Mustangs, Rebels ready to add chapter to football rivalry

Effingham Herald

Published: Sep 18, 2022, 3:20 PM

By Donald Heath

Special for the Effingham Herald

SPRINGFIELD — Effingham County coach John Ford knows a thing or two about football rivalries.

Growing up in Snellville, he played in the Brookwood-Parkview game. Those schools separated by less than seven miles in Gwinnett County.

Ford coached in the Roswell-Milton game. Those schools within a 10-minute drive in DeKalb County.

And last year, Ford walked the sidelines for his first ECHS-South Effingham cross-county matchup. He’ll be trying to win his second game in the Rebels-Mustangs rivalry Friday night.

“They are all very similar,” Ford said about his experiences in the three rivalries. “There are strong feelings on both sides (of the Effingham County-South Effingham rivalry) and the game is impactful to a lot of people.”

The Rebels-Mustangs rivalry originated when South Effingham High School was formed from the split of Effingham County High School in 1996.

The Rebels defeated the Mustangs 29-15 in the season opener of 1996.

SEHS’ first head football coach Mike Harper, now a Mustangs assistant, remembered the hoopla surrounding the inaugural meeting as the team bus turned from Ga. Hwy 17 to drive down Ga. Hwy 119. He said fans lined the final three miles to Rebel Field as if watching a parade.

“People came out of the woodworks to see that first game. It was an exciting time,” Harper said. “I didn’t talk about rivalry to the players, just let’s come out and play some football and let this rivalry thing take its course.”

The schools played twice in 1996 — SEHS won the second game 14-0 — and twice again in 1997, and once every year since with the Rebels holding a 16-12 advantage.

Extra bleachers are needed to accommodate crowds that often exceed 5,000.

Ford said a lot of fanfare surrounds the week leading to the game as well. The head coaches will speak at local rotary clubs. The schools will hold pep rallies.

“It’s a different type of game week,” Ford said. “Coaches will tell you that they are creatures of habit, but that all changed any way in 2020 (because of COVID). So we’ve all learned to adjust. Things will be different. The game is surrounded by a fun, festive atmosphere.”

Friday’s festive atmosphere will receive an extra jolt of yesteryear pomp during a pre-game ceremony when ECHS names the school’s athletic facility after long-time football coach Bob Griffith. The football stadium will be known as Rebel Field at Bob Griffith Stadium.

Griffith, a member of the Georgia High School Association’s Hall of Fame, turned around ECHS’ football fortunes and led the Rebels to a 129-67 record in 18 seasons (1981-1998). In 1987, the Rebels advanced to the Class AAAA state championship game.

Friday’s matchup will pit the two teams entering the rivalry clash on two-game winning streaks — the first time that has happened since 2015.

“Our kids are playing well and the coaches have done a great job preparing them,” said Ford about wins over Statesboro (32-10) and Southeast Bulloch (42-7) in consecutive weeks to even the Rebels’ record at 2-2.

South (2-1) has been equally impressive while notching victories over Islands (24-0) and Bradwell Institute (45-0). It was the first time in school history the school had back-to-back shutouts.

“(SEHS) is playing great defense and they’re playing aggressively and with confidence on offense,” Ford said. “(Coach Nathan Clark) is doing a great job. It should be a great game and a great night.”

Latest

Effingham County Tops South Effingham for Region Softball Title

Ansleigh Giordano Delivers Two Clutch Performances as Rebels Capture First Title Since 2021

Effingham County players sprint from the dugout to celebrate after Cheyenne Hart scores the winning run on Ava Wiley’s sacrifice fly, giving the Rebels a 4-3 walk-off victory over South Effingham to capture the Region 1-5A championship. (Mark Lastinger / Effingham Herald)

South vs. Rebels softball — Effingham County players sprint from the dugout to celebrate after Cheyenne Hart scores the winning run on Ava Wiley’s sacrifice fly, giving the Rebels a 4-3 walk-off victory over South Effingham to capture the Region 1-5A championship. (Mark Lastinger / Effingham Herald)

Donald Heath

Updated: Oct 5, 2025, 12:18 PM

Published: Oct 5, 2025, 3:06 AM

GUYTON, Ga. – Effingham County coach Brad Thompson says pitcher is a special position in softball.

“You have to be able to handle pressure. Maybe that’s why they put a circle around it,” Thompson said.

