The Fannin County Rebels traveled to Homer, Georgia, Friday, September 17, to take on the Bank County Leopards.
Fannin shook off a slow start to take the game over in the second quarter and run away from the hosts for a convincing 30-13 victory.
The Leopards won the toss and elected to take the football first, so the Rebels kicked off and Jack Kantner booted the ball down to the one yard line. Banks returned the ball to the 19 where they would start their first drive. Defensive back Carter Mann came up with the first turnover of the game when he picked off a Banks pass, but Fannin would eventually have to punt the ball. A big stop on fourth down by big senior Seth Reece gave the ball back to Fannin, but again, the Rebels were forced to punt.
The first quarter ended with a 0-0 tie.
Bank County punted and downed the ball at the Rebel one yard line. Reece took over at quarterback and started the drive with three straight carries totaling 23 yards. Tailback Austin Garland had two carries for 27 yards to move the football into Leopard territory. The passing game got going as well, as Reece connected with Sawyer Moreland for 37 yards. Another carry by Garland and two more from Reece got the ball down to the Banks one yard line, and Cason Owensby finished off the drive with a one yard touchdown plunge to put Fannin up 6-0. The extra point sailed through the uprights and Fannin had the lead 7-0 with 5:48 left before halftime, a lead that Fannin would never relinquish.
The Rebels reached into their bag of tricks as Kantner executed a perfectly placed onsides kick that was recovered by the Rebels at the Banks County 45 yard line. The big play on that drive was a 31 yard pass and catch from Reece to Carson Collis to set the Rebels up at the Leopard one. Garland did the honors from there, making the score 13-0. Another Kantner extra point was good and in the span of 1:10, Fannin had exploded for two scores to lead 14-0 with 4:59 left in the opening half.
Kantner boomed the next kickoff through the back of the end zone and Banks set up shop at the 20 yard line. Fannin’s defense forced another punt, but gave the ball right back to Banks County on a fumble.
Carson Collis forced a fumble, giving Fannin the ball back with 2:12 left in the half. The Rebels moved the ball down to the Banks 21 yard line, but were stopped on third down. Fannin tried some more trickery, this time going for a fake field goal, but the pass fell harmlessly to the ground.
Fannin went into halftime leading 14-0.
The Rebels received the second half kickoff and the offense picked up right where it left off. Owensby started the drive with two runs for 21 yards down to the Leopard 46 yard line. On third down, Reece got loose for a long run and at the five yard line had the ball punched out from behind. The ball rolled into the end zone, but was pounced on by Corbin Davenport for a Rebel touchdown. Another Kantner extra point made the score 21-0 with 10:16 to go in the third quarter.
Another Kantner kickoff sailed into the end zone and Banks started another drive at their 20 yard line. The Fannin defense forced yet another punt and Davenport set the Rebel offense up with a nifty 13 yard return at the Fannin 33 yard line. Garland had another big run for 22 yards and then Reece hit Mann on a hitch, and he blazed down the right sideline for 31 yards and another Fannin touchdown. After the Kantner extra point, Fannin held a commanding 28-0 lead with 4:33 left in the third period.
After swapping punts, on fourth down from the Leopard 36 yard line, the Rebels pinned Banks deep as Davenport downed the football at the Leopard two yard line. Fannin found some more points as Levi Cochran forced a safety, making the score 30-0 with 10:48 left in the ballgame.
Fannin emptied the bench and got lots of young players some valuable playing time.
Banks County finally got on the scoreboard as they scored on a 34 yard pass, making the score 30-7 with 6:22 left.
After forcing a Fannin punt, the hosts got into the end zone again from nine yards out. The extra point was missed and made the score 30-13.
Reece finished the night eight for 16 passing for 126 yards and a touchdown while adding 115 yards on the ground. Garland finished the night with 13 carries for 72 yards and a score, as the Rebels rushed for a total of 243 yards.
Leading the receivers was Moreland, who had 4 catches for 59 yards. Carson Collis had two receptions for 32 yards.
The Rebel defense held Banks to 156 total yards on the night and was led by Andrew Waldrep, who had eight tackles, four assists, and three tackles for loss. Jeremy Tammen had six tackles to go along with a tackle for loss and a sack. Owensby finished the game with three tackles, five assists, one sack, one tackle for loss, plus recovered a fumble. Cade Sands, Nate Maloof and Bryan Stiles all chipped in with sacks for Fannin as well. Reece finished with four tackles, and Carson Collis had three assists and forced three fumbles.