STATESBORO -- Effingham County coach Buddy Holder suffered a season-opening loss Friday night, but he didn't sound defeated.

Holder's Rebels returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown and added an interception runback for a score to bolt to a 13-9 first-quarter lead in their Erk Russell Classic contest against Coffee at Paulson Stadium. The Trojans prevailed, however, reeling off 24 straight points in their 35-20 victory.

Coffee's comeback was fueled in part by a first-period safety and a 45-yard touchdown run up the middle a few minutes later.

"When you play good people, you can't mistakes," Holder said. "Our mistakes helped them build the momentum to be successful tonight. What we've got to do next week is cut down on the mistakes and be a better team next Friday night than we were this Friday night.

See the Aug. 23 edition of the Effingham Herald for more details.