Region play begins in Class 5A this week when regions 1 and 6 begin the league portion of their schedules in Week 4 of the high school football season.
Region 1 action kicks off Friday night with Lakeside-Evans at Evans, Bradwell Institute at Glynn Academy, Brunswick at Effingham County and Statesboro at Greenbrier
Effingham County, Glynn Academy and Brunswick finished as the top three teams last year in Region 2-6A, which included most of the members of what is now Region 1-5A. Grovetown moved down in the GHSA’s offseason reclassification, and Bradwell Institute, Greenbrier and Statesboro moved in.
Brunswick, Glynn and Effingham are pegged as the top three teams again this year by the computer Maxwell Ratings after the completion of the non-region portion of the schedule. The playoff race could be wide open, however, as Region 1 is the largest in Class 5A, with nine teams, but does not have a team ranked in the top 10.
Here’s a closer look at the teams in Region 1, listed in the order of their position in the Maxwell Ratings. A preview of the Region 6 teams will be posted later this week.
*Brunswick (1-1): The Pirates won region titles in 2021 and 2022, their first since 2009, and have made five consecutive playoff appearances. They lost their opener this year to Camden County 51-41 but bounced back with a 49-7 victory over Wayne County. Maxwell rates Brunswick as 10 points better than anyone else in the region, but this week’s game against Effingham will tell a lot.
*Glynn Academy (1-1): The Red Terrors have made 16 consecutive playoff appearances, and they are a good bet to return to the postseason this year. Glynn Academy won at least one playoff game nine times during that 16-year stretch but none the past three years. This season, they defeated Wayne County 16-10 in the opener before losing to Class 6A Richmond Hill 31-12 in Week 2.
*Effingham County (0-2): The Rebels won their first region title since 1995 last year, and they locked it down by beating Brunswick 31-28 in the season finale. Effingham is 0-2 this season but has played the region’s toughest schedule, losing to eighth-ranked Houston County and a good New Hampstead team by a total of six points. The Rebels were 15-3 in region games over the past three seasons.
*Evans (2-0): The Knights finished fourth in the region last year to earn their eighth straight playoff berth, but they are seeking their first winning season since 2021. Evans opened the season with wins over Thomson (35-28) and Grovetown (38-3). Offensive lineman Mason Short (committed to Georgia) was the only player from the region to make GHSF Daily’s Class 5A preseason all-state team.
*Statesboro (1-1): The Blue Devils won three regular-season games each of the past two seasons in a lower class but made the playoffs out of a six-team region both times. Last year, they won a playoff game for the first time since 2013 when they beat Tucker 49-27 in the first round. Statesboro beat Greenbrier and lost to Glynn, Effingham and Bradwell Institute in the 2023 regular season.
*Bradwell Institute (1-1): The Tigers won just six region games over the past 10 seasons, but even that was enough to secure three playoff berths from the five- and six-team regions in which they played. It won’t be enough in their new nine-team league. Bradwell’s fate in region play is likely to be determined early, with games against Glynn Academy this week and Effingham County on Sept. 13.
*Lakeside-Evans (2-0): The Panthers went 3-7 and missed the playoffs the past two seasons after making six consecutive postseason appearances. They’re 2-0 this season, but that start was built on what Maxwell rates as the weakest schedule in the region. They could make a big move with a win against rival Evans this week. The last two meetings between the two were each decided by one point.
*South Effingham (0-2): The Mustangs improved from four to six wins last season under first-year coach Loren Purvis and just missed the playoffs when they lost to Evans in the season finale. They went 4-0 outside of region play last season, but they’re 0-2 this year against a tougher schedule that included losses to New Hampstead (56-35) and Class A Division I No. 1 Toombs County (49-0).
*Greenbrier (1-1): The Wolfpack made three consecutive playoff appearances from 2018 to 2020 but has struggled since, posting a record of 5-25 over the past three seasons, so making the playoffs is likely a long shot. However, Greenbrier appears to be moving in the right direction under first-year coach Sean Tiernan, beating Grovetown in Week 2 after losing to Harlem in overtime in the opener.
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