By Donald Heath

Special for the Effingham Herald

SPRINGFIELD – Understandably, Effingham County’s football opponents spend time devising plans to slow down the Rebels passing attack.

But coordinators better not forget about running back Jmere Doe-Davis.

The sophomore did the bulk of the heavy lifting on Senior Night last Friday, carrying 24 times for 219 yards to lead a 28-6 victory over Statesboro at Rebel Field.

ECHS (6-4, 6-2 Region 1-5A) won for the sixth time in its last seven games and clinched the region’s No. 3 seed and a trip to play East Paulding in the upcoming state tournament.

The Rebels accomplished their latest win with highly regarded junior quarterback Tucker Perkins attempting only 13 passes.

“Coach (Matt) Dobson and his staff had a good plan and it made us be patient and disciplined and I was grateful our kids could do that,” ECHS coach John Ford said.

Ford said Statesboro used an extra safety to discourage a Rebel passing attack that has averaged more than 275 yards a game. Perkins has thrown for 2,606 yards and 32 TDs this season.

But Ford countered the strategy by beefing up the offensive line with a tight end and Doe-Davis had several runs untouched until he reached the secondary.

“My line opened up some great holes for me to run through. They do their job very well,” said Doe-Davis, who set up ECHS’ first score with a 21-yard run and aided in the third score with a 46-yard burst.

And Perkins, who completed 8-of-13 passes for 127 yards, made his passes count. He connected on 59-yard and 31-yard TD passes to Lamar Roberts in the second quarter and a 7-yard scoring strike to Q King in the third quarter.

Backup Te’Andre Watkins scored on a 3-yard TD run in the fourth quarter after Doe-Davis came out with a sore shoulder.

Statesboro (4-5, 3-4) was more competitive than the final score might suggest. The Blue Devils failed to score on three of their four possessions in the red zone, including a chance at the Rebels 1 when strong safety Damion Gordon recovered a fumble.

“It was a good handoff, but (the ball carrier) didn’t hold it tight and we just punched the ball out and I got it,” Gordon said.

The senior also stymied Statesboro’s opportunity to tie the score on the Blue Devils’ next possession. Keon Childers caught a 17-yard TD pass from Jarrard Beckham to make it 7-6, but Gordon blocked the extra-point kick.

ECHS matched the touchdown and raised it by an extra point just 26 seconds later when Perkins hooked up with Roberts for his second TD of the second quarter. Michael Deien’s extra-point kick made it 14-6 just 29.4 seconds before halftime.

Roberts finished with three catches for 96 yards and two TDs.

Perkins only threw two passes in the third quarter but one resulted in a 7-yard TD to King to extend the lead to 21-6.

The Blue Devils marched to ECHS’ 12 on their next possession, but Ryan Wells intercepted Beckham at the 4.

ECHS’ defense held Statesboro to just 69 yards in the second half.

The Rebels added their final score with 3:05 left after SHS failed to convert a fourth-and-16 pass from its own 20. Watkins, a starting linebacker and third-string running back, scored his first TD of the season five plays later.

ECHS will have a week off to prepare for the playoffs. There will be plenty to work on during the bye – dropped passes have been problematic the last two weeks and against Statesboro the team committed 12 penalties for 107 yards.

But there was also a lot of good to build on. 

“Overall, the offensive line did a good job, Jmere ran hard and Tucker did a good job managing the (run-pass options). It was a good win. The kids made plays,” Ford said. “Now we have to get healthy and clean up some things.”