The Habersham Central Raiders Friday avenged last year’s loss to the Stephens County Indians, and the year before that, and the year before that, and the year, well, you get the picture. The Raiders beat the Indians Friday for the first time since 1996! Making the victory even sweeter was the fact that the Raiders pulled off the win in front of their home crowd.
The Raiders got on the board early when QB Ryte Woodruff connected with Joshua Pickett at the end zone on the opening drive. At the end of the 1st the Raiders led 7-0.
Stephens’ Hudson Spurlock answered in the 2nd with a 38-yard scoring run, tying the game 7 all. Just before the half, Woodruff connected with Caleb Wade and the Raiders went up 13-7 after missing the extra point.
Woodruff came back from the half with a 14-yard scoring run early in the 3rd. The 2-point conversion failed and the Raiders were up 19-7. Spurlock got the Indians back within striking distance but they fumbled midfield, setting up another score by Woodruff who ran it in 4 yards for the TD. He connected with Pickett for the 2-point conversion and pushed the Raiders’ lead to 27-14.
It didn’t take long for the Indians to answer. They returned the kick for a touchdown, making it 27-21 at the end of 3rd quarter. That’s where the score stalled after a strong defensive show by the Raiders in the 4th.
The final score — 27-21. With the win, the Raiders even their season at 2-2. The Indians drop to 1-4.
Turning the tide
After the game, Raiders’ head coach Benji Harrison said the team determined before the game it was “our time to turn the tide on this thing.” He said he’s happy for the team, community, and school.
“We needed that. It’s been a long time coming. Couldn’t be more happy for our guys to be able to do that for this town. It was awesome!”
Woodruff went 15 for 23 and threw for 186 yards. “I thought he handled it pretty good,” said Harrison. “He made some big plays when he had to and he can go down right now saying he’s the quarterback that broke the streak.”
This is the Raiders’ second straight win; they beat Habersham’s other neighboring rival White County on September 6.
The Raiders hit the field Friday after an unexpected week off. Their Sept. 13 game against Franklin County was postponed due to the weather. The Raiders and Lions will make up that game at Franklin County on September 27.
Other area games:
Lakeside 6, Forsyth Central 49
Putnam County 8, Rabun County 55
Jaspar County vs Union County
Social Circle 7, Banks County 45
Clarke Central 20, Lanier 23
Commerce 46, Providence Christian 9
Denmark 38, Dawson County 24
Elbert County 63, Oglethorpe 0
Fannin County 34, Chestatee 30
North Oconee 35, Franklin County 14
Jefferson 41, Gainesville 7
Johnson 56, Cross Keys 0
White County 34, North Hall 31
Chamblee Charter 3, Pickens County 44
Rabun Gap-Nacoochee 39, Andrews 14
George Walton 48, Towns County 14 (4th qtr)
Newton 14, Buford 42
