Statesboro High, Portal Middle High, Southeast Bulloch, and Bulloch Academy are back in action this week for another round of football. We’re diving into some continued region play, while still trying to get our footing for the 2024 season.
Blue Devils look to bounce back
The Statesboro Blue Devils had a tough loss last week against the Greenbrier Wolves for their first region game of the season losing 43-14. In last week’s game, the Blue Devils struggled with ball security, having a lot of unforced errors offensively. Defensively, the Blue Devils couldn’t seem to stop the Wolves run game in the second half.
This Friday the Blue Devils are hosting the Glynn Academy Terrors at Womack Field for their second region matchup of the season. The Blue Devils are looking to bounce back from a rough loss and get back in the win column to tie their season wins and losses at 2-2. According to Head Coach Matt Dobson, his team had a very physical week of practice.
“We really challenged our guys to play with a physical mindset,” Dobson said. “We want them to expect to make plays and fly around with great physicality. Our guys had a really physical week of practice and we hope to replicate that on Friday night.”
Offensively the Blue Devils are looking to establish a rushing attack early in the game then take whatever the Terror defense gives them in stride. Coach Dobson feels as if his team is going to have to win some one on one match-ups on the perimeter for some explosive plays.
The Statesboro High Blue Devils will be having Military Appreciation Night in honor of fallen hero and former Blue Devil, Chester McBride, III.
McBride was born March 25, 1985 to Chester McBride Jr., and Annie L. McBride in Statesboro, Georgia. McBride received a Certificate of Graduation in Criminal Investigator Training Program CITP-218, he received an Associate in Applied Science Criminal Justice from Community College of the Air Force, and he also graduated from Valdosta State with a Masters of Public Administration.
SA (SSgt) Chester J. McBride, III, transitioned while serving our country in Bagram Airfield in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.
The Panthers look to find tighter focus
The Portal Panthers had an amazing, history-making 2023 season, but have struggled with consistency coming into this 2024 season. Right now the Panthers are 1-2, looking to tie up the win/loss column 2-2 in this week’s match-up against the Bryan County Redskins in Pembroke, GA.
According to head coach Jason McEachin, in last week’s loss the Panthers played hard, but didn’t do much else very well consistently. In order to win games, his team has to quit beating themselves by having to overcome penalties, missed assignments, turnovers and defensive discipline.
McEachin knows that the primary motivating factor for all athletes should be for them to compete to the best of their ability. He and his coaching staff have been constantly preaching that to his team.
“We are trying to keep them focused on being process-oriented rather than results-oriented,” said McEachin. “If we continue to go about the process the right way and play to the best of our ability, the results we want will eventually follow.”
Friday night, the Panthers are looking for consistent execution in all phases versus the Redskins. They want to pick up first downs on offense and be in the right spots on defense to slow down the Redskin run game.
The Yellow Jackets look to get back into win column
The Yellow Jackets have a strong team with a strong sense of pride. That was first shown in the first match-up of the season when the Yellow Jackets took down county rival the Statesboro Blue Devils, 23-18, for the first time in pre-season history. They were on a roll taking down Islands High in their following game in a dominant 42-7 fashion.
In last Friday’s match-up, the Yellow Jackets just didn’t seem to play up to their normal standard of execution in that first half according to head coach Jared Zito. Too many turnovers, penalties, and missed tackles led to an early deficit. In the second half the Yellow Jackets came out a little stronger competing and executing much better, but by then it was too late.
“We identified some fundamental issues and went back to emphasizing details,” Zito said. “It was a tough Monday film session, but we had a great week of practice and are ready to go for another region game Friday night.”
Coach Zito says he has a great group of guys on his team. They play hard, care about each other, and love to play old school physical football. His group has good experience and leadership, and the hope is they can showcase that again on Friday night against Johnson-Savannah at Fred-Shaver Field.
The Gators look to clean up offensive execution
The Bulloch Academy Gators are on a hot win streak ever since their first pre-season match-up against county foes, the Portal Panthers where the Gators won the tight match-up 19-18 in the final minute of the game. With last Friday’s 42-7 win against Robert Toombs Christian Academy, the Gators are 4-0 overall looking to get their fifth straight win against John Milledge in Milledgeville.
Even through the wet conditions of the field, overall the Gators executed well on offense. Head coach Aaron Phillips felt like there were a couple times where his team was a little sloppy, but overall his offensive line did well, the running back ran the ball hard and the Gators were able to sustain drives and score the ball.
John Milledge has a good program, holding the longest winning streak with 57 games. They’ve played for the state title the last seven years in a row and have won at least five of them. Even though this John Milledge team has the resume, Coach Phillips and his team are going to do what they know how to do.
“We have an identity and we want to run the football,” said Phillips. “We want to play action and we want to play good defense. I think if we execute offensively and tackle in space and continue to get better with our execution, I like our chances.”
All teams are set to kick off on Friday, September 13, at 7:30pm in their respective places. If you would like to tune in to any of the games, you can click on any of the links below!
