SPRINGFIELD -- The offenses for Grovetown and host Effingham County were scoring touchdowns at an unsustainable pace in the first quarter on Friday night.
The visiting Warriors went 57 yards in three plays for the game’s first touchdown, which the Rebels matched – after Kris Swinney’s kickoff return to the Grovetown 22 -- in four plays. The Warriors used only two plays to cover 49 yards to the end zone, then the Rebels took two plays to go 81 yards for another tie.
“I like scoring points as much as the next guy,” Effingham County coach John Ford said after the game. “We scored so fast, (our defense) didn’t have time to adjust. That compounded the fact that there were some young guys (starting for the Rebels) that were seeing some things, and things were going fast. But once we got in there at halftime and settled down for 20 minutes, they did a really good job.”
Effingham County defenders line up against Grovetown during Friday night's Region 1-6A matchup in Springfield. The Rebels shut out the Warriors in the second half on their way to a 42-21 victory. (Photo by @visualzbykuntry)
The defense shut out Grovetown in the second half after Effingham County took a 28-21 lead into halftime, as the Rebels scored 21 unanswered points for a 42-21 Region 1-6A victory.
Two of those scores came on consecutive plays – Matt Dillon’s 43-yard TD pass to Trayvis Hunter as time expired in the first half, and Jernard Albright’s 90-yard kickoff return to open the second half.
“Scoring that touchdown before half was a big thing,” Rebels senior offensive lineman (and sophomore Matt’s older brother) Jordan Dillon said. “I think we gained momentum after that.”
Winner of six straight, Effingham County (6-2, 5-0 region) has two games left in the regular season, at Brunswick on Oct. 30 and hosting Greenbrier on Nov. 6. A Rebels win in either contest will secure the region championship.
But first they had to vanquish Grovetown (2-6, 2-3 region), which pounded the ball out of a Wing-T formation and rarely attempted to pass, even when two and three scores behind in the second half.
The Warriors were effective in the first half, in part because “they did some stuff they hadn’t shown on film,” Ford said. The coach said the defense, which started two freshmen (safety Marcus White and linebacker Frank King III) and two sophomores (defensive end Wyatt Haley and nose guard Roland Parker), had to adjust to different looks, such as an unbalanced formation that attacked the weak side.
Once the defense did better at reading keys, shedding blocks, and getting to the ball, the leaks in the gaps were plugged, and the Grovetown offense was contained.
“It took us a while to get that stuff cleaned up and adjusted,” Ford said. “But once they did, they did a really good job. I was really proud of them.”
Punts on the game’s opening series for each squad misled what was to come. Derrick Gowdy’s 52-yard run set up the Warriors’ opening score on the first of teammate Miles Dauley’s three rushing touchdowns, a 1-yard score. Kicker Jared Mendoza’s extra point hit the crossbar and bounced over for one more point with 8:09 left in the first quarter.
Swinney’s long kickoff return provided a short field and eventually led to Jordan Mydell’s 3-yard TD run and the first of Brayden Edwards’ six successful extra points with 6:29 remaining.
Grovetown didn’t need to grind for the next score, as Dauley ran through a huge hole on the left side of the line and went 49 yards untouched for 14-7 with 5:40 to go.
Effingham County’s answer was freshman running back Bradford Joyner, who played in three previous games and had six carries for 78 yards, including a 41-yarder.
Joyner, getting more playing time at tailback with leading rusher Jmere Doe-Davis (105 carries, 768 yards) “banged up,” per Ford, covered 81 yards on his next two carries. Joyner rushed for 6 yards, then sprinted 75 yards for the tying touchdown, getting hit by a defender and falling into the end zone for 14-14 with 4:46 still to go in the first quarter.
After Grovetown punted, Matt Dillon launched a bomb to senior receiver Hunter on the next play for a 60-yard TD and the Rebels’ first lead of the game at 21-14 with 2:02 remaining.
The Warriors stuck to their ball-control, clock-chewing offensive scheme. From the last three plays of the opening quarter, they kept possession for a total of 22 plays, driving 69 yards and exhausting nearly all of the second quarter.
Their satisfaction in tying the game at 21 with 58 seconds left before halftime was erased by the Rebels’ one-minute drill.
“I was looking to either score or run out the clock and go into halftime and get with the coaches,” said Matt Dillon, who finished the game 8-of-10 passing for 182 yards and three touchdowns.
Joyner ran 5 yards on first down to the ECHS 32. Dillon connected with Isaiah Brown on the left sideline for first downs on passes of 11 and 14 yards. That left 7.6 seconds on the clock.
“More than enough (time),” Dillon said.
Hunter ran another post pattern and was all alone when Dillon found him for a 43-yard score as time expired in the half for a 28-21 lead.
“That was a credit to the kids; they really executed,” Ford said of the offensive series to end the half. “We pride ourselves on situational football. But at the end of the day, they’ve got to out and do it. They did a really good job with it. We had just enough time – really, by the hair on our chin.
“(The Warriors) were a little disheveled in that moment and our kids executed.”
Albright took whatever positive vibe that Grovetown had coming out for the second half when he fielded a line-drive kickoff, dropped it and picked it up on a bounce before beating coverage to the left sideline and sprinting to the end zone.
Matt Dillon, a 6-foot-2, 185-pound quarterback, completed the scoring with an 8-yard TD pass to Brown early in the fourth quarter after the defense stopped Grovetown on fourth-and-4 at the ECHS 45.
Offensive lineman Jordan Dillon (6-4, 330), who has committed to Georgia Tech, said the Rebels were getting through a back-and-forth first half by “scoring, staying true to our offense, doing what we do.”
“We had like 20 plays and four touchdowns,” Jordan Dillon said. “I think we were pretty efficient on offense.”
EFFINGHAM COUNTY 42, GROVETOWN 21
| TEAM | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| Grovetown | 14 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
| Effngham County | 21 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 42 |
First Quarter
G—Miles Dauley 1 run (Jared Mendoza kick)
EC—Jordan Mydell 3 run (Brayden Edwards kick)
G—Dauley 49 run (Mendoza kick)
EC—Bradford Joyner 75 run (Edwards kick)
EC—Trayvis Hunter 60 pass from Matt Dillon (Edwards kick)
Second Quarter
G—Dauley 1 run (Mendoza kick)
EC—Hunter 43 pass from Dillon (Edwards kick)
Third Quarter
EC—Jernard Albright 90 kickoff return (Edwards kick)
Fourth Quarter
EC—Isaiah Brown 8 pass from Dillon (Edwards kick)
Records—Grovetown 2-6, 2-3 Region 1-6A; Effingham County 6-2, 5-0 region.
Photo credit: Courtesy of visualzbykuntry on Instagram
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Optim Orthopedics presents Prep Sports Report’s 2026 high school football coverage.
Optim Orthopedics team physicians include Dr. Don Aaron (Bryan County), Dr. David Sedory (Benedictine, Bradwell Institute, Liberty County), Dr. David Palmer (Calvary Day, Richmond Hill, South Effingham), and Dr. Thomas Alexander (Savannah Country Day, St. Vincent’s Academy).
