Bradwell Institute tried to match Effingham County’s brutally efficient offense.
But two touchdowns negated on penalties were too much for the Tigers to overcome.
The visiting Rebels jumped out to a 21-point lead and posted a 35-14 Region 1-AAAAA win over the Tigers at Olvey Field/Hokey Jackson Stadium, getting their first win of the year. The Tigers fell to 1-3 overall and 0-2 in the region.
Bradwell trailed 28-8 in the waning seconds of the first half, and the Tigers were going to get the ball to start the second half. Carlito Savea found senior speedster Tyon Jones on an apparent 75-yard touchdown strike with 31.7 seconds left in the half.
However, the Tigers were called for a block in the back, bringing the ball back to the Rebels 13, and drawing the ire of the Tigers coaching staff, who thought the block was legal. Instead, the Tigers were held on downs and did not score.
In the fourth quarter, Savea’s 46-yard TD pass to Jeremiah Holloway was truncated to a 26-yard gain after referees penalized the Tigers for a blindside block.
The Rebels, though, used an early onslaught behind Tucker Perkins and Junior Robinson. Perkins, a junior quarterback, and Robinson, a junior running back, led an Effingham that converted its first eight third-down opportunities.
Robinson’s 1-yard run for the first of his four touchdowns capped an 11-play, 77-yard opening drive that took more than five and a half minutes off the clock.
His 4-yard run with less than a minute left in the first quarter stretched the lead to 14-0, and he scored from 7 yards out with 8:21 to go.
The Tigers mounted their own lengthy drive, going 77 yards in 13 plays as Kevin Ford scored on a 6-yard run. A roughing the kicker penalty on the point after led to Savea’s two-point conversion run. But an unsportsmanlike penalty on the touchdown pushed the kickoff back to the Tigers 25.
Effingham started from its own 45, with 2:32 to go, and Perkins found Ryan Wells for a 22-yard score with 52.2 seconds remaining.
The Rebels final score came on a 13-play, 86-yard march that devoured nearly seven minutes off the clock. Robinson plowed in from a yard out to cap Effingham’s scoring.
Bradwell’s offense was hampered by turnovers. The Tigers had turnovers on successive plays in the second half, a fumble on their last play of the third quarter and an interception on a tipped pass on their first play of the fourth period.
Da’wahyne Chatman tumbled inside the pylon to complete a 29-yard scoring pass from Savea with 5:22 to go, and the Tigers recovered the ensuing onside kick.
After Holloway’s touchdown was negated, that drive ended in a fumble, and the Rebels ran off the final 4:42 of the game.
Perkins was 13-of-21 passing for 129 yards, and Robinson ran 19 times for 108 yards. The Rebels rolled up 356 yards of offense as they improved to 1-3 on the season and 1-1 in the region.
Savea finished 12-of-28 passing for 202 yards.
Bradwell visits Statesboro on September 20.
For more, see the September 19 edition of the Courier.