Thompson put Ansleigh Giordano in the circle Saturday, and the right-hander came through in the Region 1-5A Final Four tournament at South Effingham. She overpowered Glynn Academy with a two-hit shutout in a 4-0 semifinal victory, then came back later in the afternoon to steady herself after a shaky start and beat rival South Effingham 4-3. The win delivered the Rebels’ first region championship since 2021.

Rebels vs. South softball — With the game on the line, Ava Wiley came through — her sacrifice fly to left sealed the Rebels’ walk-off win and the region crown. (Mark Lastinger / Effingham Herald)

Ava Wiley’s sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh inning gave ECHS a walk-off victory over the Mustangs and shifted bragging rights back to the Rebels, who won a season-opening matchup with South before losing the rematch about a month later.

By advancing to the finals, both ECHS and SEHS earned home-field advantage in the first round of the Class 5A state playoffs, which begin Oct. 13 with a best-of-three series. The Rebels (23-6) will be the No. 1 seed from Region 1. The Mustangs (18-3) are seeded second.

Giordano shines in the circle

“Last year, we couldn’t get it done. We didn’t show up,” Giordano said. “This time we wanted it more. We’ve been winning, and it feels like we have it figured out. We just have to stay on that path.”

ECHS, ranked third in Class 5A by ScoreAtlanta, extended its winning streak to nine. In preparation for the tournament, Thompson said he gave Giordano some rest last week — and it paid off.

The Augusta University commit responded with more velocity on her fastball and dominated the Red Terrors, who never advanced a runner past second base. Glynn had split two regular-season games with the Rebels.

Against South, Giordano relied on grit. During the first four innings, she surrendered 11 hits but stranded eight runners — six in scoring position.

“This is a gritty bunch of girls,” Thompson said.

That includes their coach. Thompson was struck by a softball in the batting cage the day before and broke his jaw but declined surgery until after Saturday’s games.

Rebels find ways to score

After falling behind 1-0, ECHS struck for three runs in the second inning, highlighted by Jenny Parker’s daring baserunning. She beat out a squeeze bunt to tie the game and, seeing no one covering second base, never stopped running and turned it into a double.

A wild pitch brought in the Rebels’ second run, and Parker — noticing the pitcher wasn’t covering home — scored from second base for the third.

South tied the game in the third on Cadi Hendry’s two-run single. The Mustangs were hoping for more with the bases loaded and one out, but Giordano pitched out of further trouble. In the fourth inning, South had runners on second and third with one out — and again, Giordano shut the door.

In the seventh, with the game tied 3-3, the Rebels loaded the bases with one out. Wiley lifted a fly ball to left field in foul territory that was caught, but Cheyenne Hart tagged and scored the winning run.

“The third time was our time. We’re happy to beat them again — and beat Glynn Academy again, too,” Wiley said.

Mustangs move on with lessons learned

South finished with 13 hits but went hitless in its final seven chances with runners in scoring position.

“This was a tough loss. We don’t have anybody but ourselves to blame for this one,” Mustangs coach Adam Newland said. “At the same time, we have to move on quickly. We have the playoffs coming up. We have to coach better. We have to play better. We have to focus on next week.”

Mustangs cruise past Greenbrier

In the first game, SEHS pounded out 15 hits and run-ruled Greenbrier 12-4 in a game closer than the final score indicated.

South led 6-4 before batting around in a six-run sixth inning. Sydney Minshall, who started the frame with a walk, ended the game when her infield grounder led to an errant throw allowing the Mustangs’ 12th run to score.

All nine SEHS starters had at least one hit. Cheniyah Jackson and Makenzi Polk each had three. Danni Lynn added two hits and two RBIs, Minshall had two hits, and Alyssa Martin doubled and drove in two.

Rebels dominate Glynn in semifinal

Effingham County had little trouble in the second game, defeating eighth-ranked Glynn Academy behind Giordano’s gem.

The teams had split two regular-season games, but this time Giordano struck out seven, walked none, and allowed just two hits — one an infield single.

Shelby Zeigler’s two-out, two-run single in the first inning gave the Rebels all the runs they needed.

Hart, who had two hits and two RBIs, added a run-scoring single in the second inning and an RBI double in the fourth.

Giordano did the rest, recording five 1-2-3 innings and never allowing a Glynn baserunner past second base.

The Red Terrors topped Greenbrier 7-0 in the consolation game to earn the region’s No. 3 seed in the state tournament. Greenbrier will be the No. 4 seed.