The Fannin Rebel’s pre-season match up with South Atlanta showed signs of both strengths and weakness in the Rebels’ armor.

The Rebel’s secondary seemed much better this year, especially with the newest addition to the Rebels squad, Junior CB Clay Ware. Ware is no stranger to football, he was a star running back at Fannin Middle School, playing several years prior to high school. He opted out his freshman and sophomore years while focusing on his other love, basketball. Clay returned to his roots this year. In Ware’s debut, he had two interceptions and broke up several passes, showing signs of a promising first season.

Senior Jerod Petty also had a great showing on both sides of the ball. Petty accumulated 3 tackles for losses and had 5 carries for 17 yards with 1 TD.

Junior quarterback Brad Davis, coming off a fairly good 2014 season, was 11-21 with 143 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT. Davis also had five carries for 21 yards. The junior seemed to be a little jittery early on, but was able to recover quickly. During the off season, Davis worked hard in the weight room and on his fundamentals. With a stronger arm and a better presence in the backfield, he should have a much better season.

Tyler Collis in his varsity debut shared carrying duties with Jack Roper (10 carries for 137 yds, 1 TD), Logan Ledford (4 carries for 10 yds) and Petty. Collis had 10 carries for 58 yards, but his performance is not indicative of his stats. Collis is a hard-nosed halfback that powers his way through the line and is not scared to hit or get hit. He seemed to have good vision, speed, and ball handling abilities. I look for Collis to have a great year. He leaves nothing on the field, except for anyone who gets in his way, that is.

The Fannin County Rebels are heading into next week’s August, 28th home opener against a much bigger Gilmer Bobcats team than in previous years. The Rebels pre-season game against South Atlanta was nothing compared to the task ahead of them. Gilmer coming off a fourth quarter loss against a very tough 6-A Pebblebrook team, leading up to that point and only after the second team came in did things change. The Gilmer offensive line is massive and hungry for a win at Rebels stadium. Gilmer won last year’s game 41-7, bringing the momentum of both, last year’s bragging rights and redemption for Pebblebrook loss. Fannin looks to settle the score, after sweeping Gilmer in all other sports last year except football.  I look for this to be one of the best games between these two rivals to date.

I had a chance to talk with Coach Pavao about last week’s game and the overall feel about their performance and of course their rival the Gilmer Bobcats.

Q). How did you feel about the performance of the team during the scrimmage against South Atlanta?

A). Offensively we saw where our strengths and weakness are. We had too many penalties and several missed catches, which is a key component. We have to catch the ball more, especially the ones in the hands and we need to protect the ball better.

Defensively we have to get stronger at open tackles and commit less penalties. Attack the ball harder and tackle better in the open field.

Q).  Brad Davis; Leadership, poise, and growth as the quarterback?

A). He needs to keep developing as a quarterback, he is still a junior after all. As a team we have several leaders, but we do want him to run the offense and pull the team together, take charge and command the offense. Growth and age has a big role. As he grows the game will slow down and he will get faster. Smoother progressions and more control.

Q). How important is this season as both a Coach and program for Fannin?

A). Last year was a growing year and this year continues that mindset. The success this year will be determined on how competitive we play. Are we winning the games we should and if we lose are we playing competitive in those games. The season isn’t about a win/loss record ( Ultimately you want to be there) it’s about the team playing better and growing as a unit.

Q). How are you planning for next week’s Rivalry game against Gilmer?

A). We are just trying to get better as a team. They have a couple big lineman, but so    do we. We have to play hard and give ourselves a chance to win and if we do, we have a chance to win this game. They are a good football team, even with the coaching change, and it will be a good test to see where we are as a team. It’s one of those things where, if we play well, we can give them a run for their money.