By Jeff Whitten

Special to the Herald

SPRINGFIELD -- Greg Hood played offensive tackle for Effingham County from 1989 to 1992, four years before South Effingham opened its doors and the only two high schools in the county began competing on the playing field.

But to him, it’s a rivalry whenever the two programs meet. 

“It’s not hate,” he said Sept. 20 about an hour before the Mustangs and Rebels kicked off at Bob Griffith Stadium. “It’s more like a really strong dislike on Friday night, and then on Sunday morning we’ll all be back in church together.”

That should mean some crowded pews. In an era when empty seats in Savannah-area high school stadiums are commonplace, this game packs the house.  They arrive early, too.

The parking lot at ECHS was nearly full two hours before kickoff Friday, and among those getting there early were students belonging to the Rebel Rousers – their counterparts at SEHS are known as the Stang Gang. Some of the Rousers gathered at a tailgate hosted by Shaun and Amanda Swindle, whose sons Caleb and Hunter are ECHS students.

“We’ve brought 12 pizzas, 90 cupcakes and 180 fruit drinks,” Amanda said, noting there’s a different feeling in the air when the Rebels play the Mustangs.
“It is different when they play each other,” she said. “This is a true rivalry game.”

Yet this one might go beyond bragging rights. 

South Effingham principal Dr. Torian White, a member of the SEHS class of 1999 and the first in school history to become SEHS principal, ticked off a list of reasons the rivalry game stands out, from the current players on both teams who grew up competing together to his student days when the two schools shared the old Rebel Field after SEHS opened in 1996.

He also pointed to the bands’ tradition of performing together – White, after all, is a former Marching Mustangs drum major and calls himself the school’s biggest fan.

“To have been a part of this from the beginning and to see how far we’ve come, that is special to me” he said. “There have been a lot of changes at both schools, but we’re still one community.”

Effingham County Principal Greg Manior, a longtime teacher, coach, and administrator who starred as a running back at ECHS then went on to play at North Carolina State and for the NFL’s Washington Redskins (now Commanders), said the rivalry, while fierce, is also about family.

“I’ve got relatives on the other side,” he said. “There are a lot of people who have kinfolk on the other side, no matter which side, and no matter who wins, family is still family and friends are still friends.”

There was abundant evidence of that Friday night. Cheerleaders from both schools gathered together on the visiting sideline to take photos early in the first quarter, and band members gathered together to perform at halftime.  

South Effingham sophomore drum major Kaylee Risher said the week leading up to the Effingham County game, which includes practicing with members of the Rebel Regiment, game is “like it’s not real.

“This is the game of the season,” she said. “This the game you need to be at.”

Effingham County Assistant Band Director Neal Bright said the energy level for his students in the week leading up to the game is a lot higher than it normally is in, and South Effingham band director Sean McBride recounted shared performances with Effingham County. That tradition began when SEHS opened without its own football field, using the old Rebel Field across Highway 119, and then took place again after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

“And then 15 years ago we started doing this every year,” he said. “It’s always an important time for our kids. They’re always excited to perform in front of a crowd this size with their friends in the other band, and in front of their friends and families.”

Effingham County assistant principal Nate Hayes, Sr., who coached ECHS football and basketball for decades before getting into administration, called the rivalry “a good clean community event,” and one in which records don’t matter. “You can throw everything out the window with this one. I’ve been at all of them since they started, and there’ve been times when we should have won and they’ve beat us, and times they should have won and we beat them. You just never know.”

There were other takes on the game as well, from outgoing longtime Effingham Board of Education member Lamar Allen – who spent decades on the chain crew at Rebel games – declaring that he's "Effingham County all the way," and hopes the Rebels win, to former ECHS athletic director and coach Hal Jenkins noting that the attendance at the game will help pay for a lot of uniforms and the game is for the players. 

Effingham County Schools Superintendent Dr. Yancy Ford, an ECHS alumnus, had a rooting interest in seeing the Rebels win – his son Josh is a senior offensive lineman. But he lauded both programs and both high schools, and the atmosphere Friday night.

“This is just a great crowd on a great night for a high school football game,” he said. “It’s always special when these schools play each other.”