By Donald Heath and Jeff Whitten
Special for the Effingham Herald
GUYTON – It’s been a rough opening month for South Effingham’s football team, but Mustangs head coach Loren Purvis continued to pitch a positive message after the squad’s third straight setback – 49-6 on the road to Lakeside Evans last Friday night.
“I think it’s easy to lose sight of the big picture,” said Purvis during a phone interview Monday. “We’ve lost three games, but we’re 0-1 in the region. We’re just one game into region play. We haven’t lost anything yet.”
But to be competitive with rival Effingham County this Friday in Springfield, South needs improvement in key areas. Purvis said missed tackles on defense and too many mistakes on offense have been problematic.
In three games, the Mustangs are minus seven in net turnovers.
South, which beat Lakeside 22-19 last season, fell behind 28-0 this time before Corbin McGuire scored on a short run in the first half.
The Panthers (4-0, 2-0 Region 1-5A) continued the onslaught in the second half.
“They’re much improved from last year,” Purvis said. “There are flashes when we look OK, but then we’ll follow it up with mistakes. We’re not built for third-and-long.”
The Mustangs produced 195 offensive yards. Quarterback J.T. Barkley completed 10-of-18 passes for 86 yards. Lawton Bowen had eight catches for 69 yards.
Junior running back Kadin Ward led the team in rushing with 57 yards on 11 carries.
SEHS’ first three opponents have a combined 10-3 record.
Now the Mustangs must turn their attention to Effingham County, which also started the season 0-3 before knocking off Bradwell Institute 35-14 last Friday.
ECHS has won four straight games in the annual series which started in 1996 – the year South Effingham came into existence after a split of Effingham County High School.
Last year, the Rebels won 42-7, but it was just 12-0 two minutes before halftime when ECHS struck for 16 points in a 36-second span to pull away.
“We’ll be facing another very good team in Effingham County, but maybe focusing on the rivalry will allow us to reset,” Purvis said. “You never know what can happen in a game like this.”
