Statesboro was able to cage the tigers last week in Tucker high School, but the Harris County Tigers just seemed to be too much for the Blue Devils to handle this go round. The Statesboro Blue Devils ended their season in a 42-7 loss to the Harris County Tigers.
Statesboro may have been defeated, but their season was outstanding, going 4-6 in the regular season, defeating Jenkins High School in a dominant 35-0 win and pulverizing Tucker County 49-27 for their first playoff win.
Statesboro is a big play type of team with sporadic bursts of energy. In a lot of moments tonight, Statesboro came close to some of those big plays, but just couldn’t seem to finish the drill. They missed some of those opportunities and Harris County was able to take advantage of some of the Blue Devils mistakes early on.
It seemed like Statesboro was going to finally catch a break after finally scoring their first touchdown in the fourth. The Blue Devils were able to better execute plays and have some more success throwing the football. Defensively, the Devils were able to create a few negative plays which brought pressure to the Tiger offense.
The Statesboro Blue Devils have had a remarkable season. They have only gotten better throughout the year fighting through adversity and earning every piece of success they were awarded.
Head Coach Matt Dobson had a lot of great things to say about his team and the impact they have had on him this season.
“This season has meant a lot to me,” Dobson said. “Our players are family to me and the relationships are what I will miss the most.”
His message to his boys at the end of the game is something they won’t forget. He wanted them to know how proud he was of them, that they were loved and although tonight was their last night together as the 2023 Statesboro Football team, the relationships they made would never end.
Led by a domineering group of seniors, the Statesboro Blue Devils were able to cultivate an electric team environment for the younger players to follow which will allow them to continue a great tradition for many seasons to come.
Harris County may have defeated them, but the Devils went out with a bang and also played with heart and dignity. That makes them STATESBORO STRONG.
