SPRINGFIELD, Ga. – The schedule makers didn’t do Effingham County any favors last season. The Rebels were slated to travel to the Augusta area for three football games on successive Fridays.
When hurricanes caused havoc, that three-game, three-week Augusta swing condensed to 10 days.
The silver lining? Those same Augusta schools – Lakeside, Evans and Greenbrier – now have to play ECHS in Springfield this season, starting with winless Lakeside on Friday night.
“Every region game matters and every team is a little different the next year,” Rebels coach John Ford said.
New year, different Lakeside
Lakeside (0-5, 0-3 Region 1-5A) is more than a little different. The Panthers, 10-2 a year ago, lost seven first-team all-region performers, including the region’s Player of the Year, Ty Jones.
The dual-threat quarterback threw for 152 yards and a touchdown and ran for 133 yards and a score in a 58-38 shootout win over ECHS last season. That victory edged Lakeside into second place in the region and set up a first-round home playoff game against Region 5’s third-place New Manchester.
The Rebels, who slipped to third place in the region, were back on the bus and took a 51-14 loss to East Paulding in the first round of the state playoffs. Only highly regarded Rome beat the Raiders during the regular season.
Rebels gaining momentum
History is fun to recreate, but Ford wants to focus on the unfolding 2025 season. After a 1-2 start, ECHS has won its last two games, with the offense registering 43 and 49 points in back-to-back weeks against Bradwell Institute and South Effingham.
“We’ve had some injuries and adversity and we’ve played some really good teams (third-ranked Houston County and region defending champion Brunswick),” Ford said. “No matter who the opponent was last Friday, we had to find our rhythm.”
Quarterback Tucker Perkins struck the right chords by throwing for 283 yards and four touchdowns against the Mustangs. It was the fifth time the 6-foot-3, 190-pound senior threw for four or more touchdown passes in a game in his varsity career. Perkins missed most of the first two games with an ankle injury.
“That just felt normal to me,” said Perkins, who torched Lakeside for 383 yards and five TDs last season.
But that was last season’s Lakeside. The Panthers are 0-5 against the same five opponents they beat a year ago. South Effingham snapped its 13-game losing streak by defeating the Panthers in overtime two weeks ago. Lakeside surrendered a season-high 54 points in a loss to Glynn Academy last week.
“We’ll treat the Lakeside game like it’s a new day,” Ford said.
