SPRINGFIELD, Ga. – A much-maligned unit in the past, Effingham County’s defense made a pitch to change the narrative Friday night.
The Rebels held New Hampstead to just six yards of total offense and dominated the Phoenix 37-0 at Rebel Field on homecoming.
“Watching film all week, it was nerve-wracking. New Hampstead has good speed and good players,” ECHS coach John Ford said.
But the Rebels’ defense, which allowed almost 30 points a game a year ago, kept the Phoenix from rising en route to their first win of the season.
“The defense executed all week in practice and we knew what we had to do. Coach (Jordan) Mullis had us prepared, and that’s all you need to squash a team,” said linebacker/defensive back Jernard Albright, who returned an interception 35 yards for a touchdown to cap the defense’s big night.
Defense sets the tone
New Hampstead (0-3) finished with minus-35 rushing yards, mostly because of the Rebels’ eight quarterback sacks. And when he wasn’t running for his life, quarterback Antonio Benton completed just 6 of 25 passes for 41 yards and three interceptions.
“RJ Brown, Roland Parker, Deyvon Aaron and Wyatt Haley were outstanding on the line, and the secondary didn’t let anyone get open,” Ford said.
ECHS (1-2) managed just enough offense.
Kris Swinney, who excelled while backing up Tucker Perkins at quarterback last season, entered in the second quarter and capped the Rebels’ third possession with a 5-yard touchdown run to start the scoring. Swinney then completed a pass to Malik Letman for a two-point conversion to make it 8-0.
Just before halftime, Letman returned a punt 55 yards for a touchdown. Matthew Dillon completed a two-point conversion pass to Isaiah Brown to make it 16-0.
Dillon threw third-quarter touchdown passes to Letman and Trayvis Hunter to build a 30-0 lead and trigger a running clock in the fourth quarter.
Phoenix struggles to move the ball
The Rebels’ defense dominated the first half. The Phoenix failed to pick up a first down in five of their seven possessions and finished the first 24 minutes with just 18 total offensive yards.
Aided by two 15-yard penalties, New Hampstead drove to the Effingham 11 on its final drive of the half before stalling.
The Rebels started slowly offensively as well. They managed only three first downs in the first quarter, and a fourth-and-2 at midfield was stopped by the Phoenix for no gain.
Swinney sparks the offense
Swinney entered at quarterback on ECHS’ third possession and scrambled for a 10-yard gain on his first carry.
Dillon re-entered on the next play and hit Trayvis Hunter over the middle. Hunter broke a tackle and sped 70 yards to the NHHS 6.
“How about that for coming out of the bullpen?” Ford said.
Two plays later, Swinney was back in and found a seam for a 5-yard touchdown run as the homecoming celebration took root.
Hunter finished with four catches for 83 yards and a touchdown. Letman scored two touchdowns and caught two two-point conversions.
Dillon completed 9 of 15 passes for 116 yards and two touchdowns. He also had a game-high 31 rushing yards.
In the fourth quarter, Brayden Edwards made the team’s first extra-point kick of the season.
“We needed a game like this,” Ford said.
