Statesboro hasn’t notched many style points this season.
    Luckily for the guys in blue and white, the standings are based on what the scoreboard says at the end of four quarters.
    The No. 3 Blue Devils trailed Lakeside, Evans 14-0 through the first half, but four second half rushing touchdowns from Quan Daniels spurred on Statesboro to a 28-21 win Friday night at Womack Field.
    “If you wanted to write a book, it could be called ‘A Tale of Two Halves,’” said SHS coach Steve Pennington. “Lakeside dominated us in every form and fashion in the first half. Credit our coaches for making the right adjustments at halftime and our players for executing in the second half.”
    Already behind, the Devils (5-0, 1-0 Region 2-AAAA) had to kickoff to start the third quarter.
    Mark Weidenaar quarterbacked the offense for Lakeside (1-4, 0-1) and torched the SHS defense for 173 total first half yards, but the Devils found the answer over the final 24 minutes of play.
    On the third play of the second half, Weidenaar scrambled for what was going to be a first down, but he was stripped of the ball and Statesboro came up with it.
    The Devils made good on their fortune as Daniels (15 carries, 184 yards) plunged in from a yard out to cut the lead in half.
    “We just needed a spark,” said Pennington. “In the second half, we got some turnovers in big spots and the offense capitalized on opportunities.”
    If Daniels’ first touchdown was a spark, the next one was a flash of lightning.
    The Statesboro defense forced a Lakeside punt, but a big bounce put the Devil offense on the field in the shadow of its own goal line. On the first play, Daniels burst through the line on a counter. Only one Panther had a chance at him, but Daniels ran through the tackle and raced 89 yards for the game tying score.
    The Blue Devil offense was finally denied on its third possession of the half, but a fumbled punt return gave them new life and paved the way for an 8 yard Daniels touchdown run early in the fourth quarter that gave Statesboro the lead for good.
    Still stifling Weidenaar and the Panther offense, Marquavius Hunter stepped in front of a pass to force Lakeside’s third turnover of the game.
    The offense capitalized once more as Daniels capped his big night with a 29 yard scoring run on a fourth-and-one conversion.
    “Hopefully, tonight shows the maturity of some of our older players,” said Pennington. “We certainly had our struggles, but nobody quit. We knew this was going to be a tough game, but we kept fighting.”
    Trailing by two touchdowns in the waning minutes, the Lakeside offense made one last push.
    Weidenaar hit Jonathan Long for a 52 yard gain deep into the SHS red zone and found Jonathan Edwards for a 5 yard touchdown to make it 28-21 with 23 seconds to play, but Statesboro secured the win when Tavist Wilson fell on the ensuing onside kick.
    The Panthers built their lead largely on the legs of Weidenaar in the second quarter. The senior signal caller rushed for 86 first half yards, setting up Long for the first down of the night and finishing Lakeside’s second scoring drive with a 2 yard dive shortly before halftime.
    Next week, the Devils hit the road for the first time in nearly a month as they take on Effingham County in another sub-region tilt.

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