The BLITZ Game of the Week is Stephens County against Rabun County in Toccoa at The Reservation. A full moon on a Friday the 13th…

STEPHENS COUNTY

The Indians got off to a great start with an opening blowout 42-21 win over Franklin County at home. What followed was a tough 26-13 loss to #6-ranked Hart County, which hurt badly as that is always a big rivalry matchup. Things didn’t get much easier when traveling to #2-rank Athens Academy. The result – a brutal 49-19 loss to move to 1-2. The thing is, this Stephens team is now battle tested after taking on back-to-back state-ranked opponents. Now…a third straight awaits with a date at home against #2 Rabun County and its 5-star quarterback.

RABUN COUNTY

The #2 Wildcats opened the Jaybo Shaw era with a dominating 34-13 win over Bremen in the Erk Russell Classic. In Week 2, the boys had to fight a bit harder, but walked off with a 38-17 win over North Murray. That score doesn’t do justice to how close the game was for awhile. Gunner Stockton is firing on all cylinders, completing 70% of his passes (28/40) for 473 yards and 4 TDs against just one interception. He’s also tallied 326 rush yards with 4 TD on the ground. Go-to running back Brody Jarrard hasn’t quite hit his stride, but has still done very well with 96 yards on 17 carries (5.6 yds/carry) with a TD. Braxton Hicks (139 yds) is still looking for that first TD, while Sam Adams (125 yds, 1 TD) has emerged as a legit threat. Coming off a bye week, the defense (5 sacks, 18 TFL) led by Mason Sprinkle, AJ Wheeler, and Phillip Roberson are well-rested and ready for the challenge.

BY THE NUMBERS (2019)

GAME HIGHLIGHTS

Be looking for highlights post-game late tonight as well as a story recapping WEEK 4. Highlights will also be shared on Channel 5 (Fox) on the 11 PM “High 5 Sports” show tonight. You can also follow us on Twitter (@BlitzSportsGa) for live score updates.

OUR PREDICTION

Stephens County’s offense will be a good litmus test for Rabun County’s defense. There will probably be a few big plays in there. On the flip side, the Rabun firepower behind Gunner Stockton, Brody Jarrard, and receivers Braxton Hicks, Sam Adams, and Sutton Jones will likely be a handful for the Indians. That said, Stephens will make it 3 straight games against a top-10 ranked team. This only makes them stronger down the stretch. OUR PICK: Rabun

DETAILS OF THE MATCHUP

TIME: 7:30 PM Kickoff
PLACE: The Reservation / Toccoa, GA
LAST MEETING: 2018; Rabun County 41, Stephens County 14
ALL-TIME RECORD: Rabun County 5, Stephens County 4
RECORDS: Stephens Co Indians (1-2; 0-0 in 8-AAAA) vs #2 Rabun Co Wildcats (2-0; 0-0 in 8-AA)

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING

These guys have met on the gridiron 9 times in history, which isn’t all that much considering how far both schools go, and the fact that they’re relatively close in driving distance. Still, Rabun has the slight edge in the series, going 5-4 in such meetings. That includes now 3 straight wins, all in the modern day era. Prior to 2016, the teams met 6 times in the 1950s, in which Stephens County won 4 in a row and 4 of those 6 dates. In recent years, it’s been all Rabun. In 2016, it was a 24-10 Wildcats win, followed by a 28-6 victory in 2017, and last year’s 41-14 blowout. In those 3 games, Rabun has outslugged the Indians 93-30. Below are a couple of the matchups we were lucky enough to capture.

• 2018: Rabun Co 41, Stephens Co 14
• 2016: Rabun Co 24, Stephens Co 10

TEAM LEADERS

STEPHENS COUNTY

PASSING
Kenny Colwell: 256 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT (16/34 passing; 47%)

RUSHING
Hudson Spurlock: 408 yds, 7 TD, 6.5 YPC
MJ Jones: 204 yds, 9.3 YPC
Zach Feaster: 57 yds, 4.4 YPC
KP Hayes: 32 yds, 8.0 YPC

RECEIVING
Gamarion Carter: 226 yds, 2 TD, 13 rec
MJ Jones: 25 yds, 2 rec

TACKLES
Kelton Cade: 10 TKL, FFum
MJ Jones: 9 TKL, Fum Rec
KP Hayes: 7 TKL
Zhy Perry: 6 TKL

INTERCEPTIONS
N/A

RABUN COUNTY

PASSING
Gunner Stockton: 437 yds, 4 TD, 1 INT (28/40 passing; 70%)

RUSHING
Gunner Stockton: 326 yds, 4 TD, 9.9 YPC
Brody Jarrard: 96 yds, 1 TD, 5.6 YPC

RECEIVING
Braxton Hicks: 139 yds, 8 rec
Sam Adams: 125 yds, 1 TD, 7 rec
Sutton Jones: 81 yds, 6 rec
Tate Ramey: 71 yds, 1 TD, 3 rec
Hogan Woodard: 45 yds, 1 TD, 1 rec
Brody Jarrard: 16 yds, 1 TD, 2 rec

TACKLES
Mason Sprinkle: 20 TKL, 1 TFL
AJ Wheeler: 18 TKL
Garrett Bragg: 17 TKL
Hoff Windham: 13 TKL, 2 TFL, 1 Sack
Peyton Roberson: 13 TKL, 5 TFL, 1 Sack

INTERCEPTIONS
Brody Jarrard: 1
AJ Wheeler: 1