It’s a game that’s been circled on the schedule by football fans of both teams since last year — and tonight cross-county rivals South Effingham and Effingham County will renew their acquaintance with local bragging rights on the line at an event expected to draw a huge crowd.
This is a week where all the time-worn cliches apply. You can throw out the records and pretty much expect the unexpected with emotions running high on the outcome of a game set to kickoff at 7:30 p.m. at South Effingham.
Last season was a breakthrough year for South Effingham, which shocked many with its run to the Elite Eight in the GHSA Class AAAA playoffs. The Mustangs finished 8-5, but one of those losses was a 36-22 setback against Effingham County in Week 3.
The Mustangs are off to a great start this year with close wins over Bluffton (S.C.) and Jenkins in the first two weeks.
Effingham had a rough go of it in its first game, a 41-7 loss to Benedictine, but the Rebels (1-1) bounced back last week with a come-from-behind win over Screven County.
“This is our rivalry game, so it’s always going to be big for us,” said first-year Effingham coach Buddy Holder, who picked up his first career win against Screven County. “But we’re trying to look at it as our biggest game this week. There is a lot of interest in the community with this game. We’re just trying to let the kids know that the only distractions out there are the ones we allow.”
Junior quarterback Kemuan Tillman played well in the win over Screven County, engineering a trio of fourth-quarter touchdown drives to lead the comeback. Tillman scored from three yards out, then hit athletic receiver Tyjon Williams for a two-point conversion to close within 16-14. After Screven scored, Tillman hooked up with Williams on a 63-yard scoring pass. Running back Nieem Bartley scored the final touchdown from five yards out in the 27-23 victory.
“Tillman made some great decisions and receivers like (Tyjon) Williams and Zach Snow made some great catches and extended plays,” Holder said. “We told the guys to keep playing physical and the breaks finally started going our way. If we take what we did in that fourth quarter and put it together for 48 minutes, we have a chance to be good.”
Holder said standout linebacker Dalton Mydell, a senior, sat out the Screven game with an injury. But freshman Charles Daughtry filled in admirably. Mydell is expected back tonight.
“South Effingham is very well-coached and they know how to win the close games after the playoff run they had last year,” Holder said. “We’re going to have to limit our mistakes to beat a quality team like that.”
South Effingham (2-0) is coming off a 25-21 win over Jenkins in which the Mustangs made a goal-line stand in the final seconds to preserve the victory.
Junior linebacker Corey Horne was named the defensive player of the game for the Mustangs after recording 16 tackles. Quarterback Tyler Pullum had 139 yards passing and 50 yards rushing in the win, and sophomore running back Patrick Brown added 80 rushing yards and a score.
“It was a nail-biter until the last tick of the clock,” South Effingham coach Donnie Revell said. “Now we’ve got one of the best rivalry games around. This one means so much to the kids, and it’s a huge game for us.”
Revell is pleased with the play of Pullum but not surprised as the sophomore got some experience last year filling in when senior Brandon James was hurt.
The Mustangs are going with more of a spread look offensively, and Pullum has adapted well to coordinator Brad Thompson’s new offense.
“Tyler is always in my office looking at game film,” Revell said. “He’s a student of the game and he seems really comfortable out there.”
While Horne stood out statistically with his effort defensively in the win over Jenkins, Revell said it was a team effort with everyone chipping in.
Revell is expecting a battle tonight. Although the Rebels won last year, the Mustangs have won four of the last six meetings and seven of the last 12.
“Coach Holder has a great staff over there and I’m sure they will be well prepared for us,” Revell said. “But I’ve got a lot of confidence in my staff and our team. I think this is going to be another close one. It’s going to come down to who can capitalize on the other team’s mistakes.”
Dennis Knight covers high schools for the Savannah Morning News. Contact him at 912-652-0329 or dennis.knight@savannahnow.com.