Statesboro Blue Devils
Jason Bishop Show April 9 2026
The Finish Line
By: Jason Bishop
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
We have made our way to the final week of the high school football season. For some there are still a lot of undecided seedings and playoff berths to be determined in this final week and for others the season will close on Halloween Night.
The Brunswick High Pirates will be moving onto the playoffs, just what seed still needs to be determined. The Pirates are 7-2 overall and 6-1 in region play.
Brunswick will host the South Effingham Mustangs this week at Glynn County Stadium. The Mustangs were eliminated from the playoffs last week after they went down to
The Statesboro Blue Devils last week 27-17.
For South Effingham it is a chance to finish at .500 and for Brunswick there is still potential to claim a region title and a #1 seed for the GHSA playoffs.
The Pirates need to beat South Effingham and a little help from the Effingham Rebels, who play Statesboro at Womack Field in Statesboro.
If Effingham can knock off the Blue Devils coupled with a Pirates win, the Rebels would claim a #2 seed and the Pirates would claim the Region Title. Otherwise, BHS would be #2 seed and Effingham would be the #3 seed with Statesboro as your Region Champ.
If BHS were to lose to South Effingham and Effingham wins, the Rebels would be your Region Champs.
The Frederica Knights went 7-3 in the regular season and 3-0 in the region.
The Knights downed the St. Andrews Lions last week 49-16 to finish the regular season.
Frederica will receive a 1st round bye in the GISA playoffs but will have to begin on the road taking on the Valwood Valiants in Valdosta.
Valwood earned a #4 seed and Frederica was the #5 seed.
The Knights fell to Valwood earlier in the season 33-14 at home on St. Simons Island.
The Glynn Academy Red Terrors are currently 5-4 and 4-3 in region play.
The Red Terrors fell to Effingham last week 45-42 in a game that the Terrors made a frantic comeback almost pulling off a miracle. Glynn trailed 45-20 heading into the 4th quarter and scored 21 unanswered points to close the game and simply ran out of time to finish the comeback.
The Terrors will close the season against the Greenbriar Wolfpack. Win or lose Glynn will be in the playoffs as the #4 seed from Region 1-5A. Greenbriar is 2-7.
The MCA Buccaneers are 5-4 and 4-3 in region play. The Bucs took care of business last week beating the Savannah Blue Jackets 35-20 last week.
Currently the Bucs are sitting as the #3 seed in Region 3-A D2. MCA will take on the Portal Panthers needing a win to maintain playoff hopes.
A Buccaneer win coupled with a loss for either Bryan County or Jenkins County would punch a playoff ticket for McIntosh County. If MCA and Jenkins County win and Bryan County loses the Bucs would be a #4 seed. If MCA and Bryan County win and Jenkins County loses then MCA would be a #3 seed.
Bryan County plays Metter at Metter and Jenkins County goes to Savannah.
If all three lose then it would create a four-way tie breaker between MCA, Jenkins county Metter and Bryan County for the #3 and #4 seeds. If all three win then it would be a three-way tie breaker for the #3 and #4 seeds.
The Camden County Wildcats are 5-4 on the season and 0-4 Region 1-6A.
The Wildcats had their playoff hopes ended last week at the hands of the Colquitt County Packers, losing 45-28.
Camden started the season undefeated at 5-0 but have since gone winless in region play.
The Wildcats will play the Tift County Blue Devils looking to finish above .500 at 6-4. Tift is also winless in the region at 0-4 and is 3-6 overall. They will play the game in Tifton.
Brunswick High Pirates Coach’s Show w Garrett Grady October 15 2025
Bedeviled
By: Jason Bishop
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Week nine of the high school football season was full of unexpected outcomes and the playoff picture beginning to solidify.
The Brunswick High Pirates looked as if they may coast to another region title in region 1-5A. However, the Statesboro Blue Devils had other plans hosting the Pirates at home at Womack Field.
BHS entered the game at 6-1 and they were undefeated in the region. The Pirates’ lone loss came way back in week 1 to the Camden County Wildcats. Statesboro entered the game tied for second place in the region with their lone region loss to Glynn Academy and 4-2 overall.
