WAYCROSS - After falling behind by two goals in the first half, Statesboro High School rallied for two goals in the second half before sophomore Jorge Rodriguez’s eventual game winner in overtime completed the comeback to give the Blue Devils a 3-2 win over Ware County Friday night.

“Overtime soccer, especially in GHSA, is all about grit,” SHS Head Coach Jared Simonin said following the win. “There was no change in what we needed to do (in overtime) and Jorge Rodriguez getting that third goal for the game winner is just awesome because he’s worked so hard all season. He deserves that.

Trailing 2-0 at halftime, the Blue Devils (4-3-1, 3-1)came out in the second half and were able to control much of the game. Six minutes into the second half, Keith Howard’s corner kick found Tupper Saussy 10 yards out and he was able to head the ball past the Ware County (1-7-2, 0-4) goalkeeper to cut the lead to 2-1.

With about 11:30 remaining in regulation, following a scrum in the box, the ball came out to Landing Gage about 25 yards out in the middle of the field. Rather than shoot, he lifted a pass to the far post where Luke Waters was able to run onto the ball and knock it in to tie the score.

Statesboro has a quick turnaround as they travel to face Greenbrier Monday with kickoff set for 7 p.m.