By Donald Heath
Special for the Effingham Herald
Effingham County began its three-game football road trip in the Augusta area with a 35-7 victory over Evans on Oct. 9.
Still ahead for the Rebels, an Oct. 14 clash with Lakeside followed by Friday’s meeting at Greenbrier.
“It’s going to be a quick turnaround,” said ECHS coach John Ford about the matchup with the undefeated 6-0 Panthers, who have been a surprise team in Region 1-5A after winning just three games a year ago.
The Rebels (3-3, 3-1 Region 1-5A) have been the region’s turnaround team after losing their first three games of the season.
They won their third straight game by bottling up Evans’ offense which didn’t score until the final minute.
ECHS started slowly offensively, but showcased its big-play capabilities during the final three quarters. Junior quarterback Tucker Perkins threw three touchdown passes – a 40-yarder and a 15-yarder to Trayvis Hunter in the second quarter and a 30-yarder to Lamar Roberts at the start of the fourth quarter.
In the third quarter, sophomore running back Jmere Doe-Davis scored on a 49-yard run and Ryan Wells returned an interception 40 yards for another score.
Perkins finished with 15-of-24 completions for 203 yards. Hunter had four catches for 59 yards, Wells three catches for 55 yards and Roberts four catches for 46 yards.
Doe-Davis was the Rebels’ leading rusher with 69 yards on nine carries.
“Our defense played really well. The offense had to knock some rust off before getting going,” said Ford, who liked his squad’s business trip-like approach after going about 19 days without a game because of the effects of Hurricane Helene.
“(Evans has) athletes over there so you’re always worried about coming off a weird schedule and all the variables that brings.”
Evans, a state playoff team a year ago, made some plays early. The Knights (2-3, 0-3) intercepted a pass to thwart a Rebel drive, then missed a field-goal try in the scoreless first quarter, but ECHS took over the rest of the way.
The Rebel win sets the stage for a showdown with Lakeside, a 28-14 winner over Greenbrier on Oct. 10. ECHS has won three straight games by a combined score of 117-21.
Lakeside stunned Glynn Academy 28-14 on Sept. 21.
Beating the Panthers would move the Rebels into second place in the region with four regular-season games to play.
“(Lakeside) has an impressive collection of athletes when you watch them on tape,” Ford said. “They’re wide open on offense and their quarterback (Ty Jones – 524 passing yards, 540 rushing yards) is hard to get on the ground.”
