BRUNSWICK -- Effingham County fell short in a bid for its first region championship since 1995, falling to Brunswick 30-27 on Friday night at Glynn County Stadium.

ECHS (7-3, 5-1 Region 2-AAAAAA) dropped to a No. 2 seed for the state playoffs and will host Lee County from Region 1 next Friday.

The Rebels had trouble matching Brunswick's speed in the first half and surrendered touchdowns of 53, 68 and 73 yards while falling behind 20-7.

ECHS closed within three twice -- 23-20 and 30-27 -- in the fourth quarter. Quarterback Nate Hayes' 22-yard TD pass to Keion Wallace made it 30-27 with 19 seconds left and the Rebels recovered the onsides kick but couldn't get closer than the BHS 44 before time expired.

Hayes threw for 139 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another. Jayden Evans finished with 133 yards, 107 coming in the first quarter when he had runs of 57 and 24 yards.

Wallace and Ashley Thompson caught TD passes and defensive back Messiah Bacon returned a fumble 15 yards for a score.