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SEHS boys drop two games in Joe Greene tournament
Flag football teams in state tournament
Landyn White
South Effingham's sophomore guard Landyn White (No. 15) drives to the basket against Groves' leaping Tyrone Chisholm (No. 3) and Marcus Thomas (No. 1). (Donald Heath for the Effingham Herald.)

By Donald Heath

Special for the Effingham Herald


SAVANNAH – A win or two in the Joe Greene basketball tournament at Beach High School in Savannah over the holidays would have been a treat for South Effingham’s boys.

But Coach Rico Campbell had to take solace in seeing combinations and strategies begin to show progress for his Mustangs.

South struggled against Johnson in a 78-46 loss on Nov. 25, the team’s third straight lopsided defeat, but played considerably better against Groves the next night, despite the 67-58 setback.

“We saw some good things. We played zone (defense) and I think it slowed (Groves) down. We fought back but it just wasn’t enough,” Campbell said.

South’s record slipped to 1-5, but its first five games were against schools that advanced to the state playoffs last season.

Johnson went to the Class 3A state championship game.

But the Mustangs were on equal footing with Groves for most of the night. South had a 13-2 run in the first quarter to take a nine-point lead (13-4), but the Rebels answered with a 13-2 spurt to surge in front, 17-15.

Groves led 30-29 at halftime and 46-45 after three quarters.

The Rebels pulled ahead by 10 (60-50) in the fourth quarter, but the Mustangs closed within six, 62-56, with 1:22 to play.

Sophomore Landyn White led the team in scoring in both tournament games with nine points against Johnson and 15 against Groves.

White, a lefthanded-shooting guard/forward, received more playing time because starting post Chase Seyler out with an injury.

Starting point guard Michael Hall was also out with an injury, increasing Marcus Campbell’s ballhandling responsibilities.

Six-foot-4 Quinton Williams showed moments of dominating in the paint. He had six points, including a dunk, in South’s early run and finished with 10 points.

Will Harlin added 12 points.

Coach Campbell also praised the hustle of Corey Woods on the inside and Corbin McGuire on the perimeter. 

“I like what the starters did,” Campbell said. “I felt like Marcus handled the point pretty well and Corbin and Corey played hard and did good things. We have to learn to finish games like this.”


FLAG FOOTBALL

SEHS, ECHS begin state tournament play


The GHSA Division 3 State Flag Football Championships begin Thursday with both South Effingham and Effingham County in the 32-team field.

Area winners will host three teams and first-round and second-round games will be played on the same day.

South (10-4), the winner of Area 1, will host Hiram (10-4, a No. 4 seed from Area 5) and Veterans (7-6, a No. 3 seed from Area 2) meets Southwest DeKalb (14-4-1, a No. 2 seed from Area 8).

Arden Thompson
South Effingham flag football quarterback Arden Thompson has thrown for 1,464 yards and 24 touchdowns while helping the Mustangs win an area championship. SEHS will be a No. 1 seed in the state playoffs which begin Dec. 5. (Birk Herrath for the Effingham Herald.)
The two winning teams then meet for a chance to advance to the Elite Eight.

The same scenario will unfold at Peach County High School on Thursday. Effingham County (9-10, a No. 3 seed from Area 1) will play South Paulding (13-11, a No. 2 seed from Area 5) at Peach County.

And host Peach County (12-3, a No. 1 seed from Area 2) will meet Druid Hills (8-9, a No. 4 seed from Area 8). The winners will meet in the third game.

Elite Eight games will be played Dec. 9. The semifinals Dec. 12 and the division state championship will be played Dec. 17 at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta.