By Donald Heath
Special for the Effingham Herald
SPRINGFIELD – Lacrosse wins have been far and few between for Effingham County’s boys this spring. And with the season coming to a close, Coach Allen Huber hoped to end an eight-game losing streak, win a game at home and send his seniors out with a third victory.
On Wednesday night, the Rebels registered their long-awaited win – a first in nearly two months – by defeating visiting South Effingham 16-3 on Senior Night.
“It’s good for these kids who worked hard all year,” Huber said. “They’re buying in, building the program. It’s nice to get a win, especially for the seniors on Senior Night.”
ECHS finished the season with a 3-9 record. South went 1-14.
Senior Jayden Darwood began the scoring for the Rebels less than three minutes into the game. But the offense has been spearheaded by the underclassmen, led by sophomore Edward Hall’s 32 goals this season.
Hall tied his career-high of seven goals set earlier this season in a 15-5 win over the Mustangs.
Jesse Strickland added five goals, Tyler English had two and Landen Sellers had one.
Goalie Archie Thigpen had eight saves.
“Lacrosse is growing on this end of the county,” Huber said. “We had 45 on the team this year and a lot more are interested for next year. We have some really good eighth graders playing on junior varsity.”
ECHS led 8-1 at halftime behind Hall’s four first-half goals. The Rebels led 14-2 after three quarters.
“We spread it around and played team lacrosse tonight,” said Huber, whose squad won for the first time since Feb. 26 when ECHS opened the season with two straight victories.
Meanwhile, South’s struggle ended with the conclusion of the season. Freshman goalie Eli Love registered 18 saves while facing 41 shots. Seth Howard and Tanner Todd scored.
ECHS, SEHS advance to girls’ state playoffs
The Effingham County and South Effingham girls’ lacrosse teams both began action in the Division 2 lacrosse state championships.
The Rebels (10-3) placed second in Area 4 and played host to Evans on April 29.
ECHS, led by a trio of 30-goal scorers – Gracie LaFleur 34, Megan Coleman 32 and Olivia Morgan 31 – has won eight in a row.
South was the third-place team in Area 4 and traveled to Chamblee (12-5) on April 28.
The winner between ECHS and Evans would play at Roswell on May 1 or May 2.
The SEHS-Chamblee winner would travel to Lakeside Evans on May 1 or May 2.
TENNIS
SEHS girls win first-round state match
The South Effingham girls’ tennis team, a No. 4 seed from Region 1, stunned Region 5 champion Kennesaw Mountain 3-2 in the first round of the Class 5A girls’ state tennis championships.
The Mustangs advanced to play Lee County in the Sweet 16.
Effingham County made the boys’ state tournament as a No. 4 seed and was eliminated by Rome 3-0 in the first round.
