By Donald Heath
Special for the Effingham Herald
SPRINGFIELD – For 34 minutes on March 12, Effingham County’s boys played region-leader Glynn Academy on even terms, a far cry from the teams’ first encounter three weeks earlier.
But a missed scoring opportunity by the Rebels in the opening minutes and the constant pressure of the speedy Red Terrors made differences in Glynn’s 5-0 win.
“I was really, really proud because some of those kids didn’t come off the field the whole game,” ECHS coach Austin Czachowski said. “They put in the work, but it didn’t go our way.”
The first time the Rebels and Red Terrors met, Glynn scored eight goals in the first half en route to a 10-0 blitz.
It was a low point in ECHS’ 0-7-1 start.
But the Rebels, with only three seniors on the roster, are showing signs of improvement. ECHS defeated Brunswick and Johnson for its first two wins last week and turned in an encouraging performance against Glynn.
ECHS lost to Grovetown 4-1 on Friday.
The Rebels (2-9-1, 1-7 Region 2-6A) had an early chance against the Terrors. Glynn’s goalie came out of the box but failed to clear a loose ball. ECHS got off a shot, but it was stopped by a hustling defenseman in the goal box.
“We had three legitimate chances to put one in and if we get one, the whole momentum changes,” Czachowski said.
It was ECHS’ best opportunity of the night. The Rebels managed only three shots on goal.
Glynn (10-1) peppered Rebels’ goalie Michael Deien with 14 shots. But buoyed by a hounding defense, the senior kept the Terrors off the scoreboard until Jack Roberts deflected in a loose ball sent into the box by a 25-yard throw-in by Chandler Owens.
Owens converted a penalty kick 43 seconds later and Glynn finally had some breathing room.
“Michael played a heck of a game. None of the goals were truly his fault,” Czachowski said. “We have sophomores running around out there. I think they’re getting their feet under them. They’re seeing some evidence of what we’re trying to do.”
South Effingham’s boys (9-1) kept pace with Glynn with a 6-1 victory over Brunswick on March 12. Edson Escobar had two goals and two assists. Cole Hoffman, Logan Perez, Kirill Stavenchuk and Adam Alonso had one goal apiece.
In girls’ action, Effingham County’s goalie Dayanara Figueroa had several sensational saves at the start but Glynn eventually overwhelmed the Rebels with six goals in the second half to pull away 8-0.
Three nights later, ECHS (2-9) lost its fourth game in a row when Grovetown broke a halftime deadlock to win 3-1.
South Effingham’s girls (5-6) won their second straight match, topping Brunswick 4-0. Kylee Anderson and Savannah Rodriguez each had a goal and an assist. Jalie Phillips and Addison Foster added goals and Giada Tamargo had an assist.
