The Fannin Rebels(1-1) travelled to Chatsworth, GA Friday to face-off against the Murray County Indians(1-1).

The Rebels, coming off a tough loss against the Gilmer Bobcats last week, looked to improve on their 0-1 record. This was the eighth meeting between these two teams, Murray holds the overall record at 5-3.

I will start first with the offense. QB Brad Davis had a nearly perfect game throwing 20-25 for 168 yards and rushing 28 yards on 6 carries. Davis targeted seven different receivers; Cooper Earls-7 catches for 69yds, Adam Ingram-6 catches for 56 yds, Cody Jacobs-3 catches for 23yds, Clay Ware-1 catch for 10yds and Hunter Neal-1 catch for 8yds. Christian Resendiz and Jacob Reece each had one catch apiece. Davis showed a much stronger pocket presence and seems to have matured as a leader and athlete this year.

Jack Roper also put some work in, finishing the night with six carries for 39 yards and one touchdown. Roper, one of the few that play both sides also amassed nine tackles and nine assists. He also got one of the four sacks on the night.

With several first time players in skill positions and a few first time varsity players this year, none standout more than junior RB Tyler Collis. Collis is a huge force on this offense and is one of the hardest working backs i have had the pleasure to watch. In just his second full game, Coach Pavao put Collis to the test and he answered big. He had 19 carries for 177 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Not impressed? Well you should be! Collis is a hard-nosed back that hits like a linebacker. One on one against him you will lose just about every time. It takes several players to bring him down and he seems to always get a few extra yards at the end. He has good speed and for a small back has decent vision. Collis has put in a lot of work this past off-season and it seems to have paid-off.

Now onto the defense lead by senior Jerod Petty. Petty puts up big numbers all most every game and this year he is also putting in some work on the offensive side of the ball. A true workhorse for this Rebels team. Petty put up 3 tackles and 6 assists before being sidelined by a leg injury. Coach Pavao made some adjustments and the team stepped up to fill the void. At this time there is no news on Petty’s status, but it did not look good at the time.

The Rebels came out strong early, which seems to be their new style of play. Quick passes and big rushing gains alloweing Fannin to move the ball at will. The Indians could not figure out the Rebels defense. However, they did manage to move the ball on several occasions. The tight defense and a seemingly much better offense this week gave Fannin the win at Murray, 22-10.

This years Rebel team is a dual threat team, both passing and rushing, whereas in recent years it was loop-sided. Can Fannin make a run for it this year? Everything so far makes me think this could be the year, but with region play still a few weeks away, we will just have to wait and see.