The cross-county football rivalry between Effingham County and South Effingham is one of the most heated in the state of Georgia and is guaranteed to draw a full house every year.
Football fans from throughout the county were on hand to pack Effingham County’s Bob Griffith Stadium to see one of the most memorable matchups between the teams in recent years.
Effingham County rallied to edge a game South Effingham squad and come away with a hard-fought 21-18 Region 1-6A victory.
The Rebels improved to 5-2 overall and remain atop the region with a 4-0 mark. South Effingham fell to 6-2 overall and 2-2 in region play. Effingham won for the seventh straight time in the series and leads the overall series 21-12.
South Effingham entered the game as underdogs with one point spread having the Rebels favored by 28 points, but the Mustangs came to play and battled all night long.
South Effingham took the lead early on a 20-yard scoring strike from Liam Coburn to Jackson McClure and converted a two-point conversion when Kiran Boggess connected with George Bushatz. Ethan Webb’s 23-yard field goal put South Effingham up 11-0 with 3:27 left in the first half.
That seemed to light a fire with the Rebels as senior Kris Swinney took the ensuing kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown. The Mustangs led 11-7 at the half.
In the second half, Effingham’s sophomore Matt Dillon showed the skill set that has earned him the reputation as one of the top young quarterbacks in the state. Dillon had just four yards passing in the first half, but went to work after intermission by completing 15 of his 18 second half throws.
He finished the game 20 of 25 through the air for 178 yards and ran for a career high 64 yards on eight carries.
Effingham County coach John Ford said his sophomore quarterback plays like a senior veteran and pointed out a key completion to Parker Nelson for 16 yards on a 4th and 2 at the Mustang 37 early in the third quarter. The play was a difference maker in 66-yard scoring drive capped by Jordan Mydell’s 21-yard touchdown run.
“I trusted Matthew on that 4th and 2 pass to Parker because I knew Matthew would make the right decision,” Ford said. “I knew he wasn’t going to take a chance and throw up something stupid. He hit Parker with a perfectly thrown ball and for a sophomore quarterback to do that – it’s shows a lot about his composure and his level of preparation. We call him Matty Ice, because he’s as cool as the other side of the pillow.”
The Rebels overcame 155 yard in penalties on 15 flags with the strong second half performance.
Trayvis Hunter had six receptions for 54 yards and Isaiah Brown caught five passes for 66 yards. Mydell ran for 72 yards on 16 carries and Jmere Doe_Davis had 45 yards on seven carries.
South Effingham’s workhorse back, Khyran White, responded with a 56-yard touchdown run after Mydell scored and the Mustang senior led his team with 95 yards on 15 carries.
South Effingham coach Loren Purvis was disappointed in the outcome, but proud of the way his team showed up on the road in an emotional rivalry game.
“Nobody picked us to win, everyone was predicting it would be a blowout and people in this area weren’t giving much respect to South,” Purvis said. “But our guys fought like hell for the entire night – I think we deserve all the respect for the way we played tonight.”
Dennis Knight covers sports for the Savannah Morning News. Contact him at Dknight@savannahnow.com. Twitter: @DennisKnightSMN
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Effingham County football edges South Effingham in rivalry game