The Statesboro Blue Devils got their 2023 region schedule off on the right foot as they knocked off Greenbrier 10-3 last Friday night.

The Statesboro offense has been hit hard by injuries, but the defense has played pretty solidly. One player who stepped up Friday was senior defensive back Corey Budgett who scored the game’s only touchdown with a key 92-yard interception. Budgett has not played football in a few years and Statesboro coach Matt Dobson has been impressed with how quickly Budgett has caught on to what is expected from him.

“Corey is someone we have counted on and he really came through for us Friday,” Dobson said. “He is a good person and he has elite speed. He has shown he has natural ball skills and has taken quickly to helping us in the secondary. He had the play of the game Friday night with that touchdown. We have talked about ball chaos and creating takeaways and that is something we struggled with in our first five games. It’s huge to get a turnover, but to turn that into a touchdown is even more impressive.”      “During that interception I was reading the quarterback and saw him coming to my side,” Budgett said. “I just jumped the route and took off running. I saw the field in front of me was wide open and it was a great feeling to cross the goal line for the touchdown. I have really enjoyed playing football again and I think we have a good chance to win a few more games and go back to the state playoffs.”