Rebels roll to 68-42 victory over North Murray
The Fannin County Rebels football team broke the all-time Fannin County scoring record with their 68-42 win against region opponent North Murray Mountaineers Friday night in Blue Ridge.
To start the game, the Rebels took over at their own 45 yard line. Corbin Davenport ran for seven yards before Carson Callihan gained two with the run that followed. Davenport ran again for five, leaving fourth and a yard. He punched the ball in on the net play for three yards and a first down. Elijah Weaver’s pass hit Carson Collis for a gain of five yards, and the Rebels soon found themselves with a first down at the 25 yard line.
After Davenport gained three yards, Weaver connected with Callihan on a 10-yard pass for the first touchdown of the game. Matthew Ponton’s extra point attempt was good, and the score was 7-0.
Ponton kicked the ball to the 30 yard line where Collis recovered a Mountaineer fumble. After gains by Callihan and Davenport, Davenport’s pass fell perfectly into the hands of Collis who scored the second Fannin County touchdown. Ponton’s extra point put the Rebels ahead 14-0.
The Mountaineers started at their own 15 yard line and gained a first down. Logan Long and Davenport stopped a run before Long made the next big stop for loss to bring up third down.
A Mountaineer fumble at the 15 was recovered by Braden Taylor and the Rebels took over.
Bryson Holloway carried the ball twice to give the Rebels a first and goal at the six. Davenport kept it and ran behind a block by Case Holloway for a touchdown. The score was 21-0 after Ponton’s extra point.
Ponton’s kick went to the 30 yard line and Baylor Twiggs led the special team stop just five yards ahead. Two plays later, Jeremy Tammen rushed the quarterback and Andrew Waldrep made the stop to end the first quarter.
The Rebel defense held and Fannin County took over at their 20 after the North Murray punt.
On the second play from scrimmage, Davenport broke away for an 83-yard foot race that left Fannin one yard shy of the goal line. He scored six on the next play and Pontoon made the lead 28-0.
Cooper Born made the initial stop on the kickoff return at the 31 yard line. Clay Heaton forced the receiver out after a six yard gain before Nate Maloof, Tammen and Long make the stop at the line of scrimmage to force third down. After North Murray managed a pair of first downs, the Rebels got the ball back when a fumbled pass was recovered by Taylor at the 30 yard line.
After two first downs, and on fourth down, a fake field goal put Davenport in the back of the end zone before the defense realized it was a run. Ponton’s extra point tallied the score to 35-0.
Ponton’s kicked went to the North Murray 30 yard line where the ball carrier was stopped by Tucker Dockery.
The next runner was forced out of bounds by Tammen and Born to end the first half.
Taylor made the first stop of the second half for Fannin County before a North Murry pass and extra point made the score 35-7.
Collis returned the kickoff to the 46 yard line. Davenport finished the Rebel march downfield.with a three-yard touchdown run. With Ponton’s extra point, the score was 42-7.
Sullivan made the initial hit on the ball carrier on the kickoff. Twiggs, Sullivan, Tammen and Heaton all made big defensive plays for Fannin, but North Murray was able to find the end zone and pull to within 42-14 with just over four minutes left in the third quarter.
Collis returned the ball to the 44 yard line and the Rebel offense began the march for another score that came when Holloway found a path right through the middle and ran 22 yards for a touchdown. The hometown advantage rose to 48-14.
North Murray came back on the next series to score and added a two-point converstion to make the score 48-22 with six seconds left in the quarter.
Noah Barnette recovered the Mountaineers onside kick, but a fumble on the next play put North Murray’s offense back on the field. A long pass just as the clock ticked down led to another Mountaineer touchdown. When their two-point attempt failed, the score stood at 48 to 28 to end the third quarter.
The fourth quarter started when Collis recovered the onside kick at the 48 yard line. Behind strong blocking, Holloway and Davenport churned up yardage on the ground before Holloway made his way through the middle for a Fannin County touchdown. Ponton’s extra point was added to put the Rebels up 55-28.
Ponton’s kick made it to the end zone and North Murray’s offense took over at the 20 yard line. Twiggs made the stop, but a penalty put the Mountaineers up 15 more yards. Heaton read the long pass for a big interception for the Rebels and ran it back to the Rebel 22 yard line. Davenport would end a short Fannin drive with an outside run for six points. The score was 62-28 after Ponton’s extra point.
North Murray took over at the 35. They managed a long pass that translated to a Mountaineer touchdown and a 62-34 score. They went for two, but Twiggs and Born tackled the quarterback.
Collis recovered the onside kick again, this time at the 50 yard line. Khole Green ran the ball with no gain. Jacob Dye made a big block on the next play to free Davenport who ran it into the end zone with a defender on his back. The two point conversion was no good putting the score at 68-34.
Ponton’s kick flew out of bounds at the 20 yard line. Bryan Stiles made the stop for the Rebels before the Mountaineers marched down the field to score sixs and add a two-point conversion. The score stood at 68-42.
Born fell on the onside kick at the 35 yard line. Holloway’s run gained seven yards, then Davenport ran for a first down to end the game.
The Rebels will travel to Murray County Friday, October 21, for their next region matchup. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at Murray County High School.