Statesboro High recently held a ceremony for their Hall of Fame class of 2024. 

The class included Monette Bennett who was a basketball standout and graduated in 2008. Jamie Childs-Purdy excelled in basketball, softball, track and cross country, graduating in 1996. Andrew Middleton graduated in 1992 and played six sports while at Statesboro High including basketball, soccer, cross country, track, tennis, and football. Charlie Jackson came to Statesboro High from William James in 1971 and graduated in 1972. He excelled in football and was named captain in his first year at Statesboro High. 

Robert Hodges, an honorary incuctee played football, basketball, and was a track athlete at Statesboro High from 1934-1938. He also came back to help coach football basketball and track.

Monnette Bennett: SHS Class of 2008

Between 2004 and 2008, Monnette “Mo” Bennett was a member of the Statesboro High School Lady Devils basketball team.  As a four-year letter recipient, she excelled on the court, and as a senior received many accolades.  She was the second ranked overall player in the southeast, the ninth ranked guard in the country, and the twenty ninth ranked overall player in the country. While at SHS, she also excelled on the softball diamond and on the track.

An athletic scholarship to Georgia Tech enabled Mo to continue her basketball career from 2008 until 2012.  Her collegiate accomplishments include lettering for four years, being the co-captain for the 2012 team, leading the team to the best record in school history (26 wins; 9 losses), and helping the team earn their first trip to the ACC Championship game as well as their first appearance in the NCAA Sweet Sixteen.

Following Mo’s graduation from Georgia Tech, she played for the Women’s Universal Basketball Association (2012-2015) and then for the All Navy Women’s Basketball team after joining the U.S. Coast Guard (2015-2019.) During this time, she also played for the All Armed Forces USA team.

Charlie Jackson: SHS Class of 1972

Charlie Jackson attended William James High School until he transferred to Statesboro High School in 1971 for his senior year.  Despite only being a member of the Blue Devils football team for a short period of time, he was selected as team captain.  Charlie was a linebacker on defense and a running back on offense.  His 14 touchdowns helped the team end the season with a 9-1 record. 

After graduating from high school, Charlie received a scholarship to play football at Savannah State.   He was recognized as an All-Conference linebacker by the SIAC for both his junior and senior years.

 Andrew Middleton: SHS Class of 1992

Andrew was a student athlete at Statesboro High School from 1988 until 1992.  During this time, he participated in six sports – basketball, soccer, cross country, track, tennis, and football.  Because of his commitment to excellence in these sports, he earned letters in five of them.  In addition, he received the Scholar Athlete Award (highest GPA) for every sport he played his senior year.

Andrew earned a variety of accolades as an athlete.  He qualified for state every year he ran cross country and was selected as the MVP for three of these years.  He qualified for the state track meet in the 2 mile and was the Special Teams Player of the Week for his outstanding performance as the place kicker against Effingham County in 1991. He was the starting goalie for the soccer team during his freshman year and was the #1 singles player for the tennis team during his junior year.

Andrew also excelled academically.  He graduated fourth in his class with a 3.96 GPA, received the second highest SAT score in his class (1440-800 on math portion), was a member of the National Honor Society, was on the honor roll every semester, and was voted Most Intelligent by his peers. 

Jamie Childs Purdy: SHS Class of 1996

Jamie was an outstanding athlete at Statesboro High School from 1992 until 1996. She played softball and basketball and ran track and cross country.  Statistics show how outstanding she was on the basketball court.  As a junior, she led her team to a 21-10 record and helped the team earn a sub-region championship and a region runner up trophy.  She compiled 125 assists during this memorable season.  As a senior, she led the team in steals with 35 and was known for her amazing defensive play on the court.

After graduating from Statesboro High School, Jamie attended Piedmont College where she earned 4 letters in basketball and two letters in softball.  Because of her athletic success at Piedmont, she was honored as an inductee into the Piedmont Athletic Hall of Fame in 2000.  She earned her undergraduate degree in psychology from Piedmont College and a masters’ degree in kinesiology with an emphasis in sports psychology from Georgia Southern University.

Jamie served as the head coach for Middle Georgia College for two seasons.  She inherited this junior college program with no players returning for her first season. She then returned to Piedmont, as the head coach of the Women’s Basketball team where she has established herself as one of the most successful coaches in the South at the Division III level with a record of 347 wins and 161 losses (.683 winning percentage). Her overall record, including the two years at Middle Georgia College, is 378 wins and 182 losses (.675%). Her teams have played six times in the NCAA tournament and earned seven tournament and regular season championships.  During her 19-year tenure at Piedmont University, she has nine 20-win seasons.

Robert Hodges: Honorary

Robert was an excellent football, basketball, and track athlete at Statesboro High School from 1934-1938.  After graduating from high school, he attended the University of Georgia and then enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served in World War II.

This same type of dedication was later seen when Coach Hodges returned to Statesboro High School in 1967 as a math teacher and assistant football, basketball, and track coach. 

He impacted hundreds of student athletes before retiring from SHS in 1976.  His commitment to these athletes and to the Statesboro High School athletic program for nine years has earned him a place in the Statesboro Athletic Hall of Fame as an honorary member.