GUYTON, Ga. – South Effingham running back Khyran White fought back tears with the same determination he used to break tackles Friday night. The Mustangs fell to county rival Effingham County 49-21 at The Corral, but White and his teammates displayed grit in a spirited second-half push.
A week earlier, South ended a 13-game losing streak with an overtime win against Lakeside, thanks to White’s 161 rushing yards and game-winning touchdown. Friday, running mostly between the tackles, the 5-foot-11, 190-pound junior posted another 102 rushing yards.
Mustangs Rally in Second Half
The Mustangs trailed by 20 points about 15 minutes into the game and by 21 at halftime but refused to buckle in the physical contest.“(The physical play) kind of fueled us,” White said. “Once we start running the ball successfully, it opens up the pass game. We’re a run-first team.”
Dragging defenders in his wake, White gained 15 yards on his first run of the second half.
“He’s a heck of a ballplayer. I think all 11 of their players tried to tackle him,” South coach Loren Purvis said. “As hard as he ran, it’s surprising he didn’t score.”
White carried four times on the Mustangs’ six-play, 66-yard drive, which culminated in Maddox Vasquez’s 33-yard touchdown run to cut the Rebels’ lead to 35-21.
South’s defense forced a four-and-out when freshman linebacker Cole McMurry stopped Rebel running back JR McKenzie for a loss on fourth-and-2 at the ECHS 44. After two runs by White and a Rebels’ unsportsmanlike penalty on a late hit to freshman quarterback Liam Coburn, South reached the ECHS 28.
“With the momentum we had, it seemed like we were going to make it 35-28,” Purvis said.
Purvis then dialed up his first pass of the half. Coburn completed the throw inside the red zone, but the receiver fumbled, and ECHS’ Landon Carter recovered to end the drive. The Rebels added two fourth-quarter touchdowns to widen the margin.
White Keeps Fighting
White never gave up. He carried six times for 42 yards during a fourth-quarter drive that stalled at the Rebel 16. SEHS finished with 120 of its 156 rushing yards in the second half.“We just have to come out in the first half like that, and we’ll be a way better team,” White said. “You’ll see that this week on the road against Evans next Friday.”
Danny Murtha added 35 yards on nine carries, and Vasquez had 40 yards on two carries. Both are juniors. Murtha scored the Mustangs’ first touchdown on a 5-yard run, and Coburn added the second on an 8-yard run. McMurry recorded two tackles for loss and a fumble recovery.
Despite the loss, Purvis saw promise in the underclassmen, particularly freshmen, contributing.
“They’re probably playing a hair too early in their physical and mental progression, but they’re tough and they’re going to play hard. I’m not worried about them,” Purvis said.
