STATESBORO — Bradwell Institute came close to breaking a long losing streak but, somehow, Friday night’s loss seemed nearly fated.Ten years ago, kicker Josh Rich nailed a 29-yard field goal to give the Statesboro Blue Devils a state championship with a 13-10 win over Northside Warner Robins.Friday night at Womack Field, with Rich and the rest of the 2005 state champion Devils looking on from the sidelines, the stage was set for Ryan Miller to give Blue Devils fans a case of deja vu as Statesboro took on the Tigers.After missing a 35-yard field goal with 5.3 seconds left in regulation, Miller stepped on the field again for a 45-yard field goal attempt in overtime. This time, his kick sailed through the uprights, defeating Bradwell 13-10 and sending the crowd into a frenzy on homecoming night.“I was just going out there trying to be cool, calm and collected and it went right down the pike,” Miller said after the game.It was a fitting homecoming matchup between the Blue Devils (2-5, 2-3 Region 3-AAAAA) and Tigers (0-7, 0-5).Tigers’ head coach Greg Hill, who was an assistant coach with the Statesboro 2005 AAAA state championship team, returned to Womack Field to take on his former squad.The 2005 state championship Blue Devils were honored at halftime for the 10-year anniversary of the team’s undefeated title run.“Hats off to Greg Hill and his team,” Statesboro head coach Steve Pennington said. “Both of our programs are struggling right now, and in all honesty, we matched up well against them.
Fate seems to have doomed Bradwell
Blue Devils top Tigers 13-10