In their last outing, the Statesboro Blue Devil football team proved they could win on the road. Friday at Lakeside they proved they could win on the road even after having a gut punch late in the game, as they beat the Panthers, 36-29, in a wild overtime affair.
“I am so proud of the way we just kept answering the bell tonight,” said Statesboro coach Matt Dobson. “Playing without our starting quarterback Beckham Jarrard, we had to have a lot of kids step up and they really did and I am so proud of them both on offense and defense. This was a total team win.”
The Blue Devils lost a game earlier this year in heartbreaking fashion to Veterans. After scoring with less than a minute to go, Statesboro allowed a 65-yard touchdown with about 35 seconds left and lost the game. Friday in Evans the Blue Devils got a Keon Childers touchdown with 47 seconds left in the game, only to see Lakeside march down and score the tying touchdown as time expired.
Rather than hang their heads, the Blue Devils came back in overtime to score on a three-yard touchdown run by Davis Harrison. Lakeside got to the one-yard line, but the Blue Devil defense stopped them twice in a row. A penalty backed Lakeside to the six-yard line and the defense held two more times to send Statesboro away with a 36-29 win, which improves their record to 4-2 overall and 3-1 in region play.
“The way the game ended could have really crushed our spirits,” Dobson said. “We had been through a similar situation at Veterans, but we never got down and came up with a big score in overtime. Credit our defense as well, as Lakeside was only one yard away from possibly tying us again, but we found a way to make a few plays to secure the win.”
Trailing 14-0, Statesboro got on the board on a 60-yard Keon Childers touchdown run. The two-point conversion was good and they trailed, 14-8. Rashad Chaver then gave Statesboro a 15-14 lead with a three-yard touchdown run.
Proving they could still throw the ball without starting quarterback Beckham Jarrad, who was out for the second straight game, Davis Harriosn hit tight end Xavier Spells for a 46-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 22-14.
“They were stacking the box and we had to find a way to make a play down the field,” Dobson said. “We ran a little trick play with a reverse pass from Davis to Xavier for a big score on third down. He did a great job of making the catch and breaking a tackle for the touchdown.”
Lakeside answered with a John Allen Willaimson touchdown and a two-point conversion to tie the game at 22-22.
The two teams then added a pair of scores in the last minute, and Statesboro put things away with a Harrison touchdown and a great defensive stand.
“Our kids have a strong belief system,” Dobson said. “This is the culmination of a couple of years work for many of these guys. We found a way to go 2-0 this week and now it’s time to put this one behind us and get ready for a very good Brunswick team next week.”
Next up Statesboro hosts Brunswick next Friday at 7:30 at Womack Field.
