It was a night of payback for Effingham County High School Friday as Toot Johnson rushed for 169 yards with three touchdowns to lead the Rebels past the South Effingham Mustangs 34-7.

The Rebels, who were on the losing side of the scoreboard last season 17-14, earned their first win of the year (1-2) with the victory over the Mustangs (0-3) in the annual cross-county showdown.

Johnson led a potent Rebels’ rushing attack as he amassed his gaudy stats while only carrying the ball 17 times. Effingham County totaled 243 yards on the ground and added 110 yards through the air.

The Rebels got on the board early in the opening quarter as Johnson ended a solid Effingham drive with a one-yard plunge into the end zone. Mackenzie Stewart’s uncharacteristically missed the extra point but the Rebels led 6-0.

After an unsuccessful drive by South Effingham, the Rebels took control of the ball again and quickly capitalized.

Effingham County quarterback, Jerid Stokes, connected with Demario Gant on a strike down the field and Gant found pay dirt 55 yards later. Stewart’s kick was good and the Rebels increased their lead to 13-0.

Both schools traded scoreless drives until the second quarter.

Johnson took a handoff from Stokes and raced around the left side, juking Mustang defenders and streaking into the end zone for a 65-yard touchdown. Stewart’s kick was good and the Rebels were rolling 20-0.

Coming out of halftime, neither the Mustangs nor Rebels could find much success on offense and traded punts.

With little time remaining in the fourth quarter, the Mustangs attempted a comeback. As the Rebels were backed up near their own end zone, a Mustang defender rushed the punter and got a hand on the punt attempt, blocking the ball up in the air before it came down into the waiting arms of Makenzy Newbill for a South Effingham touchdown.

Andrew Garner added the extra point and the Mustangs cut the deficit to 20-7.

The comeback attempt was short-lived as the Rebels answered with a touchdown of their own.

Once again, it was Johnson adding the points to the Rebels’ side of the scoreboard as he found the end zone for the third time with a seven-yard touchdown. Stewart’s kick was good and the Rebels increased their lead to 27-7.

With little time remaining, the Rebels added the final touchdown of the game.

Senior running back, Dameon Roper, scored a 34-yard touchdown to cap off the night for the Rebels. Stewart’s kick was good and the final score stood at 34-7. Roper finished the game with four carries for 48 yards and the touchdown.

Stokes finished the 2-7 for 99 yards and one touchdown – Gant added one completion on one attempt for 11 yards. For the Mustangs, Anthony Beck finished 4-17 for 96 yards while Joshua Hagan went  1-1 for 23 yards and Timothy Signal finished 2-2 for 15 yards.

Leading the Mustangs in rushing was Orlando Jones with 13 carries for 52 yards. Along with Jones, Jared Wells rushed four times for 13 yards and Darius Goldwire rushed three times for three yards.

Gant led all receivers in the game with one catch for 66 yards. Samari Westbrook had the other catch for Effingham County for 44 yards while T.J. Williams (one catch for 65 yards), Brian Meyer (two catches for 29 yards) and Jamar Washington (one catch for 23 yards) caught passes for South Effingham.

After the two teams shook hands and serenaded their respective fans with their alma mater, the trophy was presented to head coach Buddy Holder and the Rebels at midfield.

After the conclusion of the trophy presentation, Holder addressed how his team performed.

“We played hard,” Holder said. “The defense bent but didn’t break tonight – they played hard and we’re proud of them.”

The Rebels limited the Mustangs to just 199 total yards (134 passing, 65 rushing) and forced two fumbles. Andrew Delapenia and Demonte Lee each had a fumble recovery.

While the Rebels came away with an impressive victory, the result was far from perfect. Effingham committed 11 penalties (South Effingham committed four) and had a lapse on special teams that led to the Mustangs’ touchdown.

“Special teams had a snafu on the punt,” Holder said. “Even with the victory, there are always things we need to work on. We’ll look at the film, decide what those things are and get after it.”

The Mustangs played hard throughout the game but mistakes and turnovers hurt them and helped attribute to the outcome.

“They’re well-coached and have good athletes,” South Effingham head coach Don Revell said. “You can’t make mistakes against a good football team.”

The Rebels were unable to sustain long scoring drives but the big plays by Johnson, Gant and Roper made up for it.

“When you have players that are able to make those big plays and they execute them, it helps when things don’t go quite as well as you want them to,” Holder said. “We kind of shot ourselves in the foot early in drive with some issues. The mistakes we were making are things we can control – they’re all things we can fix.”

Holder continued and explained that the Rebels will set their sights on their next opponent this week.

“We’ll celebrate this win and get ready for Statesboro,” Holder said. “Go Rebels.”

Effingham will go on the road to take on the Statesboro Blue Devils on Friday while the South Effingham Mustangs will look to earn their first win of the season when they host West Laurens. Both games will kick off at 7:30 p.m.

