The Fannin County Rebels traveled to Gordon Central Friday, September 24, looking to get off to a good start as they begin region play. Fortunately, for the Rebels, the Warriors were not much of a fight, handing the hosts a 52-7 whacking in Calhoun.
Fannin won the toss and elected to take the ball first. Austin Garland set up Fannin with great field position with a 49 yard return down to the Warrior 45 yard line. Quarterback Seth Reece hit Carter Mann on a hitch for 32 yards down to the Central 11 yard line. Reece capped off the opening drive as he bulled his way into the end zone from three yards out to give Fannin a quick lead. Jack Kantner drilled the extra point, and with only 1:40 off the clock, the Rebels had a 7-0 lead.
Gordon Central began their first drive at their own 20 yard line, looking to answer the Rebels score. Fannin came up with a huge defensive play as Sawyer Moreland picked off a Warrior pass at the Central 31 yard line and returned it down to the 22, setting up Fannin with great field position for their second drive with 8:30 left in the opening quarter. Gordon Central returned the favor, picking off a Reece pass in the back of the end zone to stop the scoring threat. The Warriors had a nice drive going down to the Rebel 35, but the defense stepped up again as Corbin Davenport came up with another interception at the Rebel 13 and returned it out to the Rebel 21 yard line.
The drive started with a quick pass to Hayden Lynch, and two plays later, Reece found Bryson Holloway for 20 yards down to the Central 45, but on fourth and five, Gordon Central’s defense came up with a huge stop to end the drive and get the ball back for their offense. The Fannin defense bowed it’s neck though and forced a punt. Fannin started the drive at their own 25 after a brilliant return by Davenport was wiped out due to a penalty.
The second quarter began with Fannin in their own territory. Reece hit Lynch for a first down and ran for another one. Later in the drive, Reece hit Lynch again and then pounded his way for another first down on fourth and four. Reece then hit Cade Sands for an 18 yard touchdown pass on a middle screen to extend Fannin’s lead, The extra point was good and Fannin had a 14-0 lead with 6:57 left.
Fannin’s defense stiffened on the next Gordon Central drive as big nose tackle Logan Long had two consecutive stops, including a huge tackle for loss, and then Andrew Waldrep had a sack on third down to force a Warrior punt. Davenport had another nice punt return of 20 yards to give the Rebels great field position again at the Central 32 yard line. Reece hit Lynch again for seven yards and then the quarterback called his own number and darted for 11 yards down to the Gordon Central four yard line with 3:39 left in the second quarter. Cason Owensby finished off the drive as he plowed in from two yards out, giving the Rebels a 20-0 lead. Another Kantner extra point split the uprights, making the score 21-0 right before halftime.
The Rebels tried an onsides kick to try and get another score before the half, but the ball squirted out of bounds, giving the Warriors the football at the Fannin 47 yard line. Gordon Central tried a double pass to try and catch the Rebels napping, but Carson Collis wasn’t fooled, going up and snatching the ball out of the air, giving Fannin it’s third interception of the first half. Reece started the drive off with a nifty 39 yard run, but a penalty cut ten yards off of the run. Fannin, however, did move the ball to the Central 36 yard line. Reece hit the shifty Lynch again, this time, down to the 13 yard line. On the next play, Reece found Holloway on another middle screen, and Holloway did the rest, racing into the end zone for another Fannin touchdown with 1:13 left before intermission. After the extra point was no good, the Rebels took a commanding 27-0 lead into the locker room.
Fannin County kicked off to start the second half and Gordon Central started their drive at their own 21 yard line.
On third down, defensive lineman Jeremy Tammen blew through to sack the Warrior quarterback to end the drive and force a Central punt. From the Warrior 39, Fannin took over, looking to add to their lead. Reece had an 11 yard run to get things going. Following a penalty, Reece scrambled out of the pocket and found Owensby streaking across the middle for a 38 yard touchdown with 8:40 remaining in the third quarter. The extra point was blocked by Gordon Central, but Fannin had a comfortable 33-0 cushion. Kantner boomed the kickoff to the five, and Gordon Central only made it back to their own 17 yard line. On third down, the Rebel’s defense made another big play, as Owensby picked off the Rebel’s fourth pass of the night at the Gordon Central 30 yard line and raced down to the one yard line to set up the offense in great field position to blow the game wide open. Owensby did the honors himself, as he rammed his way into the end zone for another Fannin score. The two-point conversion was no good, but the Rebels were in cruise control, leading by a score of 39-0 in the third quarter.
Another sack, from Long on third down, forced yet another Gordon Central punt, this time from their own eight yard line. The drive stalled at the 40, forcing a Kantner punt, and it was downed on a brilliant play by Bryson Holloway and Davenport at the Gordon Central one yard line. Fannin’s defense came up with another huge play, as Sands pounced on a Warrior fumble at the Gordon Central 22 yard line for the Rebel’s fifth takeaway of the night.
David Mashburn directed the Rebel drive at quarterback and after two Bryson Holloway runs, Fannin was at the Gordon Central seven yard line with a minute left in the third quarter. Holloway capped off the drive with his fourth straight carry, bolting in from four yards out to give the Rebels a 45-0 lead. Kantner drilled the extra point to make the Fannin lead 46-0 with :15 left in the third quarter.
Now playing with a running clock, Gordon Central looked to get on the scoreboard after a Kantner touchback on the kickoff.
As the fourth quarter began, the Warriors started moving the ball, finally getting on the scoreboard on a 53 yard run for their only touchdown of the night. The Warriors knocked the extra point through to make the score 46-7, in favor of the Rebels, with 7:55 left in the ballgame.
Luke Bright came in at quarterback on the next Fannin drive that featured a steady dose of tailback Carson Callihan and lots of young players on offense. Callihan finished off the scoring for Fannin on the night, as he leaped into the end zone from the three yard line with 2:35 left in the fourth quarter. The two-point conversion was no good but Fannin accomplished what it set out to do- get a big region win on the road, and they did, by a score of 52-7 over Gordon Central.
Reece finished the night going 11-16 passing for 174 yards and three touchdowns to go along with 110 yards rushing on 13 carries with a rushing touchdown. Owensby had six carries for 20 yards and two touchdowns, plus a touchdown reception. Callihan finished his night with 60 yards on eight carries and a touchdown. Leading receivers for the Rebels were Lynch with four catches for 38 yards, while Holloway had two catches for 33 yards and a score. Sands caught two balls for 29 yards and a score. Carter Mann had two receptions for 36 yards.
On defense, Owensby led Fannin with nine tackles, with four tackles for loss and an interception. Long chipped in with eight tackles, with three TFL’s and a sack. Tammen had seven tackles as well, including four TFL’s and one sack. Sands finished the game with six tackles, three TFL’s, and a fumble recovery. Waldrep also had seven tackles, and Nate Maloof finished with four stops and two TFL’s.
The Rebels will be at home Friday, October 1, as they host the Pepperell Dragons in another important region football game. Kickoff is set for 7:30PM.