It was exciting to kick off the 2022 season. Highlighting the action included the big-time rivalry game of Stephens County and Habersham Central, a couple of top-10 matchups in Rabun/Haralson and Jefferson/Alpharetta, new-look programs in White vs North Hall, and another rivalry in Towns and Hayesville. Here’s what transpired in Week One.

#10 Stephens County 14, Habersham Central 3

The Indians rallied late. After over a dozen times of fumbling the football, the offense finally got on the board with a 45-yd TD from Ben Stowe to Cam Lacy with 27 seconds left in the third. The Raiders had led 3-0 prior to that, and Stephens County polished it off with a 36-yd TD run by Javin Gordon with three minutes to go in the contest.

Dawson County 28, Jackson County 21

The Tigers came up with the program’s 200th all-time win in a thriller over Jackson County in Dawsonville. Dawson led 6-0 after the first quarter, but Jackson County took a slim 7-6 lead into the half. A TD pass by the Panthers midway through the third made it a 14-6 ballgame, but Dawson roared back from there. A TD on a recovered bad snap in the end zone, as well as a 2-point conversion, tied the game at 14 late in the third. Davis Glass then connected with Dom LeBlanc on a 50-yd TD to go ahead 21-14. Christian Webb’s pick six on the next play put the Tigers up 28-14, and they held on from there.

Lumpkin County 61, Riverside 7

It was as expected in a 61-7 blowout win for Lumpkin. Scores came by Mason Sullens (4 TD runs), Cal Faulkner (2 TD runs), Will Wood (1 TD) as the Indians rolled up a 47-7 halftime lead. In the second half, Gerald Walker got the scoring going, and Lumpkin added one more down the stretch. The 61-point game was the most since the team had 63 in a 2016 win against Fannin County.

White County 35, North Hall 14

The Warriors gave coach Chad Bennett a win in his first-ever head coaching matchup. White County got going late in the first when Tripp Nix hit Cam Wilson on a 33-yd TD to make it 7-0. The Trojans tied it up late in the second, but before the half Caysen Duvall took an interception back 53 yards for the go-ahead score. Defense continued to contribute, as Colton Turner had an 82-yd fumble return for a score in the third to push it up to 21-7. Nix had a QB keeper for a 1-yd score in the fourth, making it a 28-7 game. North Hall got one score back, but a Nix 4-yd TD run in the closing seconds secured a 35-14 win.

Union County 14, Fannin County 7

It came down to the wire, as the Panthers, who were up 14-7 and on defense in the final seconds, made a sensational goal-line stand to secure the win. It was tied 7-7 until a TD by Union with just over a minute to go in the game.

Banks County 41, Johnson 20

Banks County earned a nice 41-20 win over Johnson to open the 2022 season. Andrew Shockley had 398 yards and 6 TDS for Banks.

#2 Rabun County 49, #10 Haralson 3

The Wildcats opened the can quickly, with Keegan Stover TD passes in the first to Lang Windham (25-yd) and Jaden Gibson (15-yd), the latter of which was a ridiculous one-handed grab to get the Cats up 14-0 early. In the second, Stover found a streaking Gibson wide open for a 45-yd TD and a 21-0 lead. Gibson wasn’t done…Stover hit him on a slant, and he split four defenders and was off to the races with an 85-yd TD that pushed it up to 28-0, which made it to the half. #10-ranked Haralson got a field goal to get on the board in the third, but the Wildcats again got Stover to Gibson for an 85-yd TD once again, making it 35-3. He came out with what appeared to a hamstring cramp on that TD. Later in the quarter, a Branson Gragg interception set Rabun up inside the five yard line. Lang Windham took it in for the score and the 42-3 advantage. With five minutes to go, Ty Truelove hit Riley Stewart with a 10-yd TD, capping the scoring at 49-3. Coach Michael Davis nets his first-ever win. Stover threw for five TDs, and Gibson had four, leaving him just 15 shy of setting the all-time state record.

#9 Alpharetta 47, #4 Jefferson 46

The Dragons came away with a thrilling loss of 47-46 in a top-10 matchup. Down 12-0 midway through the first, Max Aldrige threw a TD to Elijah Dewitt to get Jefferson back in it. Early in the second, Owen Botts nailed a 28-yd FG to make it an 18-10 game. A Bowman Horn interception later in the half got the Dragons more momentum, leading to an Aldridge rushing TD and Sammy Brown 2-point conversion to tie the game at 18 apiece. That held to the break. Brown got a 69-yd TD run to open the third and race out to a 25-18 lead, and Aldridge hit Dewitt on a 93-yd TD later in the third for the 32-18 lead. Brown wasn’t done, as he added a 32-yd TD after Alpharetta had stormed back to tie the game. Brown’s TD made it 39-32. Again it was tied up, and Brown got a 20-yd TD run to make it 46-39 with 5:58 to play. Alpharetta stormed back to win late on a TD and 2PC. The game featured Jefferson overcoming an 18-point deficit and scoring 32 straight points, then Alpharetta coming back from 14 down.

Commerce 21, #1 Southside (SC) 17

The Tigers shocked the state of Georgia and South Carolina with a win over the back-to-back state champions Southside, who had a win streak of 22 straight games. Trailing 7-0 in the second, Jaiden Daniels knotted the game with a 3-yd TD for Commerce. Daniels added a 2-yd TD run later in the quarter to give Commerce the 14-7 lead, though Southside would tie it up before the half. Neither side saw points in the third, but Southside knocked in a fourth quarter field goal to go up 17-14. Daniels came through again, scoring with just over three minutes left in the game, and the defense held on for the 21-17 Commerce win.

Hayesville (NC) 13, Towns County 12

The Indians dropped a tough one to rivals Hayesville, coming one point shy of a big win in a 13-12 final.

OTHER LOCAL GAMES OF INTEREST

• East Hall 19, West Hall 14
• Hebron Christian 63, Chestatee 13
• Madison County 35, Franklin County 6
• #10 Lakeview Academy 35, Kings Ridge 28
• #10 Gainesville 34, #2 Marist 23
• #10 Flowery Branch 39, #8 Decatur 38
• #1 Buford 38, #1 Thompson (AL) 7
• Elbert County 31, Hart County 28
• #9 Kell 38, Cherokee Bluff 23 (Wednesday)
• Oglethrope 16, East Jackson 7