RINCON — Goodwill and its clients will be the surefire winners of a contest between Effingham County and South Effingham high schools.

The ongoing Pass It On Challenge is a donation competition that will conclude Friday at noon. Supporters of both schools are encouraged to drop off gently used clothing items at their respective schools. The school that collects the most pounds of clothing will receive $1,000 from Goodwill.

Goodwill proposed the idea to school officials and they eagerly embraced it.

“All I’m doing is pushing it through the booster club to make sure that we win,” Schielke said with a laugh.

In addition to the Herald's website and print edition, the contest is being promoted at the schools and through social media, Schielke said.

“I believe that (Mustangs head coach Nathan) Clark tweeted something about it, too,” Schielke said.

The Mustangs are set to host the Rebels on Friday at 7:30 p.m. in the annual battle for the County Championship Trophy. The winner of the Pass It On Challenge will be announced at halftime of that game.

“It’s a great way for us to be able to take our competitive spirit of rival week, especially, and use it to give back to the community,” said Matt Huntley, Effingham County athletic director.

Schielke expects a tremendous crowd at the game. The Mustangs, fresh off a 29-26 overtime victory over Jenkins at The Corral, are 2-0 for the first time since 2015. 

“The last crowd was absolutely amazing,” he said. “It was the largest crowd I have seen in a long time.”

The Rebels are 1-1 after smacking Groves 54-0 in their last game. 

“It’s always good when Effingham comes to our house,” Schielke said.

 “We need all Rebel fans to clean out those closets this week and bring all their donations to ECHS,” Huntley said. “Goodwill has a trailer and a worker out there all week from 10 a.m.-6 p.m., so bring those items!”

Schielke and Huntley hope their schools win the Pass It On Challenge but they won’t be dismayed if they don’t.

“It’s a rivalry, yes, but the goal is to collect stuff for the people who really need it,” Schielke said.