After four straight wins to open the season, tonight is the night that things start to get serious for Statesboro. The No. 3 Blue Devils host Lakeside, Evans tonight at Womack Field in each team’s opening game of Region 2-AAAA play.
    Though the Panthers (1-3) haven’t had the same success as Statesboro so far this season, both teams stand on equal footing as only sub-region games count toward which schools will represent the region in the state playoffs.
    “We have definitely reminded our guys that we’re now in region play and that these games are important,” said SHS coach Steve Pennington. “That being said, we don’t treat it much differently. We don’t have many stated goals, but one goal we do have is to try to win every game. It just so happens that this week is a region game.”
    Last season, the Devils were able to get a leg up on their region championship run by notching a last second, comeback win over Lakeside up in Augusta. This time around, Statesboro will have the benefit of playing in front of its home crowd, but still expects to be in for a fight.
    Although the Devils will be going up against a shotgun spread offense for the fifth time in as many weeks, the Panthers pose a new challenge.
    The first four opponents on Statesboro’s schedule have looked to run first to set up a passing attack, but Lakeside is a precision passing team that has no problem with putting the ball in the air 30-40 times each game.
    “Lakeside is a very difficult team to prepare for,” said Pennington. “They pass the ball very well, but they still have a good running game that you have to respect. Another problem that they present is that they have a very complex offensive scheme. There are tons of formations and many different passing routes that they’ll throw at you.”
    Adding to the challenge is the fact that there will be one less member of the Devils’ defensive secondary able to lend a hand in stopping the aerial assault.
    Junior cornerback Corey Harden suffered a knee injury in the first quarter of last week’s win over Liberty County and did not return to action. Harden will miss tonight’s game as well.
    “We’ve been lucky that every time someone has gone down with an injury, someone else is either getting healthy or is able to step up,” said Pennington. “That’s something that we’ll need once again.”
    Looking at the Devils’ offense, the ability to finish off drives and capitalize on opportunities is something that they are hoping to improve on. Statesboro had to fight down to the final seconds for a 3-point win last week, but easily could have put Liberty County away earlier if not for a pair of missed field goals and two turnovers in Liberty territory that didn’t net the Devils any points.
    “We want to improve on those things, but it isn’t something we want to dwell on,” said Pennington. “If you get too worked up over thinking about it, it can lead to a negative mindset and make things worse. Still, that’s something that we’d like to do better with moving forward.”
    Tonight’s winner will have an early advantage as the race for the postseason begins.
    The second and third place teams in the sub-region will enter the final week of the season with an opportunity to advance to the state playoffs, but Statesboro and each of its opponents through the rest of the regular season will have their eyes set on the sub-region’s top spot, which comes with an automatic bid to the postseason.

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