It was a great night of high school football in Northeast Georgia, and #6 Rabun County played perhaps the most hyped game of the week when taking on #10 Stephens County.
Lee Shaw’s Wildcats survived a slow offensive start to pull away late in putting away the visiting Indians, 24-10. Junior all-state quarterback Bailey Fisher was phenomenal, throwing for 265 yards and rushing for 109. He scored all three touchdowns on the ground.
Stephens County struck first with a two-yard rushing TD by junior QB Jackson Bell. The Wildcats were driving and inside the red zone when Fisher’s pass intended for Cole Keener was intercepted by Malik Feaster near the goal line. However, Rabun regained possession and marched back down the field, capping the drive with a four-yard touchdown run by Fisher to tie the game at seven late in the first. The tie remained into the break.
Rabun added a 33-yard field goal in the third by Andrew Barnes after missing one moments earlier from 40-plus yards out. The Wildcats were up 10-7 when the Indians’ AJ Howard took a handoff for 50-plus yards deep inside the red zone. However, the Wildcats’ defense held strong to keep Stephens to a chip-shot 24-yard field goal by Luke Pearson, tying the game at 10.
Two minutes later, Fisher again used his legs to propel the Wildcats. The ran to the outside, following his blocks and letting them develop before diving inside the pylon for a 30-yard touchdown to put Rabun up for good. The ensuing extra point made it 17-10 with 9:39 left in the game. Another defensive stand gave Rabun the chance to put the game away with 3:57 to go when Fisher added his third rushing score on a three-yard run into the end zone, giving the Cats the 24-10 win.
Wildcats running back Cal Drummond was nearly unstoppable, tallying 201 rushing yards on the night. Rabun, who racked up 554 yards of total offense on the night, moves to 1-0 with the win, while Stephens drops to 1-1 overall.
LOCAL SCORES
#6 Rabun Co 24, #10 Stephens Co 10
Habersham Central 29, White Co 23
Dawson Co 30, Chattooga 8
Lumpkin Co 26, Jackson Co 13
Union Co 61, Hayesville 7
Banks Co 54, Johnson 35
#3 Commerce 49, Hebron 15
George Walton 21, Towns Co 6
—
Gainesville 21, Clarke Central 14
Flowery Branch 41, Chestatee 13
#1 Buford 49, Bishop 6
West Hall 10, Washington-Wilkes 0
#6 Thomson 42, #3 Jefferson 20
