The Long County Blue Tide football team welcomed fans to Veterans Stadium on Friday, Aug. 11 for their second scrimmage game of the season. They took on the 6A Statesboro Blue Devils in a big test for head coach Mike Pfiester’s third-year squad.

The Blue Devils took less than three minutes with a quick-hitting passing attack to get down the field. Quarterback Bruce Yawn found four-star receiver Kam Mikell in the endzone from 32 yards out to put the team up 7-0.

The Blue Tide wasted little time answering the call as senior preseason all-state running back Ahmari Douglas took an inside handoff 61 yards on the second play of the drive to make the 7-6 in 33 seconds.

Long County’s defense came up with a big stop on the next series as they forced a punt after a three and out. The punt bounced and rolled backwards before coming to a stop at midfield.

Led by new quarterback Jashaun Manghane, the Tide drove down the field before eventually facing a fourth and 4 from the Blue Devils 32-yard line. Manghane dropped back and found Keshawn Smith in the endzone from 32 yards out for the touchdown, giving the Tide a 14-7 lead with under four minutes left in the first.

The Blue Devils scored twice in the second quarter, the first on a Yawn 6-yard run after multiple penalties against the Tide defense. The second came with three minutes left in the half as the Devils picked up 60 yards on a screen before plunging in from 8 yards out to take a 21-14 lead into the half.

The second half was all second string and junior varsity players as neither team scored in the third. The fourth quarter featured both freshman teams and a big play for the Tide to open the quarter.

Quarterback Anthony Armond called his own number on an outside sweep and ran 65 yards for the touchdown. The game came to an end with both teams’ young squads making plays and getting some gametime experience.

The Blue Tide will strap on the pads for real Friday, Aug. 18 as they host the Toombs County Bulldogs in their regular season opener. The Tide will be looking to avenge last year’s 21-0 loss to the Bulldogs that included three turnovers in the first five minutes for the Tide.

Friday’s game will kick off at 7:30 p.m. at Veterans Stadium in Ludowici.