The Blue Devils got up early 14-0. Brunswick battled back in the second half and held a 21-20 late. However, the Blue Devils took a 26-21 lead and sealed the game with a late safety for the 28-21 final.
The win for Statesboro gives them an inside track for their first region title since 2005; they won the state title that year.
There is no better rivalry in GISA than Frederica Academy and Bulloch Academy. The Knights and Gators renewed their rivalry with Bulloch Academy a significant favorite to win the game. That did not matter to the Knights.
In this rivalry you can throw all records and stats out the window and Frederica showed us why.
The Knights Head Coach Brandon Derrick was fresh off his 100th career win the week before against the Robert Toombs Christian Academy Crusaders.
The underdog Knights beat Bulloch handily 35-20 in the ‘Bloody Marsh’ on St. Simons.
With the win Frederica improved to 5-3 on the season and 1-0 in region play. It also makes them the favorite to win their win, which comprises of Frederica, Bulloch, Pinewood and St. Andrews.
For Bulloch Academy it was their second loss of the season and made them 6-2 overall.
The MCA Buccaneers came into their game against the Bryan County Redskins having lost four of their last five games and needing a win just to stay in the playoff picture.
The Bucs lone two wins coming into the game were against the Islands and Claxton, not exactly state title contenders.
MCA had lost a heartbreaker to Jenkins County the week before 7-0 in a region tilt. Against Bryan County they turned the tables, this time winning the game 7-0.
The loss for Bryan County more than likely eliminated them from being able to make the playoffs.
The win kept slim hopes alive for MCA in Region 3-A Division 2 as far as making the playoffs. The Bucs have games against Metter, Savannah and Portal remaining. More than likely, The Bucs must win out to get into the playoffs.
Down in Kingsland the Camden County Wildcats continued to struggle in region play. The Cats hosted the Lowndes County Vikings at Chris Gilman Stadium and were downed by the undefeated Vikings, 35-14.
Lowndes has a pretty firm grasp on winning Region 1-6A. Their final two games are both on the road with Richmond Hill and then against rival Valdosta.
Meanwhile for Camden, not making the playoffs is beginning to look like the reality. The Wildcats are 5-3 and 0-3 in the region. The Cats started 5-0 but have now lost three straight, all region games. Those losses include Valdosta, Richmond Hill and Lowndes.
Camden has Colquitt and Tift left on the schedule.
Historically, two region wins will get you in the playoffs in this region. That would not be the case for Camden. The Wildcats need to win out and have Colquitt drop their last game to Richmond Hill for a #4 seed.
Brunswick High Pirates Coach’s Show w Garrett Grady October 9 2025
Grading The Boro
By: Colin Lacy
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Now that we are at the halfway point of the regular season (some slightly passed the halfway point, it’s time that we get a progress report on the Bulloch County football teams for the 2025 season.
Southeast Bulloch (3-3; 3-2 Region 3-3A) | Grade: B-
This grade would have been very different this time last week. The Southeast Bulloch offense took a step back this past Friday after falling to Liberty County 10-7 on the road in Hinesville.
The Yellow Jackets defense held their own as they have all season long. However, the Jackets offense struggled to get anything going. Southeast Bulloch is hoping the offensive woes (including two fumbles) were an anomaly, because the Jacket offense has been good this year at times.
Led by Colby Smith and Jayden Murphy at running back, Southeast Bulloch has used the ground game to dominate wins over Islands, Windsor Forest, and Johnson.
The only blemish in region play entering the Liberty County contest was a fantastic high school football game but ended in a Calvary win 28-24.
The Jackets opened the year falling to cross-county rival, Statesboro, but has grown exponentially since that weather-altered matchup.
While the defense has been knocking on the door of the “A” territory, the offensive struggles against Liberty County knock the grade down slightly, but the potential for this team is unmistakably there in Brooklet.
Statesboro (3-2; 2-1 Region 1-5A) | Grade: B+
Statesboro has been a little of Jekyll and Hyde this season with most of the time seeing vast improvements under third year head coach Matt Dobson.
Sophomore quarterback Beckham Jarrard has dazzled through four games played including a performance against Greenbrier that saw the young signal-caller throw for 156 yards and a score while also leading the team with 134 yards rushing as well.
