Brunswick, Ga. – Glynn Academy senior running back Nolan Grant was named the Glynn County Sports Hall of Fame Player of the Game Friday night after helping the Red Terrors to a thrilling 24-21 triumph over rival Brunswick High in the annual City Championship Game at Glynn County Stadium.
Grant carried 20 times for 96 yards and scored a go-ahead touchdown on a 6-yard run for Glynn in the fourth quarter that made it 21-14 in favor of the Terrors.
The small but quick running back also came up big for Glynn on its game-winning drive after the Pirates tied the score at 21-all. Grant carried four straight times for 17 yards on the drive before turning a short pass into a 26-yard gain to the Brunswick 23-yard line on a third-down play that gave Glynn a new set of downs.
Shortly thereafter, Glynn was calling timeout with three seconds left from the Brunswick 9 to set up a 26-yard field goal by senior Chase Gabriel to win the game. Gabriel’s kick was right down the heart as the final seconds ticked off the clock and the Terrors stormed the field in jubilation.
“He’s clutch,” Grant said of his classmate Gabriel.
Grant is big-time, too, according to GA head coach Rocky Hidalgo.
“The guy is the consummate team player,” Coach Rock noted. “He could carry 40 times or three. It doesn’t matter as long as we win. He’s tough as nails, everything you want in a high school football player.”
Glynn topped the Pirates a sixth time in a row to tie the longest winning streak in the series which the Pirates accomplished first in the late 1990s.
Grant became the fifth straight Glynn player to win the Player of the Game award which the Hall of Fame first presented in 2015. Earlier that year, the Hall began giving out the superlative honor in Brunswick-Glynn contests in basketball and baseball as well. Grant is also the fourth GA running back for the run-heavy Terrors to win the honor.
Grant said he loved having his number called so many times on that final drive for the game-winning kick.
“It felt great. It was great to be trusted like that,” he said.
Also after the game, Gabriel received the Farm Bureau Player of the Game.
“I love that kid. He’s great,” Grant said.
All of Glynn’s Player of the Game award winners are listed below.
The Hall of Fame is a non-profit organization that began in 2011. It holds an induction banquet every other year. The 2020 banquet is scheduled for March on Jekyll Island. The Hall also sponsors other events including its Ambassadors Event in which outstanding senior student-athletes from each of the three main high schools in the county are recognized with scholarships awarded to select student-athletes from each school.
This summer, the Hall of Fame put up a new display in the Glynn County Schools Athletics Center at the stadium which showcases all of the past inductees and also the state championship teams from the county’s high schools. The Hall plans to recognize the championship teams at future induction banquets starting with the one this coming spring.
GA-BHS Football Players of Game
2015 - Garrison Hurd (GA) 2017 - Caine Crews (GA)
2016 - Kendall Cross (GA)
2017 - Caine Crews (GA)
2018 - Tyshawn Wallace (GA)
2019 - Nolan Grant (GA)