Our Game of the Week takes us into Hiawassee for the first time since 2013 to take in a football game. It’s a litmus test for both Towns County and Commerce as they battle it out under the lights in a key Region 8-A game.

TOWNS COUNTY

It’s been a heck of a season so far for the Indians, who started out the year at 4-1 before dropping a road game last week. Towns County has rarely had a 4-win season, and this year marks just the fifth time the program is guaranteed that many victories. Still, coach Roquemore isn’t going to let his boys get too comfortable with that. They want to win more. The team goes as Kyle Oakes does, as the senior needs 6 yards to top 1,000 for a second straight season.

COMMERCE

The Tigers roll in with momentum. After a season-opening win that was less than spectacular (10-0 over Banks County), Commerce then dropped its next 2 games to fall outside the top 10 for the first time in over 2 years. Then something happened which can be no coincidence. The sugar got spread out and shared more as both Dreylan Martin and freshman phenom Jaiden Daniels have shared the load. Daniels has rewarded the efforts with over 500 rushing yards (most of that in the last 2 games), and Martin is at 316. Look for that duo to once again be the go-to in this one.

BY THE NUMBERS (2021)

TOWNS COUNTY

• 4-2 (0-1)
• Region Standings: T4th
• 25.83 OFFENSE AVG
• 21.33 DEFENSE AVG
• N/A State Ranking

COMMERCE

• 3-2 (1-0)
• Region Standings: T1st
• 17.4 OFFENSE AVG
• 16.8 DEFENSE AVG
• N/A State Ranking

GAME HIGHLIGHTS

Be looking for highlights post-game late tonight as well as a story recapping Week 8. Highlights are shared on Channel 5 (Fox) on the 11 PM “High 5 Sports” show throughout the regular season. You can also follow us on Twitter (@BlitzSportsGa) for live score updates (5G pending).

OUR PREDICTION

This is not an easy won for either side. On the one hand, winning a couple games in a row and finding new life on offense has got to give Commerce momentum. On the other hand, the Indians are at home, and the community is buzzed on the 4-2 start (regardless of last week’s loss). This is anyone’s game, but we’ll let you pick for us. OUR PICK: Fan Vote

DO WE BRING LUCK?

We’ve only gotten to take in 2 Commerce games, and they’ve split those. The last time we’ve seen the Tigers? A 2019 win over Lakeview on the road. For Towns County, we’ve been to 3 games, but none since 2013. The Indians are 0-3 in games we’ve seen.

DETAILS OF THE MATCHUP

TIME: 7:30 PM Kickoff
PLACE: Towns County HS / Hiawassee, GA / Frank McClure Stadium
LAST MEETING: 2020: Commerce 55, Towns 7
ALL-TIME RECORD: Commerce 25, Towns County 0
RECORDS: Towns County Indians (4-2; 0-1 in 8-A); Commerce Tigers (3-2; 1-0 in 8-A)

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING

This rivalry is as one-sided as it gets. 25-0 is the current lead for Commerce dating back to 1984, the first meeting. The last meeting (2020) was a 55-7 win for the Tigers on the home field. The closest Towns County has gotten to a win in this series was a 1992 14-0 win for Commerce. Towns County last hosted the matchup in 2018, which was a 49-7 Commerce victory. In the series, the Tigers have pitched 5 shutouts, and have held the Indians to under 21 points in all but 2 meetings (1997 and 1998).

TEAM LEADERS (2021)

TOWNS COUNTY

PASSING
Connor Chastain (844 yds, 7 TD, 4 INT, 78% completion)

RUSHING
Kyle Oakes (994 yds, 14 TD, 7.8 YPC) *state leader in 1A Public

RECEIVING
Collin Crowder (519 yds, 6 TD, 55 rec)
Kyle Oakes (60 yds, 0 TD)

DEFENSIVE LEADERS
Seth Gillis (56 TKL, 9 TFL, 1 Sack, 2 FF, 3 QBH)
Ian Arrowood
Kyle Oakes

COMMERCE

PASSING
Trey Garnto (76 yds, 0 TD, 0 INT; 56% completion)

RUSHING
Jaiden Daniels (518 yds, 5 TD, 8.5 YPC)
Dreylan Martin (316 yds, 3 TD, 6.2 YPC)
Malachi Shockey (234 yds, 2 TD, 4.9 YPC)
Jackson Morris (107 yds, 1 TD, 4.9 YPC)
Trey Garnto (31 yds, 0 TD, 1.2 YPC)
Kemani Horne (27 yds, 1 TD, 5.4 YPC)

RECEIVING
Jackson Morris (43 yds, 0 TD, 4 rec)
Dreylan Martin (19 yds, 0 TD, 3 rec)
Ryan Cooper (8 yds, 0 TD, 1 rec)
Kemani Horne (6 yds, 0 TD, 1 rec)

DEFENSIVE LEADERS
Cole Hill (44 TKL)
Collin Hall (31 TKL)
Landon Worley (23 TKL, 1 INT)
Kemani Horne (20 TKL)
Colton Hill (16 TKL)
Tysean Wiggins (13 TKL)
Jaiden Daniels (12 TKL, 1 INT)
Jackson Morris (12 TKL, 3 INT)
Wesley Stilley (12 TKL)
Dreylan Martin (9 TKL, 1 INT)