Effingham County High School

Rebels won’t, can’t take Jefferson County lightly

Effingham County High School at Jefferson County High School

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Don’t worry about the Effingham County Rebels football team taking the Class AA Jefferson County Warriors lightly tonight.

The Warriors, ranked as high as No. 9 in the state, are 0-0-1 after their 21-21 tie with Washington County last week.

And Effingham County coach Rick Tomberlin — who led Washington County to three state championships — got plenty of insight from his friends and colleagues in Sandersville.

“We played them several times at Washington County,” Tomberlin said. “They are always rugged, and they always play hard.”

The Warriors, who went 12-1 a year ago and won 46 games in the previous five seasons under coach JB “Jerry” Arnold. B.J. Bostic led the Warriors a year ago but is competing for playing time at Georgia Tech now.

Jefferson County’s offense has fallen into the hands of quarterback Chester Stone. Stone was 5-of-13 for 40 yards and a touchdown passing last week while Charles Broadus ran eight times for 94 yards and a score. Broadus also ran back a kickoff 67 yards for a touchdown against the Golden Hawks.

“They kinda concern me,” Tomberlin said. “They’ve got a lot of starters back, and they’ve got two good quarterbacks.”

Jefferson County’s style of play also is different from the philosophy Tomberlin espouses. It’s a wide open attack and the defensive philosophy is equally helter-skelter.

“They’re coming,” Tomberlin said of the Warriors’ defense. “They crowd the line and they come get you. They play hard and hustle to the ball. It’s a high-pressure defense.”

Stone, playing with a torn ligament in a knee, scored 13 touchdowns last year. He was 35-of-59 passing for 561 yards and six TDs a year ago. He also ran for 245 yards and six touchdowns and caught 22 passes for 360 yards and seven more touchdowns.

The 5-foot-9, 190-pound senior boasts 4.4 speed in the 40-yard dash and is drawing interest from Tech, South Carolina, Navy and Middle Tennessee State.

The Warriors averaged 368 yards of offense and 34.8 points per game a year ago, topping the 40-point barrier four times.

“It is thrown down the field, brother,” Tomberlin said of the Warriors’ offense. “And they are good. They got really good athletes and good quarterbacks who can throw it.”

There has been no hangover from last week’s convincing season-opening win over Screven County, according to Tomberlin. If anything, practices in preparation for Jefferson County have stepped up a notch.

“We’ve had a very intense week,” he said. “I think we’ve worked even harder for Jefferson.”