The Statesboro Blue Devils are currently 2-0 and are ranked in the Top 10 in their state classification for the first time since 2013.

In 2013 Statesboro started out 8-0, which included a win over Top 10 ranked Burke County. The Blue Devils are coming off a sloppy, but effective 29-22 win over the Bears Friday, overcoming five turnovers. Coach Matt Dobson hopes they can clean that up but believes the team took a big step forward with a win over one of the top programs in the state

“I told our kids what frustrates me is that we didn’t play our best and we still found a way to win,” Dobson said. “When you are battling elements and a good football program, the most important thing is just to find a way to win. Ultimately, that’s what we did. Our defense certainly stepped up after turnovers put us in a 14-0 hole and they kept us in it and made some big stops in the fourth quarter. Our special teams did a good job all night. Our offense made the plays that we needed to give us the lead at halftime and then when we were tied, they took a two-minute drill and found a way to score.”

Dobson said the area of biggest improvement wasn’t on a particular side of the ball but rather a way of playing that the Statesboro championship teams were known for.

"Burke County is one of the most physical football teams that we’re going to play against this year,” Dobson said. “Playing a physical team and not backing down and being just as physical is something that really impressed me. Another thing we really didn’t get to experience in week one is how are we going to handle adversity?

"We turned the ball over and gave them a 14-0 lead and fought back to take the lead at halftime. Then late in the game after they tied it up, we came down and answered to take the lead right back. I thought our guys showed a lot of mental toughness with no bickering on the sidelines, just guys rallying and staying in it and I thought that was good to see.”

This week, Statesboro takes on an ECI team who are currently 1-1, having beaten Metter, 26-7, in week one and then lost a tough, 28-21, rivalry game against Swainsboro last week.

Statesboro and ECI haven’t played since 1950 despite the schools being located only about 30 minutes away from each other. Dobson knows they may not have the numbers that Statesboro does but he also knows how talented ECI is and is expecting a battle Friday at Womack Field.

“I think they’re similar to Burke in a lot of ways as far as they run the same style of offense, and they give you a lot of different formations,” Dobson said. “Their game plan is to get three or four yards per play and keep you off the field, so defensively we’ve got to be disciplined.

"Defensively they’re really talented. They have a Virginia Tech commit in the secondary who also plays some offense. I think their back end on defense is really talented. They’re a pretty experienced football team. They have five seniors on the offensive line, a quarterback, a fullback and senior receivers.

"They have playoff experience and they’re going to be ready to come play. We can’t just think because they’re a lower classification team, they are going to be easy. We have to play our best football Friday night to win.”

Statesboro and ECI are set for a 7:30 start Friday at Womack Field.