Our Week Twelve Game of the Week takes us to Dahlonega for a game that is meaningless for the Spartans, but big in two ways for Lumpkin. A win re-establishes confidence and momentum going into the playoffs, and playoff seeding is on the line as well.

LUMPKIN COUNTY

The Indians played for a region title. Let that soak in. Lumpkin County has had a brilliant 180 turnaround under Heath Webb in just his first year. Losing to rivals Dawson County in the region title game is a blow, and the Indians will no doubt be itching to get after West Hall and end the regular season with the dominance that they’ve played with all season long. It marks what could be the final home game for Cooper Scott and fellow seniors. He is arguably the best QB in decades, if not ever, to play for the Indians. Here’s what’s at stake here. Lumpkin is at #3 in the region standings. A loss (which is inconceivable) would push the Indians to fourth if Pickens wins its finale against Wesleyan (2nd in standings due to head-to-head win over Lumpkin). An Indians win coupled with Wesleyan winning means Lumpkin is 3rd. Or an Indians win and Pickens beating Wesleyan means Lumpkin will get the #2-seed and host the first round. So many ways this can go down. Easiest way to cheer on Friday – Lumpkin for a win and Pickens too.

WEST HALL

The Spartans have had their toughest season at 1-8 since their 0-10 2019 campaign. With 75 total points scored all year, West Hall is in danger of its lowest scoring output since its 1988 debut season of just 64. All the Spartans need is a field goal to tie last year’s output, but anything less than 25 points makes for only the third time in school history to score under 100 points. Right now, this is an offense at just over 8 points per game. On the flip side, the defense has surrendered an average of 36.8 per Friday night.

BY THE NUMBERS (2022)

LUMPKIN COUNTY

• 7-2 (3-2 in 7-AAA)
• Region Standings: 3rd
• 35.2 OFFENSE AVG (6th in Class 3A)
• 18.8 DEFENSE AVG
• N/A State Ranking

WEST HALL

• 1-8 (0-5 in 7-AAA)
• Region Standings: 7th
• 8.3 OFFENSE AVG
• 36.8 DEFENSE AVG
• N/A State Ranking

GAME HIGHLIGHTS

Be looking for highlights post-game late tonight as well as a story recapping Week Twelve. BLITZ partners with Fox 5’s 11 PM “High 5 Sports” show throughout the season. We make sure to get Lumpkin County coverage on the big market show! You can also follow us on Twitter (@BlitzSportsGa) for live score updates (5G pending).

OUR PREDICTION

We typically make a case for both, but without trying to be insensitive, the only way Lumpkin can lose a game like this is by not showing up or just completely overlooking the opponent. The Indians are just far too superior talent-wise, and have had such a great season to not be able to win convincingly and dominantly in this one. OUR PICK: SEE HERE

DO WE BRING LUCK?

In 16 total games we’ve been to for Lumpkin County, the Indians have gone 4-12. However, the last time we were physically there (last week we partnered with another media outlet for coverage of Dawson/Lumpkin), the Indians won against Temple!

DETAILS OF THE MATCHUP

TIME: 