The Fannin County Rebels have had a rough couple of weeks. The season kicked off better than anyone could’ve hoped, as they completely dominated the rival Bobcats of Gilmer County in a complete shutout at Fannin County High School. After a week off, the Rebels returned to action on the road, facing the formidable Ringgold Tigers, where a few small mistakes resulted in their first loss of the season. Looking to rebound from the loss, the Fannin County coaches knew they’d need to address the speed of Chestatee’s runningback, as well as their ability to attack the edges of the field. Though the Rebels showed great heart throughout the game, and displayed moments of great athleticism and possibiity; the Chestatee War Eagles relied upon the speed of their tailback, and the ability of the quarterback to swing the ball sideline-to-sideline, as they handed Fannin County their second loss of the season.

As the team stepped onto the field to begin warming up, the fans filed into the massive concrete bleachers lining the northeast side of the football field. Unique to most gameplay environments, Chestatee’s stadium has only one set of bleachers, as the other side of the field slopes downhill and gives way to the school’s baseball park. The Fannin County Band filled the bleachers on the far end, along with the notorious “Blue Crew” student section. Fannin traveled well, filling another section with parents and FCHS alumni, nearly matching the turnout of the Chestatee fan and student sections.

Nearing sunset, the Fannin team captains met their opponents’ captains midfield for the coin toss. Chestatee won the toss and elected to kick to the Rebels. Fannin chose to defend the south-western end zone, as wind was not a factor but the sun would be at their backs for the first quarter. Moments later, the ball was sailing through the air toward Chestatee’s kickoff return team and the game was officially underway.

The War Eagles set out to spread the field and their quarterback worked to swing the ball out toward the sidelines, attacking the edges of the defense through the air. The Rebels defensive backs swarmed to the ball carrier with each pass, forcing the receivers out of bounds for minimal gains. When the Rebels seemingly anticipated the plays to the outside, the quarterback then spun and handed the ball to their star runningback, who darted between the guard and center, penetrating the heart of the defense. With each play, the Rebels fought to hold their ground, and they played with great poise.

As the ball was tossed to the outside, Fannin’s Austin Brown, Brett Galloway and Will Mosely punished the offense, racing to the ball and dragging the War Eagle player to the turf. When the backs tried to punch the ball up the middle, the defensive line closed the gaps that the War Eagles worked to create. The first seven minutes were truly a war of attrition, with the War Eagles eventually finding their way into the endzone with 7:15 remaining in the quarter. The tenacity shown by the Rebels left spectators feeling as though this game was far from over.

Following the PAT, the Rebels received the kickoff and struggled to get going offensively. After three downs and less than a minute of time run off the clock, the Rebels were forced to punt the ball from their own 23 yard line. The defense stood tall and held Chestatee to a 3-and-out and regained possession with just under four minutes remaining in the quarter. Determined to get something going, they kept the ball ont he ground with runs by Cody Jacobs (#15) and quarterback Tyler Norton (#1). The Chestatee defense keyed on the backfield and limited the Rebels ability to move the ball downfield.

With 1:48 remaining in the first quarter, the Rebels were forced to punt the ball once again, this time on a 4th-and-5 from their 34-yard line, taken by the War Eagles at their own 16. On the ensuing drive, sophomore linebacker Will Mosely (#35) attacked the gap the tailback was attempting to run through and with a thunderous hit the ball came loose and was

scooped up by senior defensive back Jonah Henry (#36), who took off sprinting toward paydirt. As he was tackled 20 yards behind the line of scrimmage, officials whistled the play dead and ruled the runner’s knee was down before the ball came out, eliminating the take-away by the defense.

The aggressiveness of the defense prompted Chestatee to attempt a screen pass across the middle to the tight end, who slipped in behind the Rebels as they blitzed and showed pressure at the line of scrimmage. The TE sprinted 60-yards upfield toward the end zone, but Austin Brown (#82) refused to quit on the play; tackling the receiver inside then 10-yard line and forcing a fumble on the play. The Rebels recovered and set out to move the other direction, but a slippery defensive back spied Norton’s pass and pulled in a costly interception.

The War Eagles pitched the ball to their tailback on a sweep to the right and with a stiff-arm and a spin-move he trotted into the endzone for six; 13-0. The PAT was good and with 2:38 remaining in the half the Rebels were down by two touchdowns and began showing frustration.
“It’s okay, keep your heads up,” FCHS head coach James Pavao shouted at his team as they came off the field.
Content on going to the locker room to regroup, the Rebels kept the ball on the ground and ran the clock.

The second half saw a change at the quarterback position, with similar struggles both offensively and defensively. Chestatee once again found the endzone in the third quarter, but only led 21-0 going into the fourth. Fannin finally caught a couple of breaks offensively, with a couple of huge runs by Cody Jacobs and a beautiful catch in the open field by Luke Cowart (#85). The Rebels offensive line, led by center Bradley Flowers (#66), pushed the War Eagles back into their end zone and from one yard out senior quarterback Chandler Smith (#6) barelled across the goalline for the first touchdown of the game for Fannin. It would prove to be their only score of the game, but it was well-deserved as they had come so close and moved the ball so well throughout the night.

From there, the War Eagles controlled the clock and put 10 more points on the board through a touchdown, PAT and field goal; defeating the Rebels by a final score of 31-7.

This week Fannin hosts Andrews, NC and looks to improve their record to 2-2 before opening Region 7-AAA play at North Hall next week. The Trojans narrowly lost to Pickens County last week.