Feels like ’95 – Rebels advance to Sweet 16
Team FYN Sports November 30, 2020
Blue Ridge, GA– After the festivities were over for this Thanksgiving holiday and after the black Friday shopping was done, Fannin County had one more thing left on their to do list. Beat Pace.
The Georgia High School Association moved the Rebels first round playoff game from Friday to Saturday due to not having enough officials. This just gave the fans of both teams another day to build their excitement (and allowed the players an extra day to digest their turkey.)
Pace Academy background– Pace Academy came into the game with only 2 losses on their record. They are led by Head Coach Chris Slade, a former second round pick in the 1993 NFL draft and All-Pro NFL linebacker. SEC receiving record holder Terrence Edwards is also on their staff as a receivers coach, so the Knights came in with great instruction.
Pace Academy is also a team full of highly touted recruits. They have multiple guys on their roster with several D-1 offers, including their quarterback MJ Morris, who many have said is the nation’s number 1 2022 dual threat quarterback. They have stars on both sides of the football, and also carry quite the intimidation factor.
The game– The game began with Pace Academy winning the toss and differing to the second half. The Rebels got the ball first to start the game and were forced into a quick three and out by the Pace Academy defense.
Pace Academy was first to get on the board, and they did so through the air as MJ Morris tossed a Touchdown pass that put the Knights up 7-0 in the first quarter.
Fannin struck back and tied the game up at 7 all, heading into the locker room at halftime.
Pace Academy received the second half kickoff and struggled at the start of the opening drive as the Rebel defense put them in a third and long situation. MJ Morris dropped back on third and forever and found his man on a crossing route, as the Knights put up 6 on their opening second half possession, going up 14-7.
The Knights defense quickly got the ball back from the Rebels and struck again, taking a 21-7 lead over Fannin, their largest of the night and quite possibly the largest deficit that Fannin had seen all year.
Luke Holloway crafted a masterful drive the next time the Rebs touched the ball however, showing that they were not going to go away quietly. After making it a 21-14 ballgame, the Rebel Defense, who has been masterful all year, came up big once again and put the ball in their offenses hands. Once the ball was in the hand of this offense, Seth Reece and Luke Holloway were going to make sure they found the endzone and they did, making it 21-20 after the PAT was blocked.
Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but once Pace Academy got the ball after the Touchdown, the Rebel D stopped them AGAIN and their offense was able to come back on the field. This Fannin County offense in the second half of this ball game was a forced to be reckoned with, as they scored their 28th unanswered point after punching it into the endzone and securing the two point conversion.
After another stellar series out of the Fannin County defense, the Rebels were able to get into victory formation and run the clock out, securing their first playoff victory since 1995!
This week– This week, the Rebels will face Heard County at home on Friday night in the second round of the playoffs. This is the Rebs first Sweet Sixteen appearance since 1995. #TeamFYNsports would like to invite all of our readers in our coverage area to come out and support this Fannin County Football team, as they’ve worked so hard all season and deserve a packed house this Friday night! #TeamFYNsports would also like to congratulate Head Coach Chad Cheatham and all of the Rebel coaching staff on a great job this season!
Survive and advance! Go Rebs!
1 Comment
Jake, Could you try to get as many of the 1995 Rebels to come out to game.