BRUNSWICK, Ga. — South Effingham’s football coaching staff has some deceptive plays ready when needed.

Friday night against Brunswick, the Mustangs needed a lift and dipped into their bag of tricks.

A reverse to Danny Murtha worked just as it was drawn up. Murtha scooted around right end for a 30-yard touchdown run to provide the winning margin in South’s 35-31 victory over the host Pirates at Glynn County Stadium.

The win boosted the Mustangs’ record to 6-2 overall and 3-2 in Region 1-6A play, keeping them in contention for a spot in the state playoffs.

“In any big game, you have to be willing to risk it,” South Effingham coach Loren Purvis said. “If you’re not playing to win, what are you playing for? We talked among our coaches. Don’t leave anything in the bag.”

A breakthrough victory

The aggressive strategy helped the Mustangs secure the biggest win of Purvis’ head coaching career.

South had not beaten the two-time defending region champions since 2015. All eight losses since then had been by 24 or more points. A year ago, the Mustangs trailed Brunswick 38-0 at halftime en route to a 47-19 setback.

“Last night was a big one, probably the biggest in my tenure. It’s huge for the confidence it gives our program. It bumped us closer to the state playoffs,” Purvis said.

The victory also reinforced a South Effingham mantra: In a close game, the Mustangs are going to be the tougher team.

After taking the lead on Murtha’s run with 9:55 left, the Mustangs stopped Brunswick on downs at the South Effingham 12-yard line. Then, with 6:57 remaining, an offense that had managed just 146 yards through three quarters marched 74 yards on 12 plays, taking more than six minutes off the clock.

Murtha delivers in the fourth

Murtha, who starts at linebacker, is one of the interchangeable running backs Purvis employs alongside Khyran White. Murtha entered the game with just six carries this season but finished with nine carries for a team-leading 75 yards. He gained 72 yards on eight carries in the fourth quarter alone.

Purvis added defensive linemen Karter Wilson and Gage Roberson to provide extra size on the offensive line. Murtha followed the blocking.

“Danny was running the ball so hard. We wanted to keep putting it in his hands,” Purvis said.

Special teams spark the offense

Big plays kept the Mustangs in the game early.

A personal foul on Brunswick gave South a first down on fourth-and-10 at the Pirates’ 32-yard line. Six plays later, quarterback Liam Coburn scored from the 1 to tie the game at 7.

Brunswick scored 31 seconds later to take a 14-7 lead, but South went back to its bag of tricks to set up another score.

On fourth-and-29 from the Mustangs’ 46-yard line, punter Kiran Boggess, who also serves as the backup quarterback, faked a punt and threw to a wide-open Semaj Calhoun for a 41-yard gain. Three plays later, Coburn connected with Brian Ford on a 9-yard touchdown pass.

South fell behind 24-14 four minutes into the third quarter, but Calhoun returned the ensuing kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown to cut the deficit to 24-21.

Seventeen seconds later, Maddox Vasquez returned an interception 39 yards for a touchdown, giving the Mustangs their first lead.

Brunswick responded to take a 31-28 lead late in the third quarter, but the Pirates could not find the end zone during the final 16 minutes.

“We preach when things get tough, you have to turn it up,” Purvis said. “No one plays hard like us.”