Friday night football turns into Saturday night football in Habersham this week thanks to Irma. The Tropical Storm forced the postponement of Friday night’s varsity football game between Habersham Central and Stephens County High. It will instead be played Saturday, Sept. 16 at 7:30 p.m.
Although it’s been a short week for high school football to prepare for their games, the Raiders and Indians will square off in what is a very historic rivalry.
The Raiders dropped their second straight heartbreaker on a failed two-point conversion last Friday at Franklin County. The offense once again was phenomenal, led by senior AJ Curry. Stephens County is also coming off a loss for the second straight game, but they are sliding in the opposite direction offensively.
BLITZ Game of the Week: Habersham Central vs Stephens County
WEEK 0 – Chestatee vs North Hall
WEEK 1 – #5 Rabun vs #9 Mt. Pisgah
WEEK 2 – Habersham Central vs White
WEEK 3 – White vs #3 Rabun
The Indians shut out Franklin County 28-0 in their opener, but fell to Rabun 28-6 and Flowery Branch 31-6 in back-to-back weeks. Stephens is looking to get both its offense and defense back on track.
Here are the details for Saturday night’s Week 4 game vs Stephens County.
TIME: 7:30 pm kickoff
PLACE: John Larry Black Field (Raider Stadium/Habersham Central High School (Mt. Airy)
LAST MEETING: Stephens County won 27-7 at the Reservation
ALL-TIME RECORD: Stephens County 28, Habersham Central 11, 1 Tie
RECORDS: Habersham Central (1-2); Stephens County (1-2)
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
The Indians traditionally have this rivalry one-sided, holding a 28-11-1 series lead. Habersham hasn’t beaten Stephens County since 1996, so it’s been 20 years. The Indians have won 12 in a row.
TEAM LEADERS/PLAYERS to WATCH
HABERSHAM CENTRAL:
PASSING
AJ Curry: 770 yds, 8 TD; 52/100 passing (52%)
RUSHING
Baylor Hinshaw: 388 yds, 3 TD
Daniel Matkovic: 263 yds, 6 TD
AJ Curry: 200 yds, 3 TD
RECEIVING
Jim Barnett: 21 rec, 282 yds, 3 TD
Donovan Curry: 11 rec, 181 yds, 3 TD
Bryce Tanner: 9 rec, 186 yds, 2 TD
Trey Wetherton: 6 rec, 106 yds
TACKLES
Carson Taylor: 27 tackles, 3 TFL
Karl Fail: 26 tackles, 2.5 TFL, forced fumble
Luke Wilson: 21 tackles, 3 TFL
Zach Ferguson: 20 tackles, 3 TFL, forced fumble
SACKS
Garrett Kinsey: 1 sack, forced fumble, 13 tackles, 1.5 TFL
STEPHENS COUNTY:
PASSING
Jackson Bell: 252 yds, 2 TD; 33/50 passing (66%)
RUSHING
Tracy Lowery: 128 yds, TD
Hassan Brown: 106 yds, TD
Jackson Bell: 91 yds, TD
RECEIVING
Hassan Brown: 12 rec, 37 yds, TD
Cayden Maxwell: 10 rec, 123 yds
Kamon Taylor: 4 rec, 38 yds, TD
TACKLES
Cole Beitzel: 16 tackles, 2 TFL
Griff Pruitt: 9 tackles, 1 TFL
Demarcus Knox: 8 tackles
SACKS
Cole Beitzel: 2 sacks
Charles Cochran: 1 sack
Gavin Walker: 1 sack