The Blue Devils were thrown a curveball when Jarrard missed the Statesboro matchup with Bradwell Institute with injury.
The offense picked up the slack with Keon Childers (leads the team with nearly 600 rushing yards (587) and 10 touchdowns who converted from wide receiver to running back this offseason.
The Devils hope to get Beckham Jarrard back in the next few weeks after a coincidentally well-timed bye week this past weekend and the next match-up coming against a winless Lakeside team next week.
After tough losses to Veterans in week 2 and against Glynn Academy, Statesboro responded nicely with the win over Bradwell leading into the bye week and has momentum going down the back stretch.
Bulloch Academy (5-1; 0-0 Region) | Grade: A
Bulloch Academy…ahem…pardon me, that’s “2024 State Champion” Bulloch Academy has picked up where they left off in a championship claiming 2024 season.
Even through their first loss in two years, BA bounced back with convincing wins on the road against Strong Rock last week then at Tattnall Square Academy 52-13 in the most recent victory.
Danye Garvin (RB) and Sam Hubbard (QB) have led this team to a 5-1 record. There have been a couple of blemishes with some penalty issues, but playmakers have overcome that with names like Braylon Cone anchoring the D-Line with at 6’2” 294lbs. Look for BA to make some noise when postseason play rolls around.
Portal (2-4; 1-3) | Grade: C-
It’s been a tough go of it for the Portal Panthers this year but look to have some momentum after a big overtime win this week against Savannah 21-14 to cap off homecoming.
The Panthers, however, have had some impactful players emerge with three running backs with at least 250 yards rushing and combining for 12 touchdowns on the season as Zeke Percell leads the way with over 350 yards rushing and 7 touchdowns along with Jason Crawford and KJ Hunter adding quality depth.
The Panthers now head into a bye week and look to build off the homecoming win to make a playoff push in the final four contests.
While there have been some speedbumps for all four teams, there is also a real possibility that all four Bulloch County teams head into the postseason and keep the trend on the upward trajectory for all four programs.
Battle Of The Boro
By: Colin Lacy
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The 2025 High School Football season kicks off with a bang across Bulloch County.
Not only does Bulloch Academy and Portal High clash in the Erk Russell Classic on August 16th, but the night before what’s been tabbed as the “Battle of Bulloch” gets the 6th all-time meeting between the Southeast Bulloch Yellow Jackets and the Statesboro Blue Devils.
This is a series history that’s an interesting one in the sense of two schools separated by only eight miles, but the two have only faced each other five times previously and all coming since 2004.
The Jackets and Blue Devils clashed back-to-back years in 2004 and 2005 that saw SHS (who was ranked #2 in the state both years) dominate to a combined score of 57-0 over Southeast Bulloch.
The two wouldn’t meet again for 17 years when SEB’s Jared Zito and Statesboro’s Jeff Kaiser pitted the foes together in 2022.
The two programs have played each of the past four years now (including the 2025 matchup) since 2022 with the first two of the renewed rivalry coming as part of the Erk Russell Classic at Allen E. Paulson Stadium on campus at Georgia Southern.
Both of the matchups at the “Prettiest Little Stadium in America” went the way of the Blue Devils but in vastly different ways.
2022 was ALL SHS in every sense. The final score ended 55-14 and Statesboro dominated from the word go. The 2023 rendition was a much tighter affair Statesboro still pulled out the victory at Paulson, but it took a defensive stand by Statesboro on an eight-minute drive for SEB to secure the 12-7 win for the Blue Devils.
In 2024, Statesboro and SEB decided to move away from the Erk Russell Classic to have the series back to campus sites.
It started last year at Fred Shaver Field in Brooklet to open the 2024 season. After a Chris Jones scoop and score two plays into the game to give the Jackets a 7-0 lead in front of a capacity crowd in Brooklet, SEB would mount a 23-6 lead after rushing scores by Colby Smith and Jayden Murphy.
Statesboro battled back to cut it to 23-18 after a Ty Chambers rushing score. Three first downs later, Southeast Bulloch secured the first win in the series by a final of 23-18.
Despite the discrepancy in level that the programs play at (SEB a 3A program, SHS a 5A), both coaches have been adamite that this series is important to not only the teams, but the community.
Going into last season, Coach Zito from SEB talked in the preseason about needing to “make this series a rivalry, but we have to win to do that.” After the win for the Jackets, it feels like SEB has done just that.
While I love the Erk Russell Classic and the impact it has, I love that this series is back on campus sites. Last season at Fred Shaver Field was one of the most electric atmospheres I’ve seen in that stadium in the 5 years I’ve been calling games for the Jackets (rivaled only by maybe the home playoff game in 2021).
This season, I can only expect the same fantastic atmosphere at historic Womack Field in mid-August.
This rivalry doesn’t have the number of games, but the last two seasons have been incredible matchups, and with the programs both having skyrocketing trajectories it adds another layer.
Both of these programs are led by incredible coaches that are elevating the young men on and off the field.
When the lights get flicked on, and boot meets ball in the Boro, the Battle of Bulloch clashes again in what had built to a fantastic rivalry in Southeast Georgia.
Making The Grade?
By: Colin Lacy
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Hard to believe already but the regular season for high school football in Georgia is at the halfway point of the year.
Today we’ll take a look at the report card for the four Bulloch County high school football teams; Southeast Bulloch, Statesboro, Bulloch Academy, and Portal.
Southeast Bulloch (4-1; 3-1 Reg3-3A) | A-
Southeast Bulloch has been off to a great start to the season with the only blemish on the card being the road loss at Calvary Day School.
The Jackets offense has been steadily growing despite a couple of injuries and culminated three 100 yard rushing performances so far.
Jacket Country saw Jayden Murphy rush for 160 yards and two scores against the Atom Smashers and Colby Smith following up with 130 yards and a score in the contest against Johnson. Smith followed the Johnson game up with 124 rushing yards against Windsor Forest last weekend.
Sophomore Quarterback Rhett Morgan is growing up before Head Coach Jared Zito’s eyes with two passing scores on the year and 5 explosive plays the past two weeks thru the air.
The Jackets defense led by Senior Kyle O’Brien, and Sophomore Brant Horst at the linebacker spots have held their own only allowing just over 100 rushing yards per game on the year and forcing 12 turnovers in the first five games.
Statesboro (2-3; 1-2 Reg1-5A) | C+
Second year Head Coach Matt Dobson has had a tough go at through the first half of the year.
After falling to cross town rival SEB in the opener, the Blue Devils picked up their first victory against Veterans 21-10 in week 2.
SHS then dropped their first two region matchups against Greenbrier and Glynn Academy but picked up their first region win against Bradwell Institute last week 41-36.
Quarterback Beckham Jarrard has taken the boro by storm in his freshman season already with over 800 passing yards and completing 62% of his passes with Keon Childers the favorite target racking up 298 receiving yards and two scores.
Statesboro has a tough road ahead down the back stretch but look to build off an impressive game against Bradwell Institute.
Bulloch Academy (6-0) | A+
The Gators have come out hot as ever in 2024 ranking #1 in the GIAA rankings after the 6-0 start.
Head Coach Aaron Phillips builds off the state semifinal appearance last season with a march to continue the winning ways in 2024.
Shamar Jenkins has been a huge boost for the Gators on the offensive side both at running back and receiver while the BA Defense has been the huge linchpin for the Gators success.
BA looks poised to enter region play then take a march deep into the GIAA state playoffs that culminate at the end of November at Allen E. Paulson Stadium for the GIAA State Championships.
Portal (2-3; 1-2 Reg 3-1Ad2) | C
The Portal Panthers continue to find the new identity after losing a number of players from a year ago to graduation and are now playing on Saturdays.
A couple of those that have stepped up is senior running back Jaylon Strickland and Brian McQueen.
Strickland recorded his first 100+ rushing yard game in the victory over Byran County last week and has racked up 360 on the year with 2 scores.
McQueen who has made the shift from quarterback to receiver is accountable for five touchdowns on the year (2 rushing, 2 receiving, 1 passing).
Portal seems to be rounding into shape and looking to get back to the success they’ve shown in the past few years.
Jason Bishop Show w Kipp Branch July 14
Jason Bishop Show w Kipp Branch April 21
