Looking Back in Sports

The gap between Savannah Christian's football team and the rest of Region 2-AAA closed considerably on Friday night.

Effingham County earned - really earned - a 21-0 win over the Red Raiders at Rebel Field in the inaugural AAA game for both teams.

The Rebels fought for every yard against a scrappy Red Raiders defense. Effingham County didn't break a scoreless tie until the third quarter, on Earl Scott's first of two touchdown runs.

Effingham County finally overcame the Red Raiders' defense and its own mistakes with 6:59 left in the third quarter. Daniel Hurst's fumble recovery gave the Rebels the ball at the Red Raiders' 28-yard line. On third-and-5 from the 23, senior tailback Earl Scott scampered 23 yards for the touchdown and a 7-0 lead.

Then with 9:32 left in the contest, Scott's 39-yard scoring run finally broke the game at 14-0. Scott finished with 202 yards on 30 carries, his second straight 200-yard game. Keith Bates' 28-yard scoring run with 3:47 remaining capped the scoring. Effingham County out-gained SCPS 188-75 in the opening half. The Rebels also displayed impressive balance, with 126 rushing yards 98 by Scott and Chris Garcia's 62 passing yards.

From Sept.8, 2001

REBELS RALLY PAST RED RAIDERS

Effingham County can run the football, too.

It just took the Rebels a little longer to show Savannah Christian how well during their 22-21 Region 2-AAA win Friday night at Garden City Stadium. After being held to 57 first-half yards, the Rebels' ground attack shook loose in a big way in time to spearhead a scintillating comeback from a 21-6 halftime deficit. Effingham Co. (2-0, 1-0) notched 202 yards on 33 carries in the second half, highlighted by two impressive scoring drives in the third quarter.

"We were a little shaky in the first quarter because we're a young team," said Lindsey Gaskin, who secured his second-consecutive 100-yard performance with 120 on 24 carries - 103 on 18 attempts after halftime. "But the coaches challenged us to step it up. I knew I had to pump myself up because I was frustrated with the way I was playing."