SPRINGFIELD, Ga. – Effingham County won the coin toss Friday night against Bradwell Institute, and Coach John Ford wanted the ball.
“I just wanted to land the first punch,” Ford said. “The thought process was to get out and be aggressive and show my team I had faith in them. Last week was on me. This week I wanted to put the outcome in their hands.”
Ford was right, and the Rebels needed a barrage of punches before stopping Bradwell 43-35 on Homecoming at the Griff.
Offensive fireworks
The two teams combined for 986 yards – 546 rushing, 440 passing – and scored touchdowns on 11 of 14 full possessions. Neither team punted.
Rivalry game next
Next week brings added intensity for the Rebels, who travel to face crosstown rival South Effingham. The Mustangs (1-2, 1-0) also won Friday night, beating Lakeside 20-14 in overtime to end a 13-game losing streak.
Rebels’ ground game sets the tone
The Rebel rushing offense came from the two-fisted attack of Jmere Doe-Davis and J.R. McKenzie. Doe-Davis finished with 164 yards and three touchdowns (runs of 16, 2 and 28 yards) on 19 carries, while McKenzie scored twice (runs of 21 and 22 yards) and gained 94 yards on 14 carries.
“It was a tough game. You just had to dig deep,” Doe-Davis said. “My O-line was giving me wide open holes, so I was just making the best of my opportunities.”
Balanced attack leads the way
It was a deviation from Effingham’s high-powered, deep passing attack. The Rebels ripped Bradwell’s defense with short passes and mixed runs between the tackles.
Quarterback Tucker Perkins had an efficient passing night, completing 11 of 14 passes for 159 yards and a 17-yard touchdown to Isaiah Brown.
Brown caught five passes for 74 yards, and Trayvis Hunter had eight catches for 81 yards.
“The O-line, the tight end, the backs all did a great job, and Tucker did a great job being the point guard, taking what they were giving us,” Ford said. “It took patience to stick with it.”
Strong start sparks victory
The Rebels struggled on both sides of the ball in a humbling 42-14 loss to Brunswick a week earlier, but this time they started strong, scoring touchdowns on their first two drives against Bradwell.
Doe-Davis’ 16-yard touchdown run opened the scoring less than four minutes into the game, and Perkins capped an eight-play, 74-yard drive with a scoring toss to Brown to make it 15-0.
Effingham’s defense bent but came up with big stops in the early going. Safety Jernard Albright’s pass breakup at the Rebel 4-yard line halted a 14-play, 76-yard drive – four plays after a Tiger holding penalty negated a touchdown run.
Bradwell battles back
Bradwell (1-2, 1-1) was flagged 17 times for 162 yards.
The Tigers, who proved their upset win over Glynn Academy in their last outing was no fluke, never got closer than eight points despite big games from quarterback Jah’Barri Felix (21 of 33, 281 yards, 3 TDs), wideouts Carlito Savea and Marlon Torres (both seven catches for 101 yards and a touchdown), and running back Cameron Keeve (eight carries, 175 yards, two TDs).
Jacoby Pasley also caught a 16-yard touchdown pass from Felix.
Ford: ‘Whatever it takes to win’
“I told the team I’ve been on the side of some, quote unquote, ‘pretty’ losses, but I’ll take whatever it takes to get a win,” Ford said. “The guys battled and overcame a lot of adversity on the field.”
