By Donald Heath
Special for the Effingham Herald
SPRINGFIELD – Effingham County’s football practice had a slight distraction the afternoon of Oct. 3.
Highly regarded University of Colorado star wide receiver/defensive back Travis Hunter attracted several photo seekers while talking to his brother Trayvis, a wide receiver for the Rebels, during a break in workouts.
After the last week, Rebels coach John Ford wasn’t complaining. The effects of Hurricane Heléne kept area schools and their football teams in a state of distraction, discomfort, and uncertainty.
“No one knew the storm was going to be as bad as it was,” Ford said. “Friday morning (hours after Heléne swept through the area), we knew the game (with Lakeside) wasn’t going to happen but maybe we could squeeze it in Monday.
“But as the week went on and the extent of the devastation in Augusta and lack of power and the devastation here were understood, you realized we wouldn’t be playing any time soon.”
Last week, the Region 1-5A athletic directors formed a plan to make up for missed games.
For ECHS, the game with Evans, originally scheduled for Oct. 11, will be played tonight (Oct. 9) at 7. The Lakeside game, originally scheduled for Sept. 27, will be played Monday (Oct. 14) at 6:30 pm.
The game with Greenbrier remained on Friday, Oct. 18, at 7:30 pm, so the Rebels will be traveling to the Augusta area for all three football games in a span of nine days.
ECHS was preparing for a clash with undefeated Lakeside before it was rudely interrupted by Helene, which struck the area during the early hours of Friday.
Ford said the football team held a light practice on Thursday in anticipation the Lakeside game might be played. After the hurricane came through, there was still thought the Rebels might be playing Monday and the team held a light practice on Sunday.
Four days later, ECHS will have minimal time to prepare for a different opponent with a different offense and different defense, Evans.
“You try to do as much as possible from a coaching standpoint and get the game plan streamlined to the kids and put your kids in the best positions to execute the game plan,” Ford said. “Schematically, it’s a lot different but you tell the kids to focus and the team that makes the fewest mistakes will win.”
Ford said the long bus rides returning from Augusta will be a concern on school nights, however, many players have weightlifting for first period so they might be excused to get some extra rest.
Having sufficient time to heal nagging injuries will be another big concern.
“You try to be practical,” Ford said. “Practices won’t be as physical. We will be a lot like some of the professional teams that have to play on short weeks. There will be a lot of mental work, a lot of walk throughs.”
ECHS originally had a bye week scheduled for Oct. 4, but that will move to Nov. 8, potentially giving the Rebels extra time for rest or practice before the state playoffs.
