By Donald Heath

Special for the Effingham Herald

SPRINGFIELD – South Effingham’s lacrosse attacker Elijah George saw Mustang morale slipping with every confident step Effingham County made Wednesday afternoon, March 20.

South never trailed for 44 drama-filled minutes, but the hard-to-discourage Rebels tied the match five times.

Then, ECHS took the lead by scoring with a man advantage with 3:58 left.

And the Rebels gained possession with less than a minute left.

Ball game?

“It looked like we were beaten. I had to tell myself, ‘We got it, we got it,’” George said.

Few would have been so confident but, by George, he was right. A Mustang miracle was in the making.

An ECHS error led to Kaden De Genaro’s empty-net goal to tie the game with 23.4 seconds left, and George’s third goal of day was the game-winner 76 seconds into overtime as South recorded an intense and memorable 8-7 win, its first-ever lacrosse victory over the Rebels since both schools began playing lacrosse as a GHSA-sanctioned sport in 2020.

“It was like a boxing match when it looks like one guy is about to put the other guy to sleep and then the next thing you know a right hook comes in to equal things,” SEHS coach Sean Farrell said. “It was back and forth. It was one of those games that came down to heart and hustle. It was about who was digging deeper.”

The Mustangs (8-2) have been making 2024 a season of accomplishments. They’ve already doubled their single-season record win mark of four set in 2022 and 2023.

During the first three years, ECHS dominated and won the first five games in the series by 10 goals or more.

Last year, the teams began to show some parity but the Rebels still won 8-7 and 7-4 to up the winning streak to seven.

“I think having some parity between the two teams helps. It has made everyone in the county think, ‘yes, this is a legit sport,’” Farrell said. “We’ve had two sign at the next level. (De Genaro and Dominic Martell signed with Shorter University). We beat Savannah Christian in a couple of games that could have gone either way. We’re not just the punching bag for Savannah (private school) teams anymore.”

Nor Effingham County’s punching bag.

South led 3-1 midway through the second quarter. But the Rebels tied the game 3-3 on freshman Edward Hall’s second of his three goals.

Like a broken record, South regained the lead and ECHS answered. The game was tied 1-1, 3-3, 4-4, 5-5 and 6-6.

Jayden Darwood put the Rebels (2-5) ahead for the first time with 3:58 to go.

But a huge error in their defensive zone led to De Genaro’s tying goal at 7-7.

“We had some players out, but the fact (the Rebels) were still fighting was good to see,” ECHS coach Owen Nix said. “That one play didn’t lose us the game. Really, we had a couple of goals from mistakes that (the Mustangs) made in front of their crease so it was back and forth.

“There were glimpses of good lacrosse on both ends and glimpses of teams taking advantage of mistakes on both ends. It was an exciting game and the crowd was really into it. It’s good to see the game growing in the county.”

Both teams compete in Area 7 of Class 5A-6A, but the game didn’t count in the area standings. The Rebels and Mustangs will play the game that counts in the area standings April 19 at the Corral.