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ECHS penalties fuel Greenbrier’s 16-5 boys’ lacrosse win
Edward Hall
Effingham County's Edward Hall (No. 5) circles the Greenbrier goal while looking for a scoring opportunity. Hall scored three goals but the Rebels lost to the Wolfpack 16-5 on March 5. (Mark Lastinger for the Effingham Herald.)

By Donald Heath

Special for the Effingham Herald


SPRINGFIELD – Effingham County boys lacrosse coach Allen Huber had something to say to his players Wednesday night after a 16-5 loss to Greenbrier – “Run.”

The Rebels were being punished with a few 100-yard post-game sprints on the windy, cold night. Conditioning wasn’t the issue.

“We were very undisciplined,” Huber said. “We made a lot of mental mistakes, personal fouls and other things that lost us the game. We gave the game to (Greenbrier).”

The defending region champions probably didn’t need a lot of help but in the third quarter with three Rebels penalized at the same time (two getting ejected for words with the officials), the Wolfpack scored four goals in a span of 57 seconds and ECHS’ 7-3 deficit got out of hand quickly.

Before the meltdown, ECHS seemingly had turned around the game in the second quarter. The Rebels outshot Greenbrier 7-3 in the quarter and Edward Hall’s two goals – at 2:11 and with 39.9 seconds left in the half – cut the Wolfpack’s lead to 5-3 at halftime.

ECHS had other scoring opportunities but Wolfpack goalie Ay’Dien Perry registered seven saves in the half.

It was a surprising start for the Rebels, who lost to Greenbrier 9-2 last season. The Wolfpack ended the 2024 season with a 15-3 record and advanced to the second round of the state tournament.

That talent was on display in the second half and shorthanded ECHS didn’t have much of a chance. The Rebels were outscored 8-1 in the third quarter as the Wolfpack unloaded 17 shots at the goal during the 12-minute stanza.

Braden Weeks finished with five goals and Braxton Peacock had four to lead Greenbrier.

Eli Cerkoney
Rebel attacker Eli Cerkoney (No. 1) puts pressure on Greenbrier defender Hadrian Negron (No. 3) during a first half attack. ECHS stayed close in the first half before the Wolfpack rolled to a 16-5 victory on March 5. (Mark Lastinger for the Effingham Herald.)
Hall, a sophomore, had three of the Rebels’ five goals. Eli Cerkoney and Jesse Strickland added one apiece.

“We put together some good runs and that’s encouraging because (Greenbrier) can play with anybody in the state, but we have to clean up some things to give ourselves a chance against a team like that,” Huber said.

ECHS, which won its first two lacrosse games, slipped to 2-1 overall. The Greenbrier game did not count in the Rebels’ area standings because of GHSA realignment this season.

ECHS meets Benedictine in its first area contest on March 19.

In Wednesday’s girls game, the Lady Rebels played competitively in the first half but Greenbrier dominated the second half and the Wolfpack won 16-6.

ECHS trailed 6-5 at halftime.

The Lady Rebels evened their record to 2-2 after a wild 18-13 win over Academic Magnet in North Charleston, SC, on Friday. ECHS’ girls began area play against Richmond Hill on March 11.