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After 0-2 start, Mustangs have a lot to work on during bye week
Corbin McGuire
South Effingham's wildcat quarterback Corbin McGuire (3) pushes ahead to avoid a safety in the second half against Toombs County on Friday night at the Corral. The Mustangs struggled to find any offensive rhythm during a 49-0 loss to the visiting Bulldogs. (Mark Lastinger for the Effingham Herald.)
Published: Sep 3, 2024, 2:03 PM

By Jeff Whitten

Special to the Herald


GUYTON -- If there’s a silver lining in the cloud over South Effingham's 49-0 loss Aug. 30 to visiting Toombs County, it's that there's time to work on improving. The Mustangs don’t play again until Sept. 13 when they travel to Evans to take on Lakeside.

But there's clearly a lot to work on.

South Effingham (0-2) finished with only nine yards of offense while turning the ball over five times against the Bulldogs, who didn't need any help. Toombs County (2-0) entered the game ranked No. 1 in Class A Division 1 in just about every poll in the state and lived up to the ranking at The Corral.

And if there was one series that summed up the night for South Effingham, it might’ve come on the team's opening possession of the third quarter when quarterback J.T. Barkley connected with wide receiver Hayden Still for the Mustangs’ first 1st down of the game and first trip into Bulldog territory. South Effingham fumbled the ball away on the next play.

“The effort was there,” SEHS Coach Loren Purvis said. “But all the effort in the world doesn’t help much when you fumble the ball and throw interceptions. We’ve got a lot of things to fix.”

Purvis also gave the Bulldogs credit.

“That’s a heck of a football team,” he said. “I know we’ve got a lot to things to work on, but I also know that Toombs was very good.”

Hayden Roy
Toombs County wide receiver Hayden Roy (No. 8) goes above a Mustang defender for a second-half catch. South couldn't slow down Class A Division I's top-ranked team and lost 49-0 Friday night at the Corral. (Mark Lastinger for the Effingham Herald.)
Still, in the game’s opening minutes it appeared the Mustangs might fare better against the Bulldogs, who marched the better part of 80 yards on their opening possession behind the passing of senior quarterback T.J. Stanley only to lose a fumble inside the South Effingham 5-yard line.

The Mustangs netted only 1 yard on their first possession, and the Bulldogs’ Mike Polke returned Corbin McGuire’s punt 30-yards for a score to give Toombs a 6-0 lead with 7:45 to go in the first quarter. By halftime the Mustangs trailed 27-0, with the bright spot an interception by sophomore linebacker Bear Bringer with 9:20 left in the first half.

The Bulldogs made it 34-0 on their opening possession of the second half and 36-0 after McGuire kicked the ball out of the end zone with 5:35 left in the third period for a safety. Toombs County added two touchdowns in the fourth quarter on interception returns as the game finished under a running clock. 

Barkley, who alternated at quarterback with Lawton Bowen, led the Mustangs in passing with two completions for 25 yards. Kadin Ward was the leading rusher with six yards on three carries.

Brantley, a Georgia State signee, completed 13 of 19 passes for 187 yards and one touchdown. Wadley scored three touchdowns for the Bulldogs, who have outscored opponents 104-14.

Lakeside, meanwhile, is 2-0 after wins over Georgetown and South Aiken, S.C. They play rival Evans on Friday before hosting South Effingham.