The Fannin county Rebels football team traveled to Chestatee High School Friday, September 20. The Rebels offense and defense showed up, as the Rebels won the game 34-30. The Rebels defense held a high powered War Eagle offense to just 288 total yards.
Chestatee elected to receive the opening kickoff as Alex White booted the ball to the War Eagle’s 41-yard line. Chestatee started moving the ball but Dalton Ross had a big sack to make it second and 15 at the War Eagle 49-yard line. Jakob Tuggle got the stop on third down and the War Eagles punted back to the Rebels.
Fannin got the ball at their own nine yard line and after two Chestatee penalties it was first and 10 at their own 21-yard line. Treylyn Owensby and Will Mosley could not generate anything on the ground as quarterback Luke Holloway dropped back and found Mosley on third and nine to move to sticks out to their own 37-yard line. Mosley came up big again in the passing game as Holloway found him to move the chains to the Chestatee 44-yard line. After a penalty on Chestatee, Owensby broke off a run to the 14-yard line for fresh set of downs. A penalty on the Rebels moved the ball back to the 28-yard line where Fannin couldn’t generate any points and turned the ball over on downs.
Chestatee and Fannin traded possession once more as the first quarter ended scoreless. The War Eagles punted the ball back to the Rebels and the Rebels offense set up shop at their own 46-yard line. Owensby ran to the 50-yard line before breaking off a big 33-yard gain on the ground to put the Rebels at the Chestatee 27-yard line. Caleb Postell jolted to the 22-yard line on the next play, before Holloway broke off a run to the six yard line for a first down. Owensby was able to punch the ball in from six yards out on the next play to put Fannin on the board. The Sarah Sosebee extra point was blocked giving the Rebels a 6-0 lead with 7:03 to go in the second quarter.
White led the kickoff for the Rebels and kicked the ball to the Chestatee 39-yard line. The War Eagles answered on the very next play on a quarterback keeper. After the good extra point Chestatee led the Rebels 7-6. The Rebels brought the War Eagle kick to their own 27-yard line as Holloway led his offense on the field. Hard runs by Owensby and Holloway got the ball to the 50-yard line where Holloway dropped back and threw a 50-yard touchdown pass to Cohutta Hyde. The Rebels went for two as Seth Reece caught the conversion. The Rebels led the War Eagles 14-7 with 4:15 to go in the first half. The War Eagles got the ball and were able to quickly march down the field for a touchdown and after the good extra point the game was tied 14-14 with 2:07 to go in the second quarter.
Postell brought the Chestatee kick out to the 36-yard line. Owensby blew up the middle on the next play and ran the ball all the way to paydirt for a quick score. Sosebee’s kick was good as the Rebels took a 21-14 lead where the scored stayed until halftime.
The Rebels got the ball to start the third quarter, but could not move the sticks as they punted back to Chestatee. The War Eagles were able to string together a touchdown drive and after the good extra point, the game was tied 21-21 with 7:08 to go in the third quarter.
Both teams traded possessions twice the remainder of the quarter, before the War Eagles were able to score a touchdown from five yards out. The War Eagles took a 27-21 lead after a failed two point conversion.
The Rebels got the ball back to start the fourth quarter as Holloway and Owensby powered their way through the Chestatee defensive line, getting out to the War Eagle’s 30-yard line.
Tuggle was able to catch a pass up the middle and take the ball to the nine yard line to energize the Fannin sideline. Owensby muscled his way to the five yard line and then Holloway broke off a five yard touchdown run. The extra point was no good as the game was tied 27-27 with 6:02 to go in the game.
Both team’s defenses held true and kept the opponents offense out of the red zone for one possession each. Chestatee was able to take the ball down to the 12-yard line however and kick a field goal to lead the Rebels 30-27 with 2:06 to go in the fourth quarter.
Fannin brought the Chestatee kick to their own 35-yard line. Holloway found Hyde for a seven yard catch to bring the ball to the 42-yard line. On the next play Holloway dropped back and found Hyde again on a 58-yard touchdown catch to give the Rebels a 33-30 lead. After the good extra point by Sosebee, the Rebels led 34-30 with 1:48 to go in the game.
Chestatee tried to make something happen by going deep on third and two, but Andre Bivens read the throw and was able to intercept the ball in the endzone to end the game as the Rebels topped the War Eagles 34-30.
Head coach Chad Cheatham was proud of his team saying, “They were a phenomenal team, but our kids didn’t play ordinary they played extraordinary.” Cheatham said he challenged his guys before the game saying, “How do You want to be remembered? Not yesterday, not last Friday, not 10 minutes ago, how do you want to be remembered by your brothers, your community, your parents tonight? Can you wake up in the morning and look yourself in the mirror and say I did everything I could for 48 minutes?
I couldn’t do one more thing! Win or Lose with clear eyes and a full heart you are champions!”
The Rebels have a BYE week before traveling to Cherokee Bluff to start region play Friday, October 4, with a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.