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Mustang Girls Aim to Extend Hot Start in Rivalry Showdown
Rebels and Mustangs Boys Set for Another Tight, Down-to-the-Wire Matchup
Basketball
South Effingham point guard Kailyn Chapman leads the Mustangs into Saturday’s rivalry matchup with Effingham County. SEHS enters the game with a 6–1 record. (Gilbert Miller / Effingham Herald)

GUYTON, Ga. — The basketball rivalry between Effingham County and South Effingham sailed into uncharted waters last season.

The Mustang boys snapped a 34-game losing streak to the Rebels that dated back to 2007. The Lady Rebels ended an 11-game skid to South, dating back to 2019, before winning again.

When the teams meet Saturday night, streaks won’t be the center of attention — or will they?

“They have a one-game winning streak (in the rivalry), so we have to get it back,” SEHS boys coach Rico Campbell said.

The first of two boys’ and girls’ matchups between the cross-county rivals will be played at South Effingham. The girls tip off at 3:30 p.m., followed by the boys at 5 p.m. 

The rivalry shifts to Springfield on Dec. 16.

The SEHS–ECHS basketball rivalry doesn’t match the intensity of football, but the games usually draw the biggest basketball crowds of the season for both schools.

Last season delivered plenty of drama. The Mustang girls won the first meeting with ECHS, 45-39, on Dec. 7, but the Rebels answered two months later with a 63-59 victory. The boys’ series was just as close: South edged ECHS 63-62 in the first meeting, and the Rebels returned the favor with a 62-56 win in the rematch.

“The kids know each other and grew up playing against each other,” Campbell said. “The game means a lot to them.”

Girls: Mustangs off to fast start

The SEHS girls, led by point guard Kailyn Chapman and shooting guard Hayden Johanson, will look to start a new streak. Johanson’s career-high 29 points (including seven 3-pointers), despite coming in a loss, was one of the top performances by an area player last season.

This season, the Mustangs have bolted to a 6-1 start. Rebuilding ECHS, playing without leading scorer Nakera Hawkins (lower-leg injury), is 0-4.

Boys: Expect more nail-biters

The boys should expect another pair of tight games. Both teams played in the Joe Greene Classic in Savannah during Thanksgiving week.

“We had a chance to see them play the last couple days, so we have an idea of what they do,” Campbell said. “They’ve had some injuries, and we’ve had some players out.”

South began the week 2-5. ECHS left the Joe Greene Classic at 2-3.

Mustang junior guard Michael Hall has been the county’s leading scorer at nearly 18 points per game.

ECHS lost first-team all-subregion forward Elijah Doty to a knee injury over the summer and recently dismissed point guard Anthony “Tre” Davis from the team.

Even so, the Rebels — led by Isaiah Brown and Noah Reese — have grinded out impressive wins over New Hampstead and Windsor Forest and played competitively against Groves (an overtime loss) and Johnson (trailed by two with less than three minutes left).