Statesboro High head coach Matt Dobson finally got a chance to see his Blue Devils face off against another team last Friday night as they knocked off Long County 21-14 in Ludowici. The Blue Devils had some good moments on offense as they scored three times in one half of play, but gave up a couple big plays on the defensive side where he feels they need to continue to make progress. 

“We gave up those two big plays for touchdowns, but I liked the way we battled back from the adversity,” Dobson said. “After those touchdowns we shut them down from there on defense. We really took control of the game on both sides of the ball. We scored three times on offense and got down close on our final drive but just ran out of time. We found some areas we have to improve in, but the energy and effort were there.” 

Friday the Blue Devils hit the road to kick off the 2023 season in Brunswick against Glynn Academy. The Red Terrors were 6-5 last year and advanced to the state playoffs. Last season the Terrors came back to score in the final seconds in pulling out a 43-42 shootout against the Blue Devils. Glynn returns quite a few of those same players and Dobson knows he will have his hands full Friday. 

“Coach Rocky Hidalgo does a really good job with them over there,” Dobson said. “Offensively they are big up front and do a good job executing. They have a great tight end in 6-4 David Prince who has committed to Georgia Tech. We have to be gap-sound defensively and be able to stop the run and try and make them one-dimensional where they are forced to throw the football.” 

Blue Devil quarterback Bruce Yawn got the start last year against Glynn Academy but spent much of the rest of the season from the bench watching Kam Mikell get the starts under center. This year Yawn has been named the starting quarterback and rushed for a touchdown last week as well as throwing one to Mikell at his new receiver position. Dobson is hoping the Blue Devils can continue moving forward in his newly implemented spread offensive attack. 

“We are going up against a sound defense who don’t normally give up a lot of big plays,” Dobson said. “They are physical and we have to match their physicality. I like what I saw from our offensive line last week and I feel we ran and threw the ball pretty well. This will be a challenge but I think our guys are up for it.” 

Dobson would love to start the season 1-0 to give his team some momentum and is confident the Blue Devils will continue to improve on both sides of the ball. 

“I really want to see us come out there and live up to our standard,” Dobson said. “I want to see us play with great effort and take care of the football. On defense we need to try and create some turnovers and play well on special teams. We need to be able to establish the run because I think the key to the game is going to be if we can match their physicality and whoever runs the ball better will probably come out on top.” 

Statesboro travels to Glynn Academy for a 7:30 start Friday in Brunswick.