It hasn’t been done since 1988. That being a 4-0 start for Lumpkin County for the first time in 34 years. The Indians rolled up a 27-20 win over visiting Temple on Friday night in Dahlonega, behind Cooper Scott’s 3 total TDs. The last time the Indians did this, gas was a whopping 90 cents per gallon.

It truly was a tale of two halves, as both teams scored all 47 points in the first half before both defenses had enough and pitched shutouts in the second half.

Visiting Temple won the toss and deferred to the second half, which gave Lumpkin a chance to punch first. The Indians did just that, carving up yardage on a drive that ended with a 5-yd plunge for Mason Sullens. After making a stop, Lumpkin went back to work, and Scott threw a 45-yd TD pass to a wide open Cal Faulkner to push the lead up to 13-0. Again Temple stalled on the next drive, and again the Indians put points on the board. Scott found Caleb Norrell for a 9-yd strike in a tight window, stretching the lead up to 20-0 with just 49 seconds left in the first.

It appeared as though Lumpkin would run away with the ball game, but Temple’s QB Cam Vaughn, who entered the game as the state’s second-leading rusher across all classifications, sprinted 69 yards for the score just 20 seconds after the Indians’ TD. In the second, the Tigers added an 8-yd TD by CJ Gray to cut the deficit to 20-12. The Indians responded with a 10-yd TD run by Scott with 1:49 left in the half, making it a 27-12 lead. Temple marched down and scored with 13 seconds left in the half on a Vaughn 3-yd run, drawing the game to a 27-20 score.

The second half saw both sides end drives on failed fourth-down conversions, notably on back-to-back possessions in the third. Faulkner ended a threat late in the third with a timely interception, and he also batted down the last fourth down attempt to turn the ball over to Lumpkin for the final mine-plus. Scott and Sullens ran out the clock, and the Indians held on for the 27-20 win.