Statesboro head coach Jeff Kaiser said earlier in the week that it was going to be tough to move the ball against the Brunswick Pirates huge, fast defensive front. That proved to be the case Friday night as the Blue Devils managed just 131 total yards of offense and five first downs and the Statesboro defense finally gave out in the second half as the fifth-ranked Pirates shutout the Blue Devils 21-0.
Statesboro did not record their first first down of the game until there was 22 seconds left in the third quarter. The Pirates tripled the Blue Devils in time of possession and outgained them 413-131 in total yards.
The Blue Devils knew they may have to try and throw to keep the Pirate defense honest, but a number of dropped passes and Brunswick pressure limited Statesboro to only one completion for only two yards.
“We got whipped,” said Kaiser. “Their defense hit us in the mouth. They are a good team and we saw that tonight.”
The one bright spot for the Blue Devils was the Statesboro defense, who despite having to be on the field for nearly the entire first half, allowed only seven points.
“I was proud of our defense especially in the first half tonight,” said Kaiser. “We just couldn’t keep our defense off the field, and we ran out of gas. I am willing they had three quarters of plays to our one quarter. They are a good football team and they whipped us, and we will come back next week.”
The Pirates started the scoring late in the first quarter as Leon Charlton fought his way 11-yards into the end zone for a 7-0 Pirate lead with 5:06 left in the first.
The Blue Devil defense was able to come up with a turnover early in the second quarter as Creighton Horst picked off a Sutton Ellis pass and returned it to the Brunswick 10-yard line.
The Statesboro offense was unable to take advantage of their excellent field position and rather than trying a 27-yard field goal Kaiser opted to go for it and Kam Mikell’s pass sailed through the end zone and Brunswick took over.
The Blue Devil defense was able to stop Brunswick on three different fourth down attempts including a fake punt and the teams went into the locker room with the Pirates leading 7-0.
Brunswick came out of the half on fire and reeled off three straight first down runs, capping their drive with a 30-yard touchdown run by Ree Simmons to extend their lead to 14-0.
Statesboro proceeded to go three and out on their next drive and the Pirates added another scored before the end of the third quarter. Chockobee Hill finished the scoring with a 3-yard touchdown and the final points of the game.
Statesboro showed some life in the fourth quarter picking up four straight first downs, but inside the Brunswick 20 Statesboro failed on another fourth down attempt and their final trip into Brunswick territory.
The Pirates improve to 7-0 overall and 3-0 in region play while Statesboro falls to 3-3 overall and 1-1 in region play. Up next Statesboro travels to Bradwell next Friday for a 7:30 kickoff.