SPRINGFIELD, Ga. – Effingham County coach John Ford doesn’t like tippy-toeing into the football season.
He won’t have to worry about that with Houston County coming to Springfield and opening the Rebels’ 2025 schedule on Aug. 22.
The Bears, an Elite Eight participant in the Class 5A state playoffs last season, highlight ECHS’ 10-game schedule that mirrors the 2024 slate with one exception – teams that hosted in 2024 will be on the road this fall.
“I like being in deep waters and testing ourselves at the start of the season and Houston County is an exceptional opponent, one of the best in 5A,” Ford said. “They’ll expose any weaknesses you have so we have to be ready coming out of the gate.”
A year ago, Ford went Bear hunting at the start of the season and faced Houston County’s Antwann Hill, a four-star quarterback (who finished the season with 44 touchdown passes and 3,373 passing yards) headed to the University of Memphis.
ECHS’ secondary was tested by Isaiah Mitchell, who caught 91 passes during the season for 1,662 yards and 19 TDs. Mitchell signed with Mississippi State University.
The Rebels (6-5 last season) lost to Houston County but gave a strong showing in the 44-41 setback. The Bears lost in the state playoffs to eventual undefeated state champion Milton.
ECHS’ 2025 schedule will be top heavy again. High-scoring New Hampstead follows in Game 2 with defending region champion Brunswick opening the region schedule in Game 3.
Both games will be on the road.
The matchup with Brunswick determined region championships in three of the last four years with the Rebels winning its first title since 1995 in 2023.
Struggling Bradwell Institute (2-8 in 2024) and South Effingham (0-10) will be up next. The Sept. 19 rivalry game with the Mustangs will be in Guyton. ECHS has won five straight games in the series by a combined score of 162-10.
The Rebels begin the second half of the regular season with three games against Augusta-area schools Lakeside (Sept. 26), Evans (Oct. 10) and Greenbrier (Oct. 17) all in Springfield. Last season, ECHS made the five-hour round trip (in a school bus) three times in a nine-day span after hurricanes and threatening weather led to postponements and rescheduling.
Offensive-minded Lakeside broke a fourth-quarter tie to beat the Rebels 58-38 in a key showdown last season. For ECHS, it was the difference between finishing third in the region standings instead of second and playing at home (against 8-win New Manchester) instead of being on the road (against 10-win East Paulding) in the first round of the state playoffs.
ECHS finishes the regular season with games on the road against Glynn Academy (Oct. 24) and Statesboro (Oct. 31). The Rebels held off the Red Terrors 45-43 when linebacker Duff Davis fell on a fumble in the final minute to thwart a potential go-ahead scoring drive.
ECHS ended the regular season in 2024 by winning six of its last seven games.
“We’ll find out a lot about our team early on,” Ford said. “We have a lot of skill players returning, but we’re inexperienced in other areas.”
ECHS 2025 SCHEDULE
Aug. 22: Houston County
Aug. 29: at New Hampstead
Sept. 5: at Brunswick
Sept. 12: Bradwell Institute
Sept. 19 at South Effingham
Sept. 26: Lakeside
Oct. 10: Evans
Oct. 17: Greenbrier
Oct. 24: at Glynn Academy
Oct. 31: at Statesboro.
