Monday afternoon, Statesboro High School took the first steps to rebounding from a tough 20-7 loss to rivals Burke County in the Erk Russell Classic, Saturday.
    The Blue Devils weren’t able to overcome a 14-0 halftime deficit as SHS suffered its second consecutive loss to the Bears.
    Despite the loss, Blue Devils’ head coach Steve Pennington seemed upbeat before Monday’s practice. He said there were plenty of positive things the team did well on Saturday.
    Statesboro High School will have an extra week to make adjustments and tweak the starting lineup. The Blue Devils (0-1) will have an “off” week this week, then face Wayne County Sept. 4. Pennington said the first two games of the regular season would be a great evaluation tool for his team before the start of the region schedule, Sept. 18.
    Here are a few takeaways coach Pennington had from Saturday’s game against Burke County:

    CONS
1. Too many mistakes
    The Blue Devils have a younger squad with less varsity experience this year than in years prior, Pennington said.
    On offense, the Blue Devils’ head coach said his team had too many mental errors. On Saturday SHS had eight penalties for 40 yards.
    “From an offensive standpoint, mentally we made too many mental mistakes. We didn’t get set or we didn’t get on the line, but these things can be corrected,” Pennington said. “We learned in this process and right now it’s tough enough to get 10 yards in three plays. We chased the chains too much the other night. Too many first-and-15 and second-and-12.”
    Tupac Lanier had a big reception in the first half that was negated by a block-in-the-back penalty. Pennington said if the team can limit its mental mistakes, they can improve greatly.

2. Better protection
    Pennington said he feels confident that his team can move the ball through the air, however, the offensive line still needs work before that can happen.
    The Bears 3-5 defense gave the Blue Devils trouble early, recording several tackles behind the line of scrimmage. The Bears also held SHS to under 50 yards of rushing at halftime.
    “We feel we can move the ball through the air, but we have to buy a little more time. Burke did a great job of hurting us using inside stunts,” Pennington said. “We just have to do a better job. They exposed some weaknesses and we can improve.”
         PROS
1. Defense didn’t break
    Burke County knocked on the endzone’s proverbial door several times throughout Saturday’s game, and twice on fourth down the Blue Devils’ defense stepped up and shut them out.
    Despite having a youthful defense, the Blue Devils kept the score close. Pennington said last year his team was unable to get off the field on third downs. This year, Pennington said his defense plays with passion, which should bode well for Statesboro as the season progresses.
    “The very first third down they had was 3-and-8 and they converted. But that was just a case of inexperience. After that third down conversion, even though they scored three touchdowns, we stopped Burke five times inside the redzone,” Pennington said. “We certainly didn’t stop them from scoring, or moving the ball, but we did restrain them from just totally taking control of the ball game.”

  2. Confidence high
    With the defense coming up with big stops and the offense playing well at times, despite mental mistakes, coach Pennington said his team will build on the positives from Saturday’s loss to Burke County.
    Running back Mahlon Williams broke the 100-yard mark in his first game of the regular season. In the third quarter trailing 20-0, Williams broke the the middle from the Blue Devils’ own 16-yard-line and ran it into the endzone.
    “We ran the ball well at times. But that’s key. We have to run the ball more consistently,” Pennington said. “What we will hopefully do is build off of this momentum. Other than the mental mistakes it was a clean football game. That’s a positive we can take away.”

Horace Holloman may be reached at (912) 489-9408.