The Statesboro Blue Devils had a shot at redemption as they traveled to Richmond Academy for the second time this year but once again the third quarter proved to be costly as they fell in the opening round of the state playoffs 49-34.
The Blue Devils squared off with Richmond Academy in the opening round of the state Class 5-A playoffs and through three quarters it was very similar to what happened last month in the regular season as a one score game quickly turned into a 21-point advantage by the end of the third. ARC turned a 13-7 halftime lead into 35-14 lead at the end of the third and went on win 49-34.
Statesboro went into the locker room down by only six but had a rough start to the third quarter which eventually did them in. On the first play from scrimmage fighting for extra yards quarterback Beckham Jarrard fumbled. Richmond Academy recovered and eventually scored. On the ensuing kickoff the Blue Devils fumbled again. ARC scored three plays later. Both teams added a touchdown, but the 21-point deficit proved to be too much despite Statesboro fighting back for a couple more scores in the fourth.
“The two turnovers there to open the third is just something you can’t do against a good team,” said coach Matt Dobson. “You look up at the scoreboard and you see we end up losing by two touchdowns. I thought we really battled and scored on almost every possession after those two fumbles, but you can’t do that against a good team.”
Statesboro finishes the season 7-4 and posted back-to-back winning seasons for the first time in over 10 years. Dobson credits this year’s seniors for helping to turn things around.
“These seniors who just played their last game mean so much to us.” Dobson said. “When I took over, they were freshmen and we’ve won a couple state playoff games and I think they’re leaving this place better than when they started here. We are now expecting to win games and a lot of that credit goes to them.”
The Statesboro defense played a great first quarter but ARC scored 49 points in the next three quarters helped by a short field a few times.
Statesboro actually scored first as they moved down field behind a few nice runs from Jarrard and D.J. Brooks with Brooks capping the drive early in the second on a one-yard run.
ARC responded with a 12-yard touchdown pass from Carson hand to Henry Rivers. They would add a Vincent Carter 30-yard touchdown run to take a 13 to 7 halftime lead.
After extending the lead to 28-7 after the two turnovers Statesboro would answer with a one-yard touchdown run by Davis Harrison by ARC added another Vincent Carter touchdown before the end of the third to go up 35 to 14.
Carter added another score but Statesboro answered first with an 8 yard touchdown run by Brooks a d then a 12-yard touchdown run by Jarrard. ARC added another Carter touchdown and Statesboro finished the scoring with a 51-yard touchdown pass from Jarrard to Matthew White and a two-point conversion from Gideon Fulcher to Peyton Brihm.
Despite losing some key seniors, the Blue Devils will be returning quite a few starters for next year.
“I’m excited about what the future holds,” Dobson said. “We have a lot of key starters coming back and are coming off a couple of strong seasons and are hoping to take that next step with some hard work next year.”
