SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) – New Hampstead hosted South Effingham in Pooler on Thursday night, the first regular season game for both teams.

The Phoenix left the field with a 56-35 shootout victory. Thanks to two touchdowns from Rashawn Truell, the Phoenix built a 30-0 lead at halftime.

New Hampstead switched to their substitutes after taking a 42-0 lead in the second half.

Then South Effingham came alive again. The Mustangs scored 20 unanswered points in the third quarter to make it a 42-20 game.

In the fourth round, more points were scored, but the deficit of 30 points was too big to make up.

“We knew that coming into the season we had to come out with a lot of energy and show the city what we could do,” Phoenix quarterback Rashawn Truell said. “I think we did that early on. We used our backups, but they played hard. Sometimes that happens, so we had to put our ones back in and finish it out, and that’s what we did. A win is a win at the end of the day. The game isn’t over until the clock says 0-0-0. That’s a very clear thing to say. We have to finish the game like we always do, and that’s what we’ve been working on in practice.”

New Hampstead remains in Pooler for Week 2, but will be the away team against Savannah Christian.

South Effingham hosts Toombs County next Friday.

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