East Hall Outlast Fannin In Shootout

FCHS Football

On Friday night the Rebels headed to Gainesville for the season finale looking for their first win in Region play.

From the opening drive of the game you could tell that it would be a game without any defense as QB, Brad Davis, connected with Cooper Earls for the games first touchdown with under two minutes played in the img_2532game. On the following drive by East Hall, the Vikings had a huge gain on the ground of about 50 yards before being brought down. A few plays later the Vikings were able to force their way into the end zone. After the the East Hall touchdown the Rebels were able to drive the field but would stall just inside the 20. Bryan Carranza would come out and hit the 31 yard field goal with 5:32 left in the 1st quarter.

East Hall would only take 2 minutes off of the clock before scoring another touchdown on the ground. Both defenses struggled with tackling all night long. On the Rebels final drive of the first quarter was the only drive during the first that didn’t end with a score. The Rebels would get inside the 30 before failing to convert on 4th down. Immediately after the turnover on down the Rebels caught a break as #87, Jacob Hood, intercepted the pass! The Rebels would get the ball into the red zone as time expired in the 1st quarter with a score of 13-9, East Hall.

On the continuation of the drive, breakout running back, Hunter Gray, ran in for a 5 yard score. Following the Gray touchdown, Brandon Carranza would surprise the special teams unit from East Hall with an onside kick, and the Rebels would recover of course. I have never seen a kicker be this good at onside kicks. Throughout the season there was probably only two onside kicks that Fannin did not recover. The Rebels would take advantage of the great field position and score quick again. Hunter Gray got his second img_2525touchdown of the night, this time on a 9 yard rushing play. During the first East Hall drive of the 2nd quarter the Viking running back broke through the line and looked like he could score, until Jacob Reece made a huge play forcing a fumble in the Rebels side of the field, recovered by Brad Davis. Fannin would again only use 2 minutes before scoring again, this time as rushing touchdown by Cooper Earls. With 3:23 left in the half, Fannin led 30-13.

East Hall would score in the next 40 seconds on a screen pass that went about 50 yards. Following the the Vikings score the Rebels would stall on the other side of the 50 before stalling and punting for the first time in the game. With under two minutes left on the clock the Vikings would turn to the air attack and score on a jump pass with 45 seconds left in the half. At halftime the Rebels lead the Vikings 30-29.

To start the second half the Vikings were ready to recieve the kick before Carranza caught them slipping again as he surmised them with an onside kick. With the ball already on the Vikings side of the field it took no time at all for the Rebels to march the ball down the field before Hunter Gray punched the ball in from 1 yard out for his third touchdown of the game. East Hall would only need a minute and half before scoring on a 30 yard passing touchdown, the Vikings would fail on the two-point conversion. Davis would answer the passing touchdown with one of his own as he would connect with Earls for a 40 yard passing touchdown, Fannin would convert on the two point conversion. The following kickoff was returned for a img_2595touchdown by East Hall. At the end of the 3rd quarter the Rebels had the ball in scoring position and led 45-43.

On the first play of the 4th quarter, Jacob Reece would have his first touchdown of the night on a 6 yard rushing play. The Vikings would continue the quick scoring trans as they would score on a 56 yard passing touchdown just 45 seconds after the Rebels touchdown. This time they would convert on the two-point conversion, now trailing 52-51. On the following drive the Rebels would take 3 minutes off the clock before having the punt the ball back to the Vikings. East Hall would take over on their own 22 yard line with under 7 minutes remaining. They would move the ball as fast as they had all night, getting to the Rebels 40 before throwing another deep pass for a touchdown and not convert on the two-point conversion. With under 5 minutes left in the game it looked as if the Rebels would have a chance to win the game on their final possession. On one of the first plays of the Fannin drive, East Hall would jump the route and score on a 40-yard pick-six with 3:57 left, now leading 65-52. On the very next offensive play #5 from East Hall would intercept the ball again. The Vikings would seal the game on just a minute later with another rushing touchdown. The Rebels were able to score another touchdown but would not have time to mount a comeback. The final of this game was East Hall 71, Fannin County 58. img_2712

The Rebels finish the season 2-8.

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