Savannah upended McIntosh County Academy 56-46 Tuesday to hand the top-ranked Buccaneers the team’s fourth loss of the season. Maki Joyner scored a game-high 17 points and was supplemented with an 11-point effort by Jermontae Brown in the key victory.
Joyner—the reigning Region Player of the Year—left the game late in the fourth quarter after experiencing flu-like symptoms, but the Bluejackets were able to close out the 10-point victory.
Second-year Savannah head coach George Brown was pleased in his team’s performance and expects to meet the Bucs again in the upcoming Region 3 tournament next week.
“MCA plays really hard and they’re very well coached,” Brown told Dennis Knight of the Savannah Morning News. “I played against their coach, Marquice Jones, when he was at Brunswick High and I was at Camden County in high school. They run great stuff and are very disciplined and that’s something we’re trying to do here. The difference tonight was that our kids fought harder than they did in the first game, and we made some key free throws down the stretch.”
Senior DeShawn Davis also was a difference-maker on the defensive side. Regardless of classification, Davis — a 6-foot-8 forward — led the state in blocked shots last season with 5.6 per game.
He is nearing 1,500 rebounds and 500 blocks for his career.
“We played hard and played as a team tonight,” Davis told Knight. “I think our strengths are our defense and the brotherhood we have together. We knew how good MCA was. I think the first time we played against them, we played down to their level, and tonight we played up to our level.”
RECRUITING UPDATES
National Singing Day has passed and the focus has shifted to the Class of 2026. Similarly to recent seasons with prospects like Manchester’s Justus Terry (Texas signee), one of the state’s top senior prospects will be in Class A Div. II this upcoming season with Bowdon’s Kaiden Prothro. On Thursday, the 6-foot-7, 210-pound tight end announced his top 5 schools—listing Auburn, Georgia, Texas, Florida and Alabama. Prothro is listed one of the Top 32 prospects in the nation for the Class of 2026 and has an opportunity to be a four-time state champion this next season for the Red Devils.
MOST IMPROVED TEAM
Georgia High School Football Daily honored coaches from each classification for being the most improved team in their respective classes this week. In Class A Div. II, Lincoln County head coach Lee Chomskis earned the honor. Under coach Chomskis, Lincoln County had its first 11-win season since 2012 and also completed its first undefeated regular season since 2011. Lincoln County has now produced 43 wins in five seasons after tallying 36 in the previous five.
Around the Class Boys: The biggest result in Class A Div. II this past week came on Tuesday when Savannah avenged its previous 48-47 loss to McIntosh County Academy on Jan. 7 with a 56-46 victory. This result has shifted the polls with Savannah moving back up to No. 1, however, the Bluejackets will have two more matchups Friday and Saturday to solidify its place at the top of the poll before the pre-playoff rankings are released on Monday. Savannah will travel to Portal Friday night and then close out the regular season at home against Bryan County with a 2:30 afternoon tipoff. Savannah defeated Bryan County 61-47 on Dec. 13 and Portal 61-51 on Jan. 10.
Around the Class Girls: There are six teams in the top 10 that have games remaining on their regular season schedule and the most impactful matchup will be between No. 3 Wilcox County and No. 4 ranked Telfair County. Heading into tipoff, Telfair County has won seven-straight games and is 10-1 in Region 4. Wilcox County is 10-0 in Region 4 play and has won 18-straight games heading into the matchup. The last time the teams faced was a 70-26 win by Wilcox County. The Patriots can sweep the region and clinch the top seed with a win tonight. Additionally, Wilcox County is 19-1 this season and has won 18-straight since its lone loss—which was a 56-50 defeat to Class 5A Lee County. Last season, Wilcox County defeated Telfair County 59-51 to complete a perfect sweep of the region.
Boys Top 10 Upcoming Games
1. McIntosh County Academy—Friday vs. Screven County, 7:30 p.m.
2. Savannah—Friday at Portal, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday vs. Bryan County, 2:30 p.m.
3. Randolph-Clay—TBD
4. Calhoun County—TBD
5. Taylor County—TBD
6. Trion—Friday vs. Elite Scholar’s Academy, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday at Manchester, 7:30 p.m.
7. Manchester—Friday vs. Mt. Zion-Carroll, 7:30 p.m.; Trion vs. Trion, 7:30 p.m.
8. Macon County—TBD
9. Clinch County—Saturday vs. Echols County, 7:30 p.m.
10. Warren County—Friday vs. Lake Oconee Academy, 7:30 p.m.
Girls Top 10 Upcoming Games
1. Taylor County—TBD
2. Bryan County—Friday at Claxton, 6:00 p.m.; Saturday at Savannah, 4:00 p.m.
3. Wilcox County—Friday at Telfair County, 6:00 p.m.
4. Telfair County—Friday vs. Wilcox County, 6:00 p.m.
5. Macon County—TBD
6. Seminole County—TBD
7. Brooks County—Friday at Turner County, 6:00 p.m.; Saturday vs. Charlton County, 5:00 p.m.
8. Screven County—Friday at McIntosh County Academy, 6:00 p.m.
9. Randolph-Clay—TBD –
10. Early County—Friday vs. Bainbridge, 6:00 p.m.
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