The standings don’t take it into consideration, but all wins aren’t created equal.
    Statesboro was far from being at its best last Friday night, but — as it has done in several close games this season — proved to be the better team, finding a few big plays late in the game to take down Tattnall County and move to 3-0 on the season.
    One of the biggest lessons learned for Statesboro was that it has the ability to win without its top talent on the field.
    Named to the All-State team last season, junior running back Quan Daniels picked up right where he left off with 201 rushing yards and five touchdowns in the Devils’ first two games this season. Statesboro went without Daniels’ services last week, and while there were struggles in the second half, the offense found enough to get the job done without him.
    “Our success has less to do with who is on the field than it does with our execution,” said Pennington. “The truth of the matter is that it doesn’t matter who is running the ball if we don’t execute our blocking assignments. We didn’t block well with our offensive line or with our running backs. That’s what caused us to struggle.”
    Pennington stressed that the biggest factor in the Devils’ struggles were an issue that can be improved by being mentally tougher.
    For much of the night, Tattnall caused problems for the No. 2 ranked Blue Devils. In the first half, the Warriors used their spread offense to dominate the time of possession and test the Statesboro defense. In the second half, Tattnall was able to bring the Devils’ rushing attack to a grinding halt – something that no team has been able to do over the last two seasons.
    “We didn’t execute our best,” said SHS coach Steve Pennington. “But also give a lot of credit to Tattnall. They are a good football team and were very well prepared.
“Luckily, we were able to pull out a win. You can learn a lot from games, no matter the outcome, but I think there’s more to learn from wins, and it’s sure a lot easier to take.”
While doing more than just going through the motions, Statesboro seemed to take on the first half of Friday’s game without the same fire that Tattnall County exhibited. Perhaps inspired by the Warriors nipping at their heels, Statesboro came out a much more inspired team in the second half, dominating the field position battle and forcing a key turnover in the fourth quarter to cushion the lead.
“I saw a lot more intensity from our guys when things got tight,” said Pennington. “That sort of intensity is something that you’d like to see all the time.
“The bottom line is that we didn’t put forth our best effort. It’s nice to know that we can have a bad night and still find a way to win, but the games are only going to get tougher and we’re going to have to be ready to play our best.”

Mike Anthony can be reached at (912) 489-9404.