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Effingham County Shuts Out Evans 36-0
JR McKenzie’s Big Night Highlights Rebels’ Complete Team Effort
Effingham County football
JR McKenzie bursts through the Evans defense for a long gain Friday night as Effingham County rolled to a 36-0 victory. McKenzie finished with 167 yards on 21 carries and two touchdowns, leading the Rebels’ offense. (Mark Lastinger / Effingham Herald)

SPRINGFIELD, Ga. – Effingham County boasts one of the region’s top running back duos, but Friday night, leading rusher Jmere Doe-Davis was sidelined with a bruised leg. No problem for the Rebels.

Senior JR McKenzie carried the extra workload, rushing for 167 yards on 21 carries and scoring two touchdowns, helping Effingham County cruise to a 36-0 victory over Evans for its fourth straight win.

“It was a few extra carries, but nothing crazy,” McKenzie said, marking his fifth consecutive game with a rushing touchdown.

ECHS (5-2, 4-1 in Region 1-5A) didn’t punt once while producing 443 yards of total offense.

Effingham County football
Kris Swinney scores Effingham County’s first touchdown on a 7-yard run, helping the Rebels take an early lead. The offense didn’t punt all night, finishing with 443 total yards against Evans. (Mark Lastinger / Effingham Herald)

Backup QB Sparks Early Scoring
The Rebels sat several starters for the first possession, including quarterback Tucker Perkins, as a disciplinary measure for “internal matters,” coach John Ford said. Even so, the offense didn’t miss a beat.

Backup quarterback Kris Swinney led the first possession, capped by a 7-yard touchdown run, with McKenzie as the featured back. Perkins later returned to the field, throwing an 8-yard touchdown pass to Malik Letman and running for a 4-yard score.

McKenzie added an 8-yard touchdown run in the second quarter and a 14-yarder in the third, totaling 117 yards in the first half.

“He’s strong, fast, strong in the weight room,” Ford said. “You can’t say enough about him as a young man. He does everything right. Coaching kids like him is why you get in this business.”

Effingham County football
Malik Letman (20) heads upfield after a reception as teammate Devaughn Jones (40) trails the play. Letman finished with a touchdown catch from Tucker Perkins in Effingham County’s 36-0 win over Evans. (Mark Lastinger / Effingham Herald)

Defense Holds, Rebels Dominate
ECHS controlled the game early, scoring on all three first-half possessions. After Swinney’s touchdown gave the Rebels a 7-0 lead, Evans (1-6, 1-4) threatened from the ECHS 7-yard line. On fourth-and-1, a 24-yard field goal attempt failed after a bad snap.

Perkins later led a 10-play, 80-yard drive, throwing an 8-yard touchdown pass to Letman. After a defensive three-and-out, Perkins and McKenzie combined for an 11-play, 69-yard drive, with McKenzie scoring from 8 yards out to make it 21-0.

ECHS scored twice more in the third quarter, and the fourth quarter ran on a mercy clock. Perkins finished 10-of-17 for 173 yards and a touchdown, while Trayvis Hunter had five receptions for 87 yards.

The Rebels recorded their first shutout since a 47-0 win over South Effingham last season.

“We started the season with Houston County and Brunswick, and that showed us what we needed to work on,” Ford said. “We’re playing better now.”

Effingham County football
Rebels defensive lineman Marshawn Monroe (95) sacks Evans quarterback Tripp Furgeison as teammate Noah King (5) closes in. Effingham County’s defense held the Knights scoreless in a 36-0 shutout. (Mark Lastinger / Effingham Herald)