SAVANNAH, Ga. — South Effingham fought fire with fire Friday night, using big plays to hold off big-play Windsor Forest, 28-13, at Savannah High School.

The Mustangs raised their record to 3-0 for the first time since Loren Purvis’ first year as head coach in 2023.

Purvis was South Effingham’s offensive coordinator when the team started 4-0 in former head coach Nathan Clark’s first year in 2019.

“We’ve played hard. That’s what I’m proud of,” Purvis said. “We’ve gotten the non-region schedule out of the way and we’ve already overcome a lot of different challenges.”

Big plays on defense

The Knights (2-1) stayed close throughout Friday night, but interceptions by Mustang defensive backs Brian Ford and Landyn White in the red zone stoned potential scoring drives.

Middle linebacker Cole McMurry also had a strip sack and fumble recovery.

And when Windsor Forest crept within 20-13 in the fourth quarter, Semaj Calhoun returned the ensuing kickoff 88 yards for a touchdown to give South Effingham some breathing room.

“That was a huge play. It gave us momentum again,” Purvis said.

White leads the offense

The Mustangs, coming off a 39-0 win over Johnson a week ago, built a 12-0 first-half lead on two Khyran White touchdown runs.

White finished with 132 yards on 25 carries.

Windsor Forest answered with a third-quarter touchdown, breaking South Effingham’s scoreless-quarter streak at seven.

The Mustangs responded with a touchdown drive capped by Danny Murtha’s 1-yard dive to make it 20-6.

South Effingham registered 287 offensive yards — 176 on the ground and 111 through the air — and punted just once.

But the Class 4A Knights were hard to discourage.

“Windsor Forest played hard and their quarterback, Jayden Martin, was the real deal,” Purvis said. “There were times we had him contained, but all of a sudden he wasn’t there. They made plays and we had a hard time getting them off the field.”

Region play awaits

South Effingham now has a week off before hosting Greenbrier in its Region 1-6A opener Sept. 18.

Last season, the Mustangs won a wild back-and-forth affair, 34-28, in overtime.

South Effingham had a 20-7 lead after the first quarter, but the Wolfpack tied the game with 24.3 seconds remaining before Mustangs quarterback Liam Coburn ran for the game-winning touchdown in overtime.

“It was a game that showed we hadn’t been in the driver’s seat very often,” Purvis said. “We’re starting to break away from that.”