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It was a night of payback for Effingham County High School Friday as Toot Johnson rushed for 169 yards with three touchdowns to lead the Rebels past the South Effingham Mustangs 34-7.The Rebels, who were on the losing side of the scoreboard last season 17-14, earned their first win of the year (1-2) with the victory over the Mustangs (0-3) in the annual cross-county showdown.Johnson led a potent Rebels’ rushing attack as he amassed his gaudy stats while only carrying the ball 17 times. Effingham County totaled 243 yards on the ground and added 110 yards through the air.The Rebels got on the board early in the opening quarter as Johnson ended a solid Effingham drive with a one-yard plunge into the end zone. Mackenzie Stewart’s uncharacteristically missed the extra point but the Rebels led 6-0.After an unsuccessful drive by South Effingham, the Rebels took control of the ball again and quickly capitalized.Effingham County quarterback, Jerid Stokes, connected with Demario Gant on a strike down the field and Gant found pay dirt 55 yards later. Stewart’s kick was good and the Rebels increased their lead to 13-0.Both schools traded scoreless drives until the second quarter.Johnson took a handoff from Stokes and raced around the left side, juking Mustang defenders and streaking into the end zone for a 65-yard touchdown. Stewart’s kick was good and the Rebels were rolling 20-0.Coming out of halftime, neither the Mustangs nor Rebels could find much success on offense and traded punts.With little time remaining in the fourth quarter, the Mustangs attempted a comeback. As the Rebels were backed up near their own end zone, a Mustang defender rushed the punter and got a hand on the punt attempt, blocking the ball up in the air before it came down into the waiting arms of Makenzy Newbill for a South Effingham touchdown. Andrew Garner added the extra point and the Mustangs cut the deficit to 20-7.The comeback attempt was short-lived as the Rebels answered with a touchdown of their own.Once again, it was Johnson adding the points to the Rebels’ side of the scoreboard as he found the end zone for the third time with a seven-yard touchdown. Stewart’s kick was good and the Rebels increased their lead to 27-7.With little time remaining, the Rebels added the final touchdown of the game.Senior running back, Dameon Roper, scored a 34-yard touchdown to cap off the night for the Rebels. Stewart’s kick was good and the final score stood at 34-7. Roper finished the game with four carries for 48 yards and the touchdown.Stokes finished the 2-7 for 99 yards and one touchdown – Gant added one completion on one attempt for 11 yards. For the Mustangs, Anthony Beck finished 4-17 for 96 yards while Joshua Hagan went  1-1 for 23 yards and Timothy Signal finished 2-2 for 15 yards.Leading the Mustangs in rushing was Orlando Jones with 13 carries for 52 yards. Along with Jones, Jared Wells rushed four times for 13 yards and Darius Goldwire rushed three times for three yards.Gant led all receivers in the game with one catch for 66 yards. Samari Westbrook had the other catch for Effingham County for 44 yards while T.J. Williams (one catch for 65 yards), Brian Meyer (two catches for 29 yards) and Jamar Washington (one catch for 23 yards) caught passes for South Effingham.After the two teams shook hands and serenaded their respective fans with their alma mater, the trophy was presented to head coach Buddy Holder and the Rebels at midfield.After the conclusion of the trophy presentation, Holder addressed how his team performed.“We played hard,” Holder said. “The defense bent but didn’t break tonight – they played hard and we’re proud of them.”The Rebels limited the Mustangs to just 199 total yards (134 passing, 65 rushing) and forced two fumbles. Andrew Delapenia and Demonte Lee each had a fumble recovery. While the Rebels came away with an impressive victory, the result was far from perfect. Effingham committed 11 penalties (South Effingham committed four) and had a lapse on special teams that led to the Mustangs’ touchdown.“Special teams had a snafu on the punt,” Holder said. “Even with the victory, there are always things we need to work on. We’ll look at the film, decide what those things are and get after it.”The Mustangs played hard throughout the game but mistakes and turnovers hurt them and helped attribute to the outcome.“They’re well-coached and have good athletes,” South Effingham head coach Don Revell said. “You can’t make mistakes against a good football team.”The Rebels were unable to sustain long scoring drives but the big plays by Johnson, Gant and Roper made up for it.“When you have players that are able to make those big plays and they execute them, it helps when things don’t go quite as well as you want them to,” Holder said. “We kind of shot ourselves in the foot early in drive with some issues. The mistakes we were making are things we can control – they’re all things we can fix.”Holder continued and explained that the Rebels will set their sights on their next opponent this week.“We’ll celebrate this win and get ready for Statesboro,” Holder said. “Go Rebels.”Effingham will go on the road to take on the Statesboro Blue Devils on Friday while the South Effingham Mustangs will look to earn their first win of the season when they host West Laurens. Both games will kick off at 7:30 p.m.