By Donald Heath
Special for the Effingham Herald
GUYTON – County football teams didn’t fare very well against teams from Evans on Monday night Oct. 14.
South Effingham had a tough time slowing down Evans’ multiple running backs during a 35-0 loss to the Knights at the Corral.
And Effingham County dropped a shootout to host Lakeside, Evans, 58-38.
The Monday night games were makeup games when the effects of Hurricane Heléne postponed the Sept. 27 schedule.
Both SEHS and ECHS return to regular Friday night action this week. The Mustangs will travel to Hinesville to play Bradwell Institute while the Rebels return to the Augusta area to play Greenbrier.
South (0-6) quickly fell behind against Evans, which scored on its first two possessions and led 14-0 about 10 minutes into the game.
The Knights (3-3) shuffled three running backs and three quarterbacks while piling up 252 yards of total offense, 235 on the ground. Five different players scored touchdowns.
SEHS’ offense totaled 85 yards and failed to score for the third straight game. The Mustangs’ deepest penetration was the Evans’ 36.
Early penalties were also problematic. South finished with 11 penalties for 63 yards. The Mustangs had four offsides penalties during Evans’ first two drives to keep the Knights in favorable downs and distance.
“We just have to play smarter,” SEHS coach Loren Purvis said after the game. “The first drive, you have to get off the field, but we couldn’t do anything defensively. Evans has a good team and their running backs can operate (running between the tackles).”
The Knights and Mustangs both featured running attacks, leading to a two hour, 18-minute game.
SEHS’ Corbin McGuire had a busy night playing quarterback, linebacker and punter. He ran 14 times for a team-high 34 yards, completed 1-of-4 passes for 19 yards and punted four times for a 34.5-yard average.
Scoring wasn’t a problem for Effingham County against Lakeside in a key Region 1-5A matchup. The Rebels entered with three straight region wins and Lakeside had four region wins along with a 6-0 record.
According to an account of the game from MaxPreps, ECHS stayed close in the see-saw affair until the Panthers broke a 38-38 deadlock with a 20-point run in the final seven minutes.
Lakeside scored on a touchdown run, then blocked a punt for a score about two minutes later. In the final minute, the Panthers added another touchdown to extend their margin of victory.
Rebels quarterback Tucker Perkins had a big game, throwing for five touchdowns – two to Jmere Doe-Davis, two to Q King and another to Ryan Wells.
The combined 96 points by Lakeside and ECHS were the most ever in a Rebel football game, according to the Georgia High School Football Historians website surpassing 91 – this year, New Hampstead’s 47-44 win and a 2018 Rebel 77-14 win against Groves.
