The buses will crank up around noon Friday outside of South Effingham High School, and the Mustangs football team, band, cheerleaders and others will head out on another long road trip.

And they don’t mind one bit.

The Mustangs travel to Monroe to face Monroe Area in the Class AAAA state quarterfinals, their third straight trip of more than 150 miles in three weeks. Already, the South Effingham football team has traveled to Macon and Albany, and the tour of the Peach State continues this afternoon.

“Our kids travel well,” said Mustangs head coach Donnie Revell. “They’re well-behaved and they’re excited about getting the chance to play. Traveling has not been an adversity for us. It’s been OK.”

The Mustangs are a No. 4 seed and will not have a home playoff game this season. At The Corral, the Mustangs were 5-0, including wins over Liberty County and Richmond Academy that vaulted South Effingham into the playoffs.

“We were undefeated at home,” Revell said, “but getting on the road and having a little bit of success has been huge.”

As one of only two No. 4 seeds remaining in the playoffs in Classes AA-AAAAAA, the Mustangs have been decided underdogs. The odds — almost as long as the road they have to travel — don’t seem to bother the Mustangs.

“It’s fun for the kids,” Revell said. “Nobody gave us a ghost of a chance in the first week, and nobody thought we had a chance last week. Go out play hard and we’ll let the scoreboard read it says. And the last couple of weeks, it’s been pretty positive for us.”

Class AAAA football quarterfinals
• Who: South Effingham vs. Monroe Area
• When: Friday, 7:30 p.m.
• What: Class AAAA football quarterfinals
• Where: The Purple Pit, Monroe
• Records: SEHS 8-4, Monroe Area 11-1