With summer fast approaching, the Effingham County Rebels football team put its spring practice to good use.

Their two weeks of workouts concluded Friday with a brief scrimmage, and head coach Jack Webb was pleased the results and the progress his team made in a short amount of time.

“We’re a little banged up and beat up,” he said. “But we hit more this spring than any other spring I’ve been in. We did a lot of teaching and did a lot of things offensively.”

The Rebels are losing more than a dozen seniors off last year’s team that closed strong before finishing 5-5. That meant the two weeks of spring allowed the Rebels coaches to evaluate their rising ninth graders and some of their younger players who didn’t get as much playing time or practice repetitions last year.

“That’s the whole purpose of spring,” Webb said. “You never know which one is going to surprise you.”

Webb was happy with the progress of his offensive line where many of his younger players, led by Jordan Ginn, improved. Several running backs also stood out in two weeks of spring drills.

“Steven Tarpley had a good spring. Michael Johnson had a good spring. Those two have really increased their strength,” Webb said.

On defense, Webb pointed to rising seniors Quentin Mungin and Cedric Taylor for their work in spring practice. Freshman Perry Mydell was moved to outside linebacker and performed well.

“He’s made some improvement since the first day,” Webb said.

Summer vacation for Effingham County students begins in a few days. It could be a busy one for the Rebels. Summer workouts will commence soon, and while they are voluntary, Webb told his team their willingness to work over the summer could be seen as an example of their commitment to the team.

“We try to build it like a family, a cohesiveness,” he said. “We’re depending on each other, and we’ll play harder for each other.”