Ware County looks to build off its Region 1AAAAA opening win against Groves with this week’s date Friday night in Statesboro.
The Gators (2-2 overall, 1-0 region) ended a two-game slide with a 68-6 rout of overmatched Groves. The Blue Devils (3-1, 0-1), who are playing a fourth consecutive home game, are looking to rebound after falling 42-21 to fourth-ranked Benedictine after jumping out to a 14-7 lead in the first half.
“I’m really proud of our guys in how we played Friday,” said head coach Jason Strickland of the win over Groves. “We had a great week of practice and went out, played hard and did what we were supposed to do.”
The competition, however, rachets up with the trip to Statesboro. The meeting is the 22nd between the two programs. It’s the first time in the last five meetings the Gators have not been ranked.
Ware County has won the last eight meetings by an average score off 38-7 with a 59-7 road victory in 2022 and a 50-0 home decision in 2023 in the last two meetings.
Statesboro opened the season with a 44-7 win at county rival Southeast Bulloch (Class 4A) and followed with victories over lower classification ranked schools Burke County (Class 3A, 29-22) and ECI (Class A, 26-12) before the setback to the Cadets. “Statesboro has a really good football team,” Strickland said. “They (Blue Devils) are solid in all three phases of the game. Coach (Matt) Dobson has done a tremendous job of turning things around.
Dobson is in his fourth season with Statesboro coming off an 8-4 campaign in 2025. It was the most wins by three for the Blue Devils since the 2013 10-win campaign.
Junior Beckham Jarrard (6-foot, 180 lbs.) directs the Statesboro offense, which enters averaging 375 yards a game. He’s completed 29of-58 passes (50 percent) for 432 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions. Jarrard threw for 278 yards (14-of-33) and two touchdowns against Benedictine.
He is second on the team in rushing with 270 yards (7.3 per attempt) and two touchdowns. Jarrard garnered 153 yards on 13 rushes in the season-opening win against SEB. “He (Beckham) throws the ball well, has a quick release and does a good job in the option game,” said Strickland. “They (Blue Devils) have a good RPO game, utilize their tight ends and throw a ton of screen.
“They give you a lot to prepare for. They (coaches) do a good job of mixing their personnel with what they are doing and are very disciplined.”
Junior D.J. Brooks is the leading rusher totaling 408 yards (7.3 avg.) with seven touchdowns. Brooks has rushed for at least 77 yards in all four games with a season-high 156 yards on 20 carries against ECI.
Seniors Davis Harrison (6-1, 205) and Matthew White (6-1, 200) are the two leading receivers. Harrison has nine catches for 119 yards while White has eight catches for 118 yards. Both have a scoring reception.
Statesboro’s defense is a 3-4 alignment with the secondary playing quarters.
The Blue Devils have eight players with 11 or more tackles led by senior defensive back Caleb Scroggins (6-3, 165) teamhigh 22, five tackles for loss and two quarterback sacks.
Junior linebacker Lavon Jones (6-1, 210) and sophomore defensive back Izayah Perez are next with 16 stops. Perez has an interception and each has a tackle for a loss.
Junior Jammie Chavers and sophomore Adrian Brewton anchor the defensive front. Chavers has 12 tackles and two TFLs while Brewton has nine stops and four TFLs.
“They (coaches) do a good job of mixing up their fronts from odd to even,” said Strickland. “Their (Blue Devils) linebacker (Jones) looks the part you want at that position. He comes up and plugs holes.
“We just have to continue to get better every day at practice and carry that into each game. We’ve only had six practices with the 11 players we were looking at entering the season as starters.
“We are still a work in progress and still trying to find our identity. We’re getting better, but its been a slow process. We’re (coaches) still shuffling people around on the offensive line looking for the right mix. We’re just worrying about us and not who is standing on the other side of the field.”
Comments