By Jeff Moeller, for the Effingham Herald

            These days, life is good for the Effingham County football team.

            Coming of their 42-7 victory at Evans last Friday night, the Rebels won their fourth straight, and they are the top seed in Region 2-6A. They raised their record to 5-3 overall and 4-0 in the region.

            They have a bye week this weekend, and will host Lakeside Oct. 27. During their four-game winning streak, the Rebels have outscored their opponents, 168-45.

            Through it all, though, head coach John Ford has played it close to the vest.

            “All region wins are big,” said Ford. “It doesn’t mean anything, and we are grateful for this one.

“We have to keep going. We just want to be 1-0 each week. We have been fortunate to have great cohesiveness and focus each week. We go out and do what we need to do.”

Against Evans, quarterback Nate Hayes threw for 237 yards with three touchdowns. Hayes connected with Lamar Roberts on a 99-yard touchdown in the second quarter that gave Effingham a 14-0 lead.

        Earlier, A. J. Butts scored on a six-yard keeper that gave the Rebels a 7-3 advantage in the opening quarter.  Ryan Wells helped set up the score with an interception.

Hayes also scored on a 22-yard run, Damian Gordon’s interception ended Evans’ drive and aided in Hayes’ touchdown run. Jayden Evans also scored on a 10-yard scamper, and the Rebels ran for 139 yards on the ground.

Later, Hayes found Wells for a 37-yard scoring strike.

Effingham added an additional 22 points in the third quarter, after they had a 20-3 lead at halftime. Their 42-3 lead at the end of the third quarter put them in control.

“We just stuck to our game plan,” said Ford. “We just kept playing hard, and didn’t let up. Our kids have been very disciplined, and it shows. We just need to stay the course.”

Ford also credited the play of his offensive and defensive lines, which both continue to create holes and havoc on both sides of the ball.

“Both of them are doing exceptional,” added Ford. “Coach (Austin) Osment and (Nico) Guggino are both coaching their units well. We have been able to control the line of scrimmages in several games, and that has been a plus.”

Ford and his troops plan to use the week off to their advantage. They will finish the season with home games against Lakeside and Brunswick.

“We will use the week to get healthy and work on fundamentals,” said Ford. “We will be ready to go.”