By Donald Heath

Special for the Effingham Herald

The South Effingham Mustangs had things bounce their way against Lakeside Evans – on Friday the 13th, no less.

A deflected pass was hauled in by diving tight end Richard Hall for a 17-yard touchdown, providing the winning margin in South Effingham's 22-19 over the host Panthers on Oct. 13.

The Mustangs (5-2, 1-2 Region 2-6A) claimed their first region win of the season. Their fifth overall victory was their most in a season since posting a 6-5 mark in 2020.

Maybe more importantly, the win was a nice bounce-back performance after taking a 35-0 beating from Glynn Academy a week earlier.

"We gave up a 70-yard touchdown run and had a fumble returned for a touchdown (against Lakeside), but never once did I see that dejection in their eyes. They remained confident they could win," SEHS coach Loren Purvis said.

Gannon White and Kaden DeGenaro had first-half touchdown runs to propel the Mustangs into a 14-13 lead.

Despite surrendering the long TD run, South's defense played well led by linebacker Jeremiah Washington, who recorded three tackles for losses and three quarterback hurries.

Dominic Martell and Moose Bringer had interceptions.

There were times it looked cloudy on the rainy night. But Hall's reception, his first catch of the season, brought the Mustangs back from a 19-14 deficit. Hayden Purvis ran in the two-point conversion to make it 22-19 late in the third quarter.

In the final minutes, SEHS had another bounce go its way. On fourth-and-one from the Mustangs' 25-yard line, a Lakeside quarterback sneak gained several yards. But before being down, the quarterback seemed to toss the ball forward to a lineman.

"It was hard to tell what happened from the sidelines, but watching the film, the ball came out with some force," Purvis said.

The ruling on the field was an illegal forward pass, which was a five-yard penalty and a loss of down.

South took over possession. Kadin Ward's 10-yard run on third-and-seven with 1:50 left allowed the Mustangs to run out the clock and secure their fifth win.

"The five wins are great but the two losses we have weren't even close," Purvis said. "If we were competing in those games, I'd feel better. But to be honest, we're still learning how to compete."

Purvis said he saw a turnaround during the second half against Glynn Academy. South outgained the Red Terrors 139-130 in total yardage after being dominated in the first half at Glynn County Stadium.

Now the Mustangs travel back to Glynn County Stadium to meet two-time defending region champion Brunswick on Friday night.

The Pirates (4-2, 2-1 Region 2-6A) will be coming off a bye week after defeating Lakeside 46-22. Wide receiver Terry Mitchell was the region's offensive player of the year last season.

"They're big and athletic. They present a big challenge," Purvis said.