Five Things I Learned After the 5th Week of Savannah Area 2018 High School Football

1. Benedictine is Benedictine – after two region wins over Groves and Savannah by a combined 131-0, the Cadets are the team to beat. The Cadets are the “Big Dog on the Block” in Region 3 AAA.

2. Southeast Bulloch was the previous team to beat. Jenkins took over that spot last year. Now Benedictine is in the region. The Yellow Jackets came back and beat Islands to state, don't count them out. Then beat Beach last week 42-7. Don't count them out yet.

3. Jenkins proved winning, and experience helps in a close game. Last Friday against Windsor Forest

the Warriors were losing 9-8 after three quarters. This was a big early region game for both teams. Well experience in the fourth quarter helped Jenkins found a way to come back to take the lead and hold off a Knight late score and a program trying to step up to the level of the favorite teams in Region 3-AAA.

4. Region 3-A Division A is one of the top divisions in Georgia with three local teams ranked in the GHSA Class A Private school sector. Georgia High School Football Daily released it’s composite rankings and Calvary  sits at 4; Savannah Country Day ranked 9, and Savannah Christian enters at 10. Throw a rejuvenated Claxton Tiger team coached by Tony Welch, it’s going to be one of the best regions in the state to follow. All three teams will battle each other in October.

5. Calvary Specialty Sports Complex and the New War Memorial Stadium is Friday Night Lights. These two fields are a great high school venue for local high school football in Savannah Georgia. They are fan friendly but most of all something Savannah has needed for long time, brand new playing surfaces and stadiums. Who benefits from this brand new trend? Of course, our student-athletes and fans do. The excitement to compete with on top notch sites makes the experience of participating in high school football exciting I can’t wait to see Benedictine, Islands, Groves, and Savannah High on site fields to be built. This is definitely going to bring back home-field advantage. You Gotta Love It!

Former Local Standout Mustang Baseball Players Riding into MLB Playoffs

It is always exciting to see former Savannah area players excel at the next level. Of course, we see them making a splash on the college level, but on the professional level it is a dream come true. Two former South Effingham High School standout baseball players have reached the pinnacle level, Major League Baseball, JB Wendelken, a relief pitcher, with the Oakland Atheltics and of course the regular MLB veteran Josh Reddick, the last two seasons as a right fielder with the Houston Astros.

JB Wendelken

JB Wendelken's team, the A's, clinched a wild-card playoff spot yesterday and will be taking on the New York Yankees next Wednesday. The winner will play the Boston Red Sox. Josh Reddick who plays with the defending MLB World Champions clinched their second consecutive AL West title yesterday. The Astro's will face the Cleveland Indians in the first round.

Wendelken was recalled for the second time this season by Oakland from their AAA affiliate the Nashville Sounds on August 30th. His first stint in the show was from July 20th to August 1st. So far, this 2019 season JB has appeared in 11 games, pitching 14.1 innings, striking out 11 batters while walking 5, and having an impressive 0.61 earned run average. Wendelken appeared last  night in Oaklands extra inning loss to the Seattle Mariners. JB pitched 2 scoreless innings striking out one, walking one, and gave up one hit.

Josh Reddick

Josh Reddick has been in the Major Leagues since 2009, Reddick has played for the Boston Red Sox, Oakland Athletics, Los Angeles Dodgers, and now the World Champions Houston Astros. Josh has played in 1051  major league games over  nine seasons. He last appeared on September 24th and was 1-for-4 with a solo home run in a 5-3 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. Reddick is a career .261 hitter, has hit 125 homeruns;  knocked in 451 runners, and was a big part of 2018 World Championship Houston Astros campaign. Which got him a World Series Championship ring. Reddick also gives back to the coumminty immensley through the Josh Reddick Foundation. Way to go guys and hearing "Play Ball" riding into the MLB  post season must be exciting!

Football Games Cancelled by Hurricane Florence Starting to be Rescheduled

Local Athletic Directors and Coaches are working to reschedule games from Friday night September
14, 2018. These high school football contests were canceled due to Hurricane Florence. Just like in the past, some schools will be playing two games in five days due to scheduling, and some teams will not reschedule. This is due to the games being non-region games and no openings in the future of their respective schedules. Here is what has been released as of Saturday September 15, 2018.

