the loss to SCD with Jayden Jones taking over as quarterback, according to Travis Jaudon, who covered the game for the Prep Sports Report.

The Atom Smasher offense is centered on its run game, featuring Amarion Scott and Samari Dowdy. The defense has been a strength, allowing 18.6 points per game. Two-way linemen Jaden Boone and Malon Petty are leaders, along with linebacker Mikaree Stafford, Jones and defensive back Michael Ellison III.

Johnson High's Amarion Scott finds some running room as Brantley County's Anthony Walker attempts to get his hand on the ball and bring him down during a game at Savannah High School Stadium on Sept. 9, 2022.

Long County has an offense led by Ahmari Douglas, who as rushed for 1,331 yards and 17 touchdowns. The Blue Tide has only thrown for 130 yards all season.

Liberty County at Savannah Christian, 7:30 p.m. Friday at Pooler Stadium

Liberty County is fighting to hang on to the No. 3 seed in Region 3-3A as the Panthers (6-3, 4-2) go on the road to face Savannah Christian (8-1, 5-1), as the Raiders sit in second place behind undefeated Calvary Day in the region.

Liberty County is coming off a 39-7 win over Beach as quarterback Carlos Singleton hooked up with receiver James Summersett for three touchdown passes. Singleton, a junior, had thrown for 1,611 yards entering the game against Beach.

Savannah Christian has one of the highest-scoring offenses in the state as the Raiders are averaging 46 points per game.

Zo Smalls is closing in on the 1,000-yard mark for the season as the sophomore has run for 906 yards and scored 19 total touchdowns. Kenry Wall is another dangerous weapon in a diverse offense with 11 scores on the season.

Savannah Christian's Zo Smalls runs past an Islands hIgh defender to score on Aug. 26.

Quarterback Paulus Zittrauer has thrown for 1,192 yards with 12 touchdowns and two interceptions, and added seven more rushing touchdowns.

The defense is stout with four-star prospect Elijah Griffin up front, with David Bucey and Logan Brooking as top two-way players as linebackers and receivers.

Week 12 Savannah prep football schedule

Thursday, Nov. 3

Benedictine at New Hampstead (Pooler Stadium), 7 p.m.

Friday, Nov. 4

Colquitt County at Richmond Hill

Effingham County at Brunswick

South Effingham at Evans

Bradwell Institute at Greenbrier

Statesboro at Jenkins (Memorial)

Calvary Day at Beach (Savannah High)

Savannah Country Day at Groves (Garden City)

Long County at Johnson (Islands)