Continuing the Statesboro Herald's look back at the Statesboro High football dynasty from 2000-2005, we wrap things up with the 2005 championship season. Having played in two straight title games, it was no surprise to see the Blue Devils ranked second in the polls, and a favorite to get back to the championship game once again.
“The sophomores we had in ‘03 were now seniors, and had played in two straight state championship games,” SHS coach Steve Pennington said. “This was very similar to the 2001 team, in that those seniors had gotten so close, you knew it was a matter of time before they would win it all.”
The 2005 season saw the Blue Devils shut out their first four opponents of the season. Statesboro had only one competitive game during the regular season, a 20-13 victory over Baldwin.
In the playoffs Statesboro beat Bainbridge 38-18, Douglas County 16-7, Southwest DeKalb 31-0, and then knocked off Griffin 7-0 in the Georgia Dome.
“The Griffin game was a defensive battle,” Tucker said. “We scored before the half on a touchdown run by Charles Rock, and then handed things over to our defense. I believe that is the game that made a star out of Justin Houston. Prathon Wilkerson had a huge hit toward the end of that game that caused a fumble, and just about decapitated their running back.”
“I don’t think there’s a lot of teams that can say they went 5-0 in the Georgia Dome,” Pennington said. “That just goes to the determination of our coaches and players to know that a win puts us into the championship game. When we got that close we weren’t about to fall short.”
The Blue Devils knew they would be the host team in the championship, but because of a new rule inacted by the GHSA as to the minimum stadium seating, the game wouldn’t be allowed to be played at Womack Field. Luckily the Blue Devils were able to work out a deal to use Paulson Stadium for the championship against Northside Warner Robins.
“I started my coaching career with coach Russell at Georgia Southern,” Pennington said. “So to be able to coach on that field once again in a championship game was so special.”
The title came would be another matchup of two teams with identical 14-0 records. The Eagles featured an impressive defense that had allowed only three touchdowns the entire postseason, and were ranked No. 1 in Class AAAA.
The Eagles started the scoring on a double reverse flea flicker for a 7-0 lead. The Blue Devils tied the game late in the half on a botched punt, and a two-yard Charles Rock touchdown run. A 25-yard field goal by Josh Rich with 12 seconds left gave Statesboro a 10-7 halftime lead.
The Eagles tied the game with a field goal with 7:4 left in the third. The Eagles had another chance at a field goal to take the lead in the fourth, but Prathon Wilkerson came through with a huge block.
“I believe Prathon had about 12 blocked kicks his last two years,” Pennington said. “He just had a burning desire, and knew how to block a kick.”
The game remained tied late in the fourth, and had it ended in a tie the Blue Devils and Eagles would have been co-champs. The Blue Devils had intentions of sharing the title.
With the Eagles pinned at their own 18 yard-line receiver Kevin Cooper caught the ball at the 22-yard line, and coughed it up quickly after a bone-jarring hit by Blue Devil safety Jon Knox. Josh McCook quickly pounced on the ball giving Statesboro great field position.
“That was one of the hardest hits I have ever seen,” Tucker said. “The thing is, after that we still needed to get a first down, and make the kick.”
The Blue Devils managed to get a first down, and then Rich split the uprights from 29-yards out with seven seconds left. The victory capped off the Blue Devils second 15-0 season, and second state championship in five years.
“The common fan does not understand the effort and the work that it takes to have that kind of success, it’s not a given,” Pennington said. “Those coaches and players that went through that period of time, and sacrificed a lot to get it done. When you invest a lot into things, more times than not you are rewarded. It was a true total team effort from the players and the coaches.
“To keep something going over a six year period required a special kind of effort and commitment,” Pennington said. “I hope people can understand what kind of sacrifices were made from the players, the coaches, the administration and the coaches families as well. For that six year period of time I think it’s safe to say we were a dynasty,” Pennington said. “And for that we will always be grateful.”
