The second round of the state high school football playoffs is Friday and for the first time in many years, Bulloch County has three teams still alive.
Region champion Portal (8-3) will host Telfair County at 7:30 p.m. at the Portal Athletic Complex Friday night after defeating Turner County, 35-12, in the first round. Telfair is the second-seed out of Region 4. The Trojans defeated Randolph-Clay, 28-6, last week.
Undefeated Bulloch Academy (10-0) enjoyed a first-round bye and will play George Walton Academy out of Monroe in the second round at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Gator Alley. George Walton (7-4) defeated Westfield School, 42-7, in the first round last week.
After not scoring more than 25 points in any game during the season, Statesboro scored 35 in the final game of the regular season in shutting out Jenkins High and earning a playoff berth. Then, the underdog Blue Devils traveled to long-time Georgia powerhouse Tucker High and dominated the Tigers, 49-28, in the first round of the playoffs.
Friday night, Statesboro (4-7) heads to Harris County, where they will take on the top seed out of Region 3. The Tigers are 10-1 and routed Ola in the first round, 42-20.
Portal 35, Turner County 12
Last Friday night in Portal, the Panthers rode a strong first half and two fourth quarter scores to get their first state playoff win since 2006 with a 35-12 win over Turner County and advance to be one of the final 16 teams still playing.
"We're going to really enjoy this," said Portal head coach Jason McEachin. "Our program, we're super proud of it. Playoff wins, they don't matter if you're a one seed, two seed, three seed, it doesn't matter. If you get one, you should be proud of it."
Statesboro 49, Tucker 27
The Blue Devils managed to beat Jenkins 35-0 in their regular season finale to earn the No. 3 seed. Last Friday, they shocked the entire GHSA by knocking off perennial playoff contender No. 2 seed Tucker 49-27 for their first state playoff victory since 2013.
"I talked to our guys and nobody gave us a shot, and nobody expected us to win," said coach Matt Dobson. "We have said the outside noise doesn't matter. It is all about the guys in our coaching room and our locker room. We have just focused on ourselves and everything came together tonight.
"We have all had confidence that we have had the right plan," Dobson said. "Belief is a powerful thing. We have been dealing with injuries especially on the offensive line all year. I think the younger guys have finally started to feel confident about their roles and I really saw that the week in practice before the Jenkins game. We are excited to keep trying to prove everyone wrong as we head to Harris County next week."