CAIRO — The second-round defeat in the Class AAAA playoffs was a disappointment for the Cairo Syrupmakers. But don’t think coach Steven Devoursney was not pleased with the way his team performed under adverse conditions all season.

“I was proud of our kids, they fought to the end,” said Devoursney, whose team lost to Benedictine 45-23 on Dec. 4. “We were 0-4 and a lot of people didn’t give us a chance to make the playoffs. We kept our (home playoff) streak alive.”

The Syrupmakers finished 5-5 but all five losses were to teams that advanced to at least the quarterfinal rounds of their respective state playoffs. Fitzgerald, Brooks County, Bainbridge and Benedictine are playing in this weekend’s semifinal round.

Cairo finished second in Region 1-AAAA and hosted a playoff game for the 17^th straight season.

But Cairo now sets its sights on the 2021 season and must replace a talented and capable senior class that numbered 17. It was instrumental in helping the Syrupmakers navigate through an unpredictable year that included no spring practice, summer workouts under strict GHSA restrictions, self-quarantines and game cancellations.

“(Seniors like) Ricky Walker, Raylen Brown, Brandon Mcclendon, they bought in and never wavered no matter what was happening and kept the ship going through the bad and the good,” Devoursney said. “They’ll definitely be missed next year. We really appreciate all the things they did for our team.”

Cairo’s focus this offseason will be finding replacements for its skilled positions. The Syrupmakers lose three wide receivers and their starting running back Tay Solomon. They’ll need new starters to surround junior Kevin Speed coming off his first season at quarterback.

“I mean for a kid who never played quarterback in his life, who didn’t have an offseason, 7-on-7 and things like that, he did a great job,” Devoursney said. “Obviously, he probably wished he’d played better in some games and we do, too,” “But overall, everything he was asked to do, he did a great job.”

Cairo also must replace senior kicker Noah Jones, who committed to the University of Georgia.

“I don’t know if you ever replace him,” Devoursney said. “He was a great punter and kicker. He was a Division I kid, and those guys are about impossible to replace.”