FANNIN COUNTY SPORTS HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2014
The 2007 Fannin Rebels team won the Region 8AA championship. Pictured are from left, Bottom row, Devan Morris, Cody Callahan, Shawn Powers, Nick Dean, Derek Jarnigin, Wayne Dawson, Greg Holland, Weston Quintrell, Austin Dickey, Drew Early and Kasey Rogers. Second row, Brian Thomas, Alex Townsend, Darby White, Zack Leach, TJ Kolacz, Justin Minter, Ryan Robinson, Ryan Humphrey, Drew Thomas, Greg Folger, Matthew Gray and Landon Clement. Third row, Jamey Taylor, Evan Collins, Jonah Dickey, Josh Gaddy, Garrison Kries, Justin Hall, Lukas Garren, Zack Sperry, Travis Sisson, John Kinser and Mason Head. Fourth row, David McCormack, Caleb Holloway, Logan Daves, Tyler Brown, Price Acker, Derrick Pless, Bryant Meeks, Eric Payne, DJ Green and Austin Wright. Fifth row, Brandon Kochish, Geoffrey Daves, Jeremy Flowers, Brent Davis, Josh King, Morgan Moose, Andrew Smith, Drew Wright, Sean Hurd and Alex Roberson. Sixth row, Manager Kylee Carroll, Josh Postell, Charles Reynolds, Ryan Nix, Badou Jagne, Cody Raper, Kirk Cross, Justin Petty, Matt Crain and Darren Burris. Top row, Coaches Ed Marcrum, Josh Patterson, Donnie Hampton, Head Coach Clark Drennan, Greg Chambers, Jason Stanley and Dennis Wilson.
By Mike Harper
The 2007 Fannin County Rebels football team won the Region 8AA championship posting an overall record of 9-2.
At the time, this was the school’s second Region Championship and first since 1995. This is the second Fannin County football team to be inducted into the Fannin County Sports Hall of Fame.
The coaching staff included Head Coach Clark Drennan, Offensive Coordinator Greg Chambers, Defensive Coordinator Donnie Hampton, Offensive and Defensive Line Coach Dennis Wilson, Running Backs and Linebackers Josh Patterson, Wide Receivers and Outside Linebackers Jason Stanley and Defensive Backs and JV Head Coach Ed Marcrum.
Fannin County scored 269 points and only allowed 143 points on defense. The team was ranked as high as 10th in 2007. The 2007 season was also 1st time since Fannin was ranked since Sept 13th of 1996.
The QB/WR Duo of Seniors Derek Jarnagin and Shawn Powers connected for 12 Touchdowns on the season in a wishbone double slot run-heavy offense. Josh Gaddy and Devan Morris were the running backs and senior Evan Collins was the fullback. Gaddy was the leading rusher with 921 yards.
Seniors included Cody Callihan, Shawn Powers, Derek Jarnagin, Kasey Rogers, Ryan Robinson, Evan Collins, Justin Hall, Travis Sisson, DW Gravely, Josh Postell, Charles “Skip” Reynolds and Justin Petty
A talented group and one of the best offensive and defensive lines in the state, the 2007 team sent 4 offensive linemen to play college football. Bryant Meeks and Logan Daves (Georgia Southern), Geoffrey Daves (Averitt) and George Salinas (Bethel) all had a taste of football at the college level. Meeks, Logan Daves, Geoffrey Daves and sophomore quarterback/defensive back Nick Dean are all members of the Fannin County Sports Hall of Fame.
Members of the 2007 Team that were selected as members of the 2000-2010 All-Decade Team include:
Player Of The Decade Nick Dean
QB Derek Jarnigan
RB Garrison Kries
WR Shawn Powers
OL Geoffrey Daves
OL Logan Daves
OL Bryant Meeks
TE Ryan Nix
DL Justin Hall
LB Matthew Gray
LB Drew Thomas
DB Devan Morris
Schedule highlights
Away Gilmer Win 17-7 - 1st Game of The Season vs Rival and Non-Region Opponent – A huge victory over a senior loaded Bobcat team. This was Drennan’s 5th victory in a row over Gilmer. Coach Drennan would finish his career 7-1 over rival Gilmer. Coach Drennan suffered a health scare in this game and missed the next three games. Fannin entered the game with only 1 returning starter in Justin Hall on defense and only 1 returning starter on offense in quarterback Derek Jarnagin
Home Robbinsville NC- Win 42-0. This was a non-region game against a North Carolina opponent.
Away Pickens – Loss 20-14 Non-Region Opponent. Rebels played well but lost on a perfectly executed wide receiver reverse double pass.
Home Putnam W 13-11. Putnam was in Fannin County’s region in 2007 but didn’t count as a region game as the regions were divided into sub regions.
Away Oglethorpe Win 28-2. Like Putnam, Oglethorpe was in Fannin’s region in 2007 but didn’t count as a region game as the region were divided into sub regions.
In a game that was much closer than what the score indicated the key was a fake punt ran by Matthew Gray down the sideline to give the Rebels momentum.
Away Union County Win 45-19 Region Win
Fannin trailed at halftime and another key special team play in the 3rd quarter helped the Rebels get the momentum. Trailing 19-17 at the time, on 4th down a fake punt attempt by Union County did not go in the Panthers favor. Sophomore Matthew Gray applied the pressure and the punter attempted to throw the ball but it was intercepted by Senior Josh Postell who danced into the end zone. The Rebels would not look back and defeated their rival region opponent 45-19, shutting them out in the 2nd half.
Home Dawson County Win 13-7 Region Win
Fannin would get out to a 13-0 lead in the 1st quarter and had to hang on. Senior Kasey Rogers had a key pass break up late in the 4th quarter on 4th and goal from the 5-yard line to secure the victory.
Away Banks County – Region Win 42-28.
This game would decide the sub region championship. Gaddy and Morris both gained over 100 yards on the night.
Home Rabun Region Win 27-14 - Senior Night
This was Coach Clark Drennan’s 2nd victory over Rabun. Coach Drennan would finish his career 5-0 over Rabun County.
Region Championship Morgan County - 21-14 Win. Fannin won the region title at home outright. This was the 2nd Region Championship in school history at the time for Fannin County in football.
In the first round of Playoffs, #10 Fannin hosting Holy Innocents. Loss 21-7. Fannin would come up short in the 1st round of the playoffs ending the season at 9-2.
In addition to the team accomplishments, individual Rebels received honors for their performances during the 2007 season. Offensive Players of the Game included Evan Collins (selected twice), Shawn Powers (three times), Geoffrey Daves (two times) and Josh Gaddy (three times). Defensive Player of the Week and number of times honored were Bryant Meeks (two), Justin Hall (four), with Drew Thomas, Josh Powell, Travis Sisson and Skip Reynolds each selected once. Special Teams Players of the game were Josh Gaddy (two times), Nick Dean (selected three times) and one-time selections Tyler Brown, Zach Leach, Derek Jarnigan, Devan Morris and Matthew Gray.