The South Effingham Mustangs kept trying to mount comebacks. The Bradwell Institute Tigers kept fending them off.
The Tigers held on for a 39-27 win at Olvey Field/Hokey Jackson Stadium, notching just their second win of the season and their first in Region 1-AAAAA play.
Bradwell improved to 2-5 for the year and 1-4 in the region. The Mustangs fell to 0-7 on the season and 0-5 in the region.
Jacoby Pasley, who had two long touchdown runs called back earlier, burst down the sidelines for a 35-yard touchdown run on the second play of the fourth quarter, and Carlito Savea hit Tyon Jones with a 23-yard TD pass to put the game out of reach.
“They showed some resiliency,” Tigers coach DeShon Brock said of his team. “They played with heart. I’ve got a lot of love and respect for these kids, sticking it out. Even though we’ve had a rough season, these guys are still out here fighting every day. That’s something we preach, fighting back and showing resilience, and they did that.”
South Effingham, which faced a 19-point deficit at halftime, cut the lead to 25-21 with two third-quarter scores.
On fourth down at their own 34-yard line, Corbin McGuire heaved a ball up in the air, and it turned into a 66-yard touchdown completion.
After a three-and-out, the Mustangs embarked on a 10-play, 42-yard drive, ending in McGuire’s 8-yard touchdown run with 1:06 left to play in the third. Lawton Bowen ran in the two-point conversion, cutting Bradwell’s lead to 25-21.
After Savea and Jones hooked up for their second touchdown of the night, McGuire was hurt on the first play of the next drive. J.T. Barkley stepped in, completing four straight passes to set up Kadin Ward’s 12-yard touchdown run with 5:52 left in the game.
“Corbin McGuire took a heckuva beating tonight,” Mustangs coach Loren Purvis said. “I was proud of our guys all over the board. We may not have played the cleanest of games, but they fought hard and didn’t quit.”
Bowen leaped to get the ensuing onside kick, but the drive and South Effingham’s hopes of a comeback ended when Kevin Irving picked off Barkley’s pass for Dalton Layton at the Bradwell 2 with 3:43 to go.
Savea scored on a 7-yard run on Bradwell’s first possession, but the lead lasted just 11 seconds – the length of time it took Jayden Hair to go 85 yards with the ensuing kickoff to tie the score at 6-6.
But the Tigers continued to score – Wade Cobb tacked on a 5-yard TD run in the first quarter, and Savea found Jones behind the South Effingham defense for a 36-yard scoring strike on the second play of the second quarter.
Terran Tigner recovered a Mustangs fumble at the Tigers 6-yard line. On the next play, Pasley retreated into the end zone to get around the South Effingham defense and raced down the sideline for an apparent 94-yard score, but a holding call brought it back.
The Tigers recovered another South Effingham fumble at the Mustangs 44, before an unsportsmanlike penalty set them back 15 yards, and Savea found Da’wahyne Chatham for a 51-yard bomb for a 25-6 lead with just 48.6 seconds left in the half.
Savea finished the game 13-of-21 passing for 271 yards, 228 coming in the first half.
The two teams also combined for 27 accepted penalties, resulting in 230 yards of walkoffs. Pasley had a 61-yard scoring burst in the first quarter nullified on a holding call. That drive ended when Joshua Brooks made a leaping grab of a Savea pass over the middle.
Bradwell will travel to Columbia County to face Lakeside-Evans on October 25. The Panthers are 7-1 on the year and 5-1 in the region. They lost to Brunswick 61-34 as the Pirates put up 707 yards of offense. Lakeside quarterback Ty Jones threw for 247 yards and ran for another 203 in the loss.
