The Class AAAA state football playoffs begin with a long road trip for the Statesboro Blue Devils as they travel to Forsyth tonight to take on Mary Persons in a first round matchup.
    Statesboro (8-2) won eight of its first nine games and spent the first two and a half months of the season ranked in the top-10, but slipped up in its sub-region schedule and finished with a No. 3 seed in the state tournament. Because of their seed, the Devils travel to Mary Persons (8-2) which notched a No. 2 seed after a strong showing during its Region 2-AAAA schedule.
    The Blue Devils are making their 14th consecutive appearance in the state playoffs, but while everyone on the roster has some postseason experience, approaching the do-or-die games of the postseason is always a tall order.
    “It’s a different kind of challenge each year,” said SHS coach Steve Pennington. “Seasoned and veteran teams have to go into the playoffs without being overconfident. Our team this year started out as a young team. We’ve played 10 games, but going into the playoffs will kind of take us back to that young team going into something new. The challenge now is to believe in ourselves and remain focused on our goals.”
    Tonight, the Devils will face a Bulldogs squad that – despite missing the playoffs in 2008 and 2009 – is a perennial power and that is quite comfortable in a big postseason setting.
    Mary Persons opened the season with a heartbreaking 24-23 loss at Jackson and were defeated by Region 2-AAAA champion Westside, Macon, but finished strong with four consecutive wins to earn the right to host a first round game.
    “I say this for a lot of the good teams we play, but it holds especially true for Mary Persons,” said Pennington. “We are going up there not just to play a very good team, but to take on a traditionally great program. Those guys expect to win and accomplish big things every year. The good news for us is that we do, too.”
    In order to pull off the road win, the Devils’ defense will have to put forth another solid effort.
    Statesboro has held opponents to 10 points or less six times this season and forced an impressive seven turnovers in last week’s region play-in victory over Cross Creek.
    Tonight, the Devils’ biggest priority will be stopping the big play.
    Bulldogs quarterback Jordan Banks has attempted 104 passes this season and has five different receivers averaging over 12 yards per catch.
    Mary Persons is just as effective on the ground as Nick Davis has 1,084 rushing yards and nine touchdowns along with Dee High and Josh Mays who have rushed for over 300 yards each.
    “There are a lot of people and formations that (Mary Persons) can use to hurt you,” said Pennington. “That makes executing on defense even more important. We can’t key on one guy with a few defenders. If we don’t do our jobs and any of their guys get loose, it’s going to be trouble.”
    Statesboro has plenty of its own offensive weapons, but senior running back Quan Daniels highlights the Devils’ powerful wishbone running attack.
    Daniels has been just as prolific in terms of yards gained on the ground (1,015) and has put even more points on the board, visiting the end zone 18 times so far this year.
    Daniels is also out to get a bit of redemption as a nagging ankle injury slowed him down during the Devils’ first round loss in last year’s state playoffs.
    If Daniels, Sherrodric Rawls and the rest of the SHS running game can set the tone, Colin Chance can deliver a knockout punch as the Devils’ play-action passing game has been a huge addition to the offense this season.
    The numbers seem to cancel each other out for both sides in nearly every aspect of the game, meaning that this opening round matchup might come down to an old cliché.
    Both of these schools have been here before and expect nothing but great things year in and year out. In a matchup that might be more befitting of a quarterfinal or semifinal game, whichever of these perennial powers wants it more and executes better is likely to keep its season alive for at least one more week.

    Mike Anthony may be reached at (912) 489-9404.