GHSA Region 3 A Crossover Games
Tuesday September 18, 2018
Calvary Day at Treutlen will be played at Treutlen Kick-off 6:00 pm
Savannah Country Day at Johnson Country - will be played  at Johnson Co.  Kick-off  7:30 pm

GHSA Region 3 AAA
Tuesday September 18, 2018
Groves at Benedictine will be played at Memorial Stadium Kick-off 6:30 pm

Tuesday October 2, 2018
Beach at Islands  - Rescheduled for Garden City Stadium Time TBA
Tuesday October 9, 2018
Jenkins at Johnson  -  Rescheduled  - Location & Time TBA
SE Bulloch at Savannah High  - Rescheduled to played SE Bulloch Time TBA

GHSA Non-Region Game
New Hampstead at Richmond Hill – Will not be rescheduled

GISA Non Region
St. Andrew's at Hilton Head Christian – Will not be rescheduled
Memorial Day at Monsignor Donovan  - No Announcement Yet could be made up

SCISA Non-Region
Bethesda at John Paul II – Will not be rescheduled

Look Who is Ranked in High School Sports?

Local Schools in State Sports Rankings

Football

GHSA
Class AAA
#7 Benedictine

Class A – Private
#5 Calvary Day School
#6 Savannah Country Day

Softball
GHSA
Class AAAAAA
#9 Effingham County

Class AAAAA
#6 South Effingham

Volleyball
GHSA
Class AAA
#6 Islands

Class AA/A
#3 Calvary Day
#6 Savannah Christian
#8 St. Vincent’s Academy
Note – Rankings by Score Atlanta

SAVANNAH AREA PREP FOOTBALL REGION STANDINGS 

AS OF WEEK 3 

KEY - REGIONS that have not played region games yet will just have overall record.

Teams that have played region games will have two columns - first column region record second is the overall record.

GHSA Region 2 AAAAAA                                    

School Name                      W-L  Pct.     PF    PA   Strk

Effingham County              3-1    0.750  129  58    1 W

Glynn Academy                 2-1    0.667  112  43    2 W

Brunswick                           1-2    0.333  68    62    1 W

Richmond Hill                     1-2    0.333  54    63    2 L

Bradwell Institute                0-3    0.000  32    113  3 L

GHSA Region 2 AAAAA                                    

School Name                   W-L  Pct.     PF   PA  Strk

Wayne County                 3-0    1.000  107  28   3 W

Ware County                    3-1    0.750  126  52   1 W

Statesboro                        2-1    0.667  30    30   1 L

New Hampstead              2-1    0.667  91    68   1 L

South Effingham              1-2    0.333  58    52   2 L

GHSA Region 3 AAA                                                                          

School Name              *W-L  *Pct.   *PF  *PA  W-L  Pct.     PF    PA   Strk

Jenkins                        1-0     1.000  38    0      2-1    0.667  68    31    2 W

Windsor Forest            1-0     1.000  45    6      2-1    0.667  113  69    1 W

Johnson                       1-0     1.000  25    14    1-2    0.333  37    97    1 W

Southeast Bulloch       1-0     1.000  24    21    3-0    1.000  73    56    3 W

Islands                         0-1     0.000  21    24    0-3    0.000  47    79    3 L

Groves                        0-1     0.000  14    25    0-3    0.000  28    151  3 L

Savannah                    0-1     0.000  0      38    0-3    0.000  26    143  3 L

Beach                          0-1     0.000  6      45    0-3    0.000  23    115  3 L

Benedictine                 0-0     0.000  0      0      1-1    0.500  30    60    1 L

GHSA 3 A- A                                                          

School Name                        W-L  Pct.     PF    PA  Strk

Savannah Country Day        3-0    1.000  98    14   3 W

Calvary Day                         2-0    1.000  69    18   2 W

Claxton                                 3-0    1.000  63    26   3 W

Savannah Christian              2-1    0.667  110  55   2 W

Portal                                    1-2    0.333  48    73   1 L

McIntosh County Academy 0-2    0.000  21    97   2 L

GISA 2 AA                                                                

School Name                         W-L  Pct.     PF    PA   Strk

Toombs Christian Academy  3-0    1.000  152  51    3 W

Memorial Day                        2-2    0.500  124  120  1 L

St. Andrew's                           0-2    0.000  0      35    2 L

SCISA Region II A                                                                                                 

School Name                                *W-L  *Pct.   *PF  *PA  W-L  Pct.     PF    PA   Strk

Spartanburg Christian Academy  2-0     1.000  47    13     2-1    0.667  54    48    1 L

Thomas Heyward Academy        1-0     1.000  23    14     5-0    1.000  223  88    5 W

Colleton Prep Academy               0-1     0.000  14    23     1-2    0.333  43    81    2 L

Bethesda Academy                      0-0     0.000  0      0       2-1    0.667  104  33    1 L

Dorchester Academy                   0-0     0.000  0      0       2-2    0.500  106  97    1 W

Northside Christian Academy      0-0     0.000  0      0       0-3    0.000  24    121  3 L