GUYTON, Ga. — About a year ago, South Effingham and Screven County met in a preseason football scrimmage. The 2024 winless Mustangs and the four-win Gamecocks were both hoping to show improvement for the 2025 season.
South improved to four wins. Screven advanced to the Elite Eight of the state playoffs.
Friday night, both teams line up again in another barometer game at the Corral. It’s the season opener for two teams hoping to take another step forward.
“We know Screven is a really good test, and they probably match up with a lot of the heavy hitters on our schedule,” said Mustangs coach Loren Purvis, who won’t underestimate the Class 2A squad that won the scrimmage a year ago. “When you get to the third round of state, everyone can play no matter how many A’s are attached to your name.”
Gamecocks bring firepower
The Gamecocks unleashed a potent offense against now-Class 6A South and rolled to a 14-7 victory in the scrimmage, despite having several touchdowns called back because of penalties.
Led by the rushing attack of running back Abram Hilton (1,602 yards, 18 TDs) and quarterback DeMarko Ward (1,165 yards, 22 TDs), Screven breezed through its regular-season schedule and two rounds of the state playoffs before falling to Early County, 27-20, and finishing the season 12-1.
Hilton, a 6-foot, 205-pounder who placed second at the state track meet in the 100-meter dash, and Ward are back this season. Hilton is committed to the University of South Florida.
“They’re a year stronger, a year faster. They’re going to be tough,” Purvis said. “They’re bigger in person than they are on film. They’re committed to the run, and they do it well.”
South leans on run
South Effingham (4-6 a year ago) is also committed to the run. Senior running back Khyran White, who ran for 1,002 yards and five scores last season, spearheaded a Wing-T scheme that helped the Mustangs control the tempo.
Sophomore quarterback Liam Coburn, a run-pass threat, continues to get better.
South’s offense improved by more than seven points a game, from 9.5 to 16.7, last season, while its defense allowed nearly 17 fewer points per game.
The Mustangs were impressive in a 29-0 spring-game win over Wayne County and a 20-20 preseason scrimmage with Statesboro. South’s first-teamers led the Blue Devils 13-0 before special teams and reserves relinquished the advantage.
Every game counts
In the past, a non-region season opener had little emphasis on state playoff seeding. The Georgia High School Association changed that by instituting a mathematical formula, the postseason ranking, or PSR, to determine 24 of the 32 state playoff teams in each classification.
A team’s PSR is calculated using its winning percentage, its opponents’ winning percentage and its opponents’ opponents’ winning percentage.
The eight regular-season region champions advance to the state playoffs and host a first-round game regardless of their PSR.
“Every game matters, not just the region, and that means the season starts with Game 1,” Purvis said. “If we want to make the playoffs, we have to start now and not be fine-tuning (offense and defense) for the region. It’s a different approach.”
