Our Week One Game of the Week takes us to Cleveland to catch the high-flying offense and star-studded defense of the Warriors of White County. They’re countered by powerhouse and #4-ranked Rabun County, who looks to prove a lot of teams wrong this season. The QB battle is between SR Tripp Nix and JR Ty Truelove, great dual threats.
White County
This Warriors team is full of veteran leaders, as 23 seniors comprise the roster. That’s led by 4-year starter Tripp Nix at QB, who is a big-time dual threat set for his best season yet. Sophomore WR Gaines Clark emerged as a playmaker last year, and new RB Noel Lammers will look to make an early statement. The offense has 6 starters back; The defense has 8 – which is huge. SR LB Jon Scott led the world in tackles a year ago, and together with SR DE Noah Williams, SR LB Alex Johnson, SR S Jason Rewis, and SR DB Cade Dockery, this unit could be special. Veteran kicker Hayden Vandegriff could be a deciding factor as well.
Rabun County
The Wildcats were very young last year. The streak snapped of 10-win seasons, consecutive region titles, etc., but Rabun rallied to a 9th straight Quarterfinals. Now in his second season as the full starter, Ty Truelove looks to lead the team back to where they know they can be – among the elite. He has the junior RB room behind him in Reid Giles and Noah English. The team rolls 7 starters back on both sides of the ball. A question that will need to be answered is who, if anyone, can step up as a vertical threat at receiver to take the lid off the defense up top. Defensively, Giles, English, Elvis Hunt, and others’ names will be called early and often.
By The Numbers (2023)
White County
5-6 (3-3 in 7-AAA; State Rnd 1)
Region Standings: 4th
34.18 OFFENSE AVG
30.36 DEFENSE AVG
#9 State Ranking
Rabun County
9-4 (1-2 in Region 8-A DI; State Quarterfinals)
Region Standings: 3rd
32.46 OFFENSE AVG
19.08 DEFENSE AVG
#2 State Ranking (#4 Current Ranking)
Game highlights
Be looking for highlights post-game late tonight as well as a story recapping Week One. BLITZ partners with Fox 5’s 11 PM “High 5 Sports” show throughout the season. We make sure to get White County and Rabun County coverage on the big market show! You can also follow us on Twitter (@BlitzSportsGa) for live score updates (5G pending).
Our prediction
We typically make a case for both, with our official pick linked below. For White County, the defense HAS to be better than last year’s 30.4 pts/game average. Assuming they are as good as the hype with so many standouts on that side of the ball, it’s safe to assume they can hold teams to under 20. If that holds true, Tripp Nix will need to drain the clock with his feet and convert with his arms, too, in order to keep pressure on the Wildcats. If he totals 250 yards on the game, it favors White County. The same can be said of Ty Truelove for Rabun County. He is similar in his profile as a dual threat, but is a bigger prospect due to his size – 6’2, 202. Defensively, Rabun has a lot back also, and had a more stingy group defensively. So if they play to their strengths and limit turnovers, that will prove beneficial. It might end up with the QB who has the most total yards that wins this contest!
Since 2009, White County is 17-18 overall in the series.
Details of the matchup
TIME: 7:30 PM Kickoff
PLACE: White County HS / Cleveland, GA
LAST MEETING: 2017 (#4 Rabun County 49, White County 26)
ALL-TIME RECORD: Rabun leads 26-10 in the all-time series
RECORDS: White County Warriors (0-0; 0-0 in 6-AAA); #4 Rabun County Wildcats (0-0; 0-0 in 8-A DI)
HEAD COACHES: Chad Bennett (9-12; 3 Seasons); Michael Davis (21-5; 3 Seasons)
Historically Speaking
Rabun County has owned this series (26 wins, 10 losses) that dates back to 1958. The Wildcats won the first-ever meeting 25-0 and were winners of the first 9 meetings until back-to-back White County wins in 1971-72. Rabun then won the next 5 contests, and only thrice has White County won 2 in a row. Since 1992, the Wildcats have gone 7-1 in the series, with the lone Warriors win coming in 2001 by a 17-14 final. In Rabun County’s golden age (2013-Present), the teams have squared off twice, with the Wildcats winning 49-7 in 2016 and 49-26 in 2017 with Rabun legend Bailey Fisher at QB. The head coaches have never faced each other, as both are in their 3rd overall season.
