GUYTON – Six wins had guaranteed South Effingham and first-year head coach Loren Purvis a winning record. A home victory Friday night over Evans would have clinched a berth in the GHSA Class 6A state playoffs.
“I wanted seven,” Purvis said. “Seven would have been perfect.”
The Mustangs got close, leading by six points in the fourth quarter, but Evans roared back with three of star running back Rayshaun King’s four touchdowns to win 35-20 and secure the fourth and final playoff berth from Region 2-6A in the regular-season finale.
“We had two goals,” said Purvis, whose Mustangs (6-4, 2-4 region) had not finished above .500 since the 2019 season. “We wanted a winning season and we wanted to make it into the playoffs. Those were the big things we put on the board at the beginning of the year as a coaching staff. We were able to accomplish one of them.”
South Effingham was tied in the region standings with Evans (now 4-6, 3-3), as Effingham County, Glynn Academy and Brunswick had clinched three berths heading into Friday’s games.
The Mustangs scored on their first drive, then the Knights matched them. The run-heavy SEHS offense grinded out yards and time on the clock on its next drive, scoring on the first play of the second quarter – Jakeim Leeks’ 7-yard dash through a big hole – for a 14-7 advantage.
Evans responded to that 80-yard drive with its own, culminating with King’s first touchdown of 2 yards for an even game.
Punting was an almost obsolete part of the playbook all night as the squads drove up and down the field. After Evans made a defensive stand for a turnover on downs, it had enough time before halftime to drive to the SEHS 1-yard line, where receiver Tyler Perry stepped out of bounds.
The clock ticked off the final seconds on that play, however, and the Mustangs were only too happy to head toward their locker room. When both teams were reset to play, Evans had 5 seconds and ran Bryson Crewe off-tackle for the final play of the half.
The Mustangs rose to the occasion and walled off the runner from the end zone.
“We were ready to go,” Purvis said. “Since about halfway through the year, I’ve never questioned our fight. I’ve never questioned our resiliency and want to win. Our guys never quit. Even tonight, it felt like it slipped away from us, but I don’t question our effort and what we put into it.”
The Knights missed a 37-yard field-goal attempt and the Mustangs fumbled in a scoreless third quarter.
South Effingham took a 20-14 lead on a 62-yard drive concluded with quarterback Kaden De Genaro’s 6-yard run that looked like a broken play but was designed for him to fake a handoff and keep the ball. The extra-point kick missed, however, leaving SEHS with a 20-14 lead with 8:49 left in regulation.
That was plenty of time for the Knights and King, a 6-foot-2, 190-pound senior. The power runner showed his speed on the next series, taking a handoff and cutting left through traffic, then outracing the nearest defenders along the left sideline for a 75-yard score and a 21-20 edge.
After SEHS was stopped on downs with a sack at its 19 with 6:01 left, Evans took advantage of the short field with King’s 1-yard TD and extra point for 28-20 with 2:54 to go.
That was still a one-score game, but Norman Harden intercepted De Genaro on the first play of the next series. Evans turned to King, who broke free from would-be tacklers and found lots of green space for a 50-yard TD just 30 seconds after his latest one.
King finished with 237 yards and four TDS on 22 carries.
“He’s good. He’s strong. He runs hard,” Purvis said. “Right there late when we got down, we were trying to tackle as well as rip that ball out. And a guy like that is too strong to tackle with one arm. We just couldn’t hang onto him. He’s a talent.”
De Genaro said: “We let the moment get too big for us, and we can’t let that happen. They played it well.”
The Mustangs finished with 249 yards rushing as Leeks contributed 71 on 11 carries. De Genaro was 8-for-19 passing for 101 yards.
The Knights rushed for 369 yards, including quarterback EJ Hogan’s 17 attempts for 111 yards. Evans used two quarterbacks who were a combined 4-for-7 for 43 yards.
The long season came to a sudden end for the Mustangs, who won four games in 2022, two in 2021 and once in 2020.
“I wish we could have gone further,” said De Genaro, a senior. “It’s a big steppingstone. … I believe in what these guys have got going, I believe in Coach Purvis. These guys are going to turn the page on this program.”
Purvis, who returned to the school after serving as offensive coordinator under then-head coach Nathan Clark in 2019-20, said he talked to the team after the game about never stopping in trying to get better, whether in a game or in life.
“There are a lot of scoreboards in life, a lot of them,” Purvis said to reporters after the game. “You’re going to win some and lose some. But never let that define who you are, and never let that define what you do tomorrow. Especially for those seniors, for a lot of them it’ll be the last time they get to put on those pads.
“Hopefully, we’re setting some standards. I told these guys earlier in the year, we may not be the group that hangs the banners around here, but we can set the tone and the standard for the guys behind us.”
EVANS 35, SOUTH EFFINGHAM 20
Evans | 7 | 7 | 0 | 21 | -- 35
SEHS | 7 | 7 | 0 | 6 | -- 20
First quarter
SE—Aubrey Heath 52 run (Tyler Quick kick)
E—EJ Hogan 3 run (Tyler Wallace kick)
Second quarter
SE—Jakeim Leeks 17 run (Quick kick)
E—Rayshaun King 2 run (Wallace kick)
Fourth quarter
SE—Kaden De Genaro 6 run (kick failed)
E—King 75 run (Wallace kick)
E—King 1 run (Wallace kick)
E—King 50 run (Wallace kick)
Week 12 Final Scores
Nov 2 (Thursday)
Savannah Christian 63, Liberty Co. 21
Nov. 3 (Friday)
GHSA Class 7A-Region 1
Colquitt County 35, Richmond Hill 3
GHSA Class 6A-Region 2
Effingham County 31, Brunswick 28
Evans 35, South Effingham 20
GHSA Class 5A-Region 2
Greenbrier 32, Bradwell 29
Statesboro 35, Jenkins 0
GHSA Class 3A-Region 3
Calvary Day 1, Beach 0
Savannah Country Day 68, Groves 14
Long County 38, Johnson 14
GHSA Class 1A-D1
Bryan County 50, Claxton 0
GHSA Class GHSA 1A D1 Region 3
Robert Toombs 63. Memorial Day 6
GIAA AAAA/AAA District 2
Frederica Academy 49, St. Andrew's 13
SCISA AA Playoffs
Bethesda 50, Greenwood Christian 0
PHOTO CREDIT: Birk Herrath Photography
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Optim Orthopedics supports Prep Sports and the following schools: Benedictine Military School, Bradwell Institute, Calvary Day School, Liberty County High School, Richmond Hill High School, Savannah Country Day, South Effingham High School, and St. Vincent's athletics. Benedictine Military School, Bradwell Institue, and Liberty County's team doctor is Dr. David Sedory. Dr. David Palmer is the team doctor for Calvary Day School, South Effingham, and Richmond Hill. Savannah Country Day and St. Vincent's team doctor is Dr. Thomas Alexander. Remember, Optim Orthopedics gets you back into the game.
