The game was a little closer than head coach Matt Dobson would have liked, but the Statesboro Blue Devils were able to finish off the regular season with a 36-22 victory over Wayne County as they enter the state playoffs with a 7-3.
“We didn’t play great especially on defense,” Dobson said. “We were efficient on offense and managed to come away with a win. There are some things to clean up but we are excited to be preparing for the post season.”
Wayne County had struggled this year but managed 387 yards of offense against the Blue Devil defense. The Statesboro offense did a good job of balancing the pass and the run as they ended up with 277 yards on the ground and 202 yards through the air for a total of 479 yards.
“I thought we had a good mix of run and pass and felt like we could do what we wanted to do with the exception of our one turnover,” Dobson said. “We pass protected well and our receivers caught the ball and had a couple explosive plays while running the ball well.”
After struggling to get over a 500 record for 11 years, the Blue Devils have now posted back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 2013.
“We have taken pride in trying to get this program back to where it was and we are moving in the right direction,” Dobson said. “We will find out who we play in the next few days but it is exciting to be playing meaningful football in November.”
Statesboro drove the ball inside the 10-yard line on their initial possession but fumbled and Wayne Co. took over at the eight-yard line. The defense held and on the very next offensive possession Gideon Fulcher in at quarterback went 77-yards for a touchdown and a 7-0 SHS lead.
In the second quarter Beckham Jarrard capped a drive with a one-yard plunge. Davis Harrison then hit Matthew White for a two-point conversion and a 15-0 lead. Just before the half Yellow Jacket quarterback A.J. Bennett ran one in from seven yards away. They added a two-point conversion to cut the lead to 15-8 at the half.
Statesboro started to pull away in the second half. Jarrard added an 18-yard run, D.J. Brooks scored from nine-yards out and Matthew White caught a three-yard touchdown from Jarrard to go up 36-15. Wayne added a late score to cap things off.
Statesboro came into Friday’s game ranked No. 19 in the latest 5-A Power Poll. The win over Wayne should probably leave the Blue Devils about where they are which would put them on the road to play against a team ranked 13 or 14 in the polls. We will have the matchup at statesboroherald.com when it is released.
