The Statesboro Blue Devil football team finished their non-region schedule with the record of three 3-0 which included a victory over Top-10 ranked Burke County.
Statesboro got a much-needed bye week this past Friday as a couple of key starters on offense should be back this week, including quarterback Beckham Jarrard. Coach Matt Dobson believes the Blue Devils had a productive extra week as they prepare for a matchup against No. 5 ranked Benedictine.
“We felt like we had a successful bye week and got some kids healed up,” Dobson said. “We got a jump on some Benedictine schemes as far as offense, defense and special teams. Our scout teams did a good job trying to simulate BC and getting three extra days to do that has been helpful.
The Blue Devils have been pretty balanced through their first games with solid contributions on offenses, defense and special teams.
“On defense we are making tackles for loss and wrapping up well,” Dobson said. “We have allowed a couple of big plays which we can’t do Friday but have been really solid so far. We need to create a few more turnovers and have dropped some interceptions we probably should have had.
"When we played ECI on offense we did a great job of cleaning up the turnovers but we have to try and get off to a faster start. That has been a big point of emphasis this week.”
This week, Statesboro will host No. 5 ranked Benedictine who come in after two impressive wins over Hebron Christian and, most recently, a 27-23 win over Class 7-A Camden County.
The Cadets are led by a few D-1 athletes including quarterback Omari Burse, receiver Eron Mallard who has committed to Purdue and running back Stanley Smart who has rushed for over 125 yards per game and is committed to Virginia Tech.
“They are well-coached and don’t make a lot of silly mistakes,” Dobson said. “They are pretty balanced on offense with a lot of weapons. Their quarterback has committed to UAB in baseball. They have a running back going to VA Tech and a receiver going to Purdue.
"If you let those guys get free in space, they can all break long touchdowns. Ther defense line is very physical and they are set up well to try and stop the run.”
Dobson believes to pull off the upset the Blue Devils will have to stay level headed and win the turnover battle.
“We are going to have to try and match their physicality and create some turnovers,” Dobson said. “They are a good team and they are going to make some plays. What we have to be able to do is not let it bother us. We have to be mentally strong and luckily, we have had to do that throughout the year.”
Statesboro and Benedictine are set for a 7:30 start Friday at Womack Field.
