The Statesboro Blue Devils had to scratch out a tough win in their opening contest of the 2013 season, but had a much easier go of things the second time around.
    Statesboro scored 21 points in the second quarter and racked up 21 more in the third to pave the way for a tidy 42-13 victory over the Academy of Richmond County Friday night at Womack Field.
    The Devils (2-0) continued to show their newfound balance on offense. Quarterback Colin Chance went 8-for-13 through the air with 188 yards and three touchdowns while six different running backs had 15 or more rushing yards en route to 233 yards gained on the ground.
    The game was streamed live on statesboroherald.com as the “Friday Night Live” game of the week. It will be rebroadcast on Northland Cable Channel 99 on both Monday and Tuesday night at 8 p.m. each night. The game also will be available Wednesday to watch on demand on statesboroherald.com at BoroLive.com.
    Joe Corless opened up the scoring with a 20-yard reception and closed things out with a 75-yard romp after another strike from Chance.
    Zack Grant rushed for a pair of touchdowns while Anthony Curtis ripped off an 81-yard scoring run on the longest play of the night. Midway through the third quarter, Elijah Cone found open space while Chance scrambled and made a sliding catch in the end zone for a 12-yard touchdown completion.
    “It’s great to have a lot of guys contributing,” SHS coach Steve Pennington said. “We know that we have talented players, but when you have a lot of guys playing well in the same game, it makes things very tough on the defense.”
    The Devils’ defense had no such problems stopping the Musketeers (0-2). Jacob Schofill set the tone by intercepting ARC quarterback Tony Daggett on the third play of the game. Back-to-back runs by Daggett well after the game had been put out of reach accounted for more than a third of the Musketeers’ 193 total yards of offense, but the Devils fired back with Chance’s long bomb to Corless to put a bow on the victory.
    Richmond’s best chance to get into the game occurred late in the second quarter.
    Statesboro had built a 14-0 lead, but Daggett engineered a 61-yard drive for the Musketeers. Travis Beatty (11 carries, 25 yards) plunged in from 3 yards out to cut the deficit to 14-6 with 1:36 to go in the half.
    Diquan Brunson returned the ensuing kickoff to the SHS 40, and a 52-yard strike from Chance to Grant set up Grant’s 1-yard touchdown run with 9 seconds to play before halftime.
    “That drive was big in this game, but it was big for this team in general,” Pennington said. “We need to know that we have the ability to get down the field and make things happen if we’re ever short on time. That drive was exactly what we want to be able to do.”
    Getting the ball back to begin the second half, the Devils didn’t ease up. Statesboro tore down the field before ARC forced a third-and-goal from the 12. The Musketeers pressured Chance, but the Devil quarterback kept the play alive long enough to find Cone in the end zone and Statesboro never looked back.
    The Devils hit the road for the first time this season next week as they travel to Reidsville to take on Tattnall County.

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