When Matt Dobson took over the reigns as Statesboro High’s head football coach, his goal was to get the Blue Devils back to their glory days.

In 2025, Dobson led Statesboro to an 8-4 record and the second round of the state playoffs, marking the program's second playoff appearance in his first three seasons. Those eight wins were the team's highest total since 2013.

"I feel like there are added expectations after having the kind of season we did last year,” Dobson said. “The expectations have unfortunately been pretty low here for a while. I have told our coaches we want high expectations here, and now we have them, and I feel like that is what we all want, to meet and exceed expectations.”

A promising offense

Statesboro’s offense was able to put up 30 points per game last year and could be even better this season.

The Blue Devils lose running back Keon Childers, who had 28 touchdowns, but return six starters from last year, including most of the offensive line. They also return quarterback Beckham Jarrard, who threw for 1,200 yards and rushed for another 450, and tight end Davis Harrison.

“Beckham seems to have taken another step forward at quarterback,” Dobson said. “He has also built chemistry with the new receivers and has taken a much more vocal role in our offense.”

Key additions include Southeast Bulloch transfer D.J. Brooks at running back, Lakeside transfer Matthew White at receiver, Portal transfer Gideon Fulcher at receiver and quarterback, and Kevin Sello, who moves from defensive back to slot receiver.

“We had three guys that started on the offensive line last year back and two other guys who played quite a bit in Payton Brihm, Chandler Tyson and Jeremiah Kegler,” Dobson said. “They will be a key strength for us, as well as our skill positions.

“We are deep at receiver and have a couple of solid running backs … in D.J. and Jamon Chavers,” he said. “I loved what I saw from D.J. Brooks in seven-on-seven, as he can catch the ball out of the backfield and make people miss, as well as run them over with his power at 6 feet tall and over 200 pounds.

“We haven’t had the kind of weapon Matthew White is at 6-0 and almost 200 pounds, and Gideon Fulcher is another big, strong kid who can also play quarterback. Then there is Todd Easter, who can go up high in traffic and pull a ball down,” Dobson said.

Rebuilding the defense

Defensively is where the Blue Devils were hit hardest by graduation, returning only two starters from a squad that gave up over 25 points per game last year.

“I have liked the progress I have seen from our defense from our spring game to our most recent padded camp at Richmond Hill,” Dobson said. “They did a lot better job at fitting the run and playing well in the box. We have a lot of guys that played on the freshman team that are stepping into varsity roles now, and there is a learning curve, but their effort is there.

“On the defensive line, J.R. Palmer has looked good at nose guard, and Jakobe Walker has had a great summer at defensive end,” he said. “Lavon Jones is one of our returning starters at linebacker, and we will be counting on him to be our quarterback of the defense.

“In the secondary, our two seniors with playing experience are Caleb Scroggins and Daelyn White Jr., and they are playing really well.”

New region, playoff format

This year brings a new region and new playoff format for Statesboro. Power polls will decide playoff seeding and who advances to state. The Blue Devils’ region includes a few teams that have a long history of success, including Benedictine, Ware County and Jenkins. But playing tougher teams is actually a positive, because it should help the Blue Devils’ power poll numbers, even in a loss.

“There are a lot of things more out of our control, like our opponents’ success, which will affect us,” Dobson said. “The benefit is we play tough teams in our region and in our non-region schedule, as well.

“The biggest change is that the non-region games we play will count,” he said. “An August game against Southeast Bulloch counts as much as a November 6 game against Wayne County. We have to be ready to play August 21 because that game counts as much towards playoff eligibility as the ones at the end of the season.”

After opening the season at Southeast Bulloch, Statesboro will host non-region games at home against ECI and Burke County before starting region play Sept. 18 at Womack Field against Benedictine.

2026 Statesboro High football schedule

Aug. 21 at Southeast Bulloch

Aug. 28 Burke County

Sept. 4 Emanuel County Institute

Sept. 18 Benedictine

Sept. 25 Ware County

Oct. 2 at Groves

Oct. 9 at Richmond Academy

Oct. 23 at Evans

Oct. 30 at Jenkins

Nov. 6 Wayne County