Football Preview: Effingham County Rebels vs. Lakeside Panthers
The Effingham County Rebels will venture away from home to square off against the Lakeside Panthers at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Effingham County's defense heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Friday. They breezed by South Effingham at home to the tune of 47-0. The Rebels' offense stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most points they've scored all season.
It was another big night for Tucker Perkins, who threw for 238 yards and five touchdowns while completing 86.7% of his passes. Ryan Wells was in the mix as well, providing Effingham County with two touchdowns.
Meanwhile, Lakeside put another one in the bag on Friday to keep their perfect season alive. They enjoyed a cozy 28-14 win over Glynn Academy. The Panthers pushed the score to 28-0 by the end of the third, a deficit the Terrors cut but never quite recovered from.
Lakeside's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Ty Jones led the charge by rushing for 141 yards and a touchdown on only 12 carries, while also throwing for 131 yards on only 11 passes. Jones' rushing production has been exceptional recently as that marked his fourth straight game with at least 101 rushing yards dating back to last season. Brandon Grissom also helped out as he racked up 100 rushing yards.
Lakeside was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 266 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 190 rushing yards in five consecutive contests.
The victory made it two in a row for Effingham County and bumps their season record up to 2-3. As for Lakeside, their win was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 5-0.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Friday's match: Effingham County has been excellent in the air this season, having averaged 276.2 passing yards per game. It's a different story for Lakeside, though, as they've been averaging only 120.2. How will they fare against such a dominant passing game?
Effingham County didn't have too much breathing room in their game against Lakeside when the teams last played back in October of 2023, but they still walked away with a 36-31 victory. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Jones, who rushed for 83 yards and a touchdown on only eight carries, and also threw for 168 yards and two touchdowns. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Effingham County still be able to contain Jones? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
