By Donald Heath
Special for the Effingham Herald
SPRINGFIELD – It’s always a good year when your football program is winning.
Effingham County waited 28 years for a football region championship and patience was rewarded as the Rebels reversed three-point losses in consecutive years to Brunswick to beat the Pirates by three in the clinching regular-season finale.
But 2023 wasn’t just about football. Some new names stepped to the forefront of Rebel athletics and some long-time favorites capped off their prep careers with another memory.
Here’s a chance to rewind the year for five ECHS sports highlights.
Football captures elusive region crown
Not many gave the Rebels much of a chance to rise to the top of the region after losing three of their first four non-region games. But Coach John Ford’s resilient group put together a six-game winning streak at just the right time, culminating with the 31-28 victory over two-time defending champion Brunswick in the regular-season finale.
Gage Brooks kicked the game-winning 25-yard field goal as time expired to start a celebration long overdue in Springfield since 1995.
ECHS led the region from start to finish, gaining a big edge after an eye-popping, midseason 49-3 drubbing of Glynn Academy, a squad that defeated Brunswick in the first week of region play.
Senior quarterback Nate Hayes (1,562 yards, 13 TDs passing and 492 yards, 6 TDs rushing) earned the region’s Offensive Player of the Year honors and newcomer running back/linebacker AJ Butts, a transfer from Calvary, captured the region’s Player of the Year award. Butts ran for a team-leading 618 yards and 9 TDs, caught four passes for 76 yards and, on defense, registered 115 total tackles, seven tackles for losses and six sacks
Ford was the region’s Coach of the Year.
Twenty-three Rebels were honored as all-region selections. Offensive lineman Brady Meglan, defensive lineman Joe Polite, linebackers Bryson Horton and Jamaez Cope and defensive back Gary Cooper earned first-team accolades.
Newcomers keep softball program among state’s best
Five senior starters, who signed college scholarships, left the Rebels softball program a year ago but some returning newbies didn’t take long to assume leadership.
ECHS hardly skipped a beat, winning 26 games and advancing to Columbus, site of the Elite Eight state tournament, for a second straight season.
At state, ECHS and the Mustangs went 10 innings in an elimination game before SEHS prevailed 2-1.
Pitching was the key and sophomore Ansleigh Giordano and Ava Wingate combined to shut out 15 opponents.
The Rebels finished second in the region but were hardly fazed on the road in the postseason, knocking off third-ranked Houston County twice before moving on to Columbus.
ECHS lost its first game to No. 2 Lassiter 8-7, then blasted Alcovy 9-0 before being eliminated by South Effingham.
Emma Reynolds (.436, 6 HR, 22 RBIs) was the region’s Player of the Year. Shortstop Olivia Morgan, second baseman Megan Coleman and Giordano were named first-team all-region.
Gracie LaFleur and Wingate were second-teamers.
Baseball wins first series vs. South in four years
ECHS baseball slumped below .500 and failed to make the state tournament, but the Rebels could gain some satisfaction by winning a series against neighborhood rival South Effingham for the first time in four years.
Not only could ECHS sing two out of three ain’t bad, but the six-run rally in the seventh inning of the rubber game produced the baseball highlight of the 12-16 season.
The Rebels entered the series with seven losses in their last eight games against the Mustangs. This time, SEHS hoped to continue its dominance while pushing for a region championship.
But ECHS righthander Caden Kessler scattered five hits in a complete-game 5-1 win in the opener.
South won the second game 4-2 and led 3-0 heading into the seventh inning of Game 3.
But the Rebels parlayed four hits, two errors, a walk, a hit batsman and a key wild pitch to plate six runs in their final at bat.
Blake Hendrix, who allowed only five hits in 6.1 innings, was the winning pitcher.
Thomas becomes Rebels’ long-distance record setter
Runner Levi Thomas became the school record setter in cross country and track and field’s long-distance events during his outstanding senior season.
In the fall of 2022, Thomas broke the school’s cross country record with a time of 16:54 at the region cross country championships.
In the spring of 2023, Thomas ran a 4:41.44 at the Rebel Invitational to nip Jesse Campbell’s 2013 mark of 4:42.65 in the 1600.
In the Rebels’ next meet at the Lakeside Pre-Spring Break Invitational, Thomas ran away with the school’s 3200 record with a time of 10:13.80, again topping a mark set by Campbell.
Thomas eventually lowered his 1600 time with a 4:40.41 at the South Effingham Invitational.
Rebel wrestlers reach state finals
Santiago advanced to the finals of the Class 6A 106-pound weight class before falling short. Bernacki also made a run to the title match before she was caught in the girls’ 170-pound weight class.
Both finished second at state in 2022 as well.
Santiago ended the year with a 42-5 record. Bernacki, who was looking to be the school’s first female wrestling champion, concluded her season at 25-3.
