The Statesboro Blue Devils had an outside shot at making the postseason but it all started with beating Lakeside. The Panthers came in 8-1 and in second place in the region. Friday the Blue Devils got a chance to see why they’ve impressed so many other teams as the Panthers knocked off Statesboro 31-8 ending the Blue Devils season.

“Credit to Lakeside they are the second seed in the region for a reason,” said Statesboro coach Matt Dobson. “They executed and made plays throughout the game and we didn’t make them.” 

Statesboro struggled to move the ball, while the Panthers found success on the ground. After holding the Panthers on their opening drive, Lakeside quarterback Ty Jones hit Mikeal Grisson down the sidelines for a 38-yard pass to the Statesboro 10-yard line. A few plays later, Mikeal’s brother Brandon Grissom went in for a two-yard score for a 7-0 lead.

The Statesboro offensive line had done a pretty good job protecting quarterback Beckham Jarrard, but Friday he was pressured the entire game and was sacked five times. The Panthers added a short touchdown run by Jack Thexton and a 27-yard field goal by William Brandenberg for a 17-0 halftime lead.

Lakeside added a touchdown pass from Jones to Josh Young to go up 24-0 and the Panther defense scored as Jarrard was hit from behind in his own end zone and Brady Croft picked up the loose ball and scored to make it 31-0.

Statesboro finally broke into the scoring column in the fourth as Jarrard hit Davis Harrison on a three-yard touchdown pass. Chop Heath added a two-point conversion run for the final points of the game.

Statesboro ends the season with a record of 4-6 overall and 3-5 in region play, but Dobson feels the future is bright and has taken some solace in seeing how Lakeside went from 3-7 and 1-5 a year ago to 9-1 this year.

“I was proud of our team for fighting throughout the year,” Dobson said. “I felt aside from the Brunswick game we were in every ballgame which was better than last year. You look at Lakeside and they had over 30 seniors and we only had 15 and a few of those were out for the season. We have a lot of young talent and I love the direction of our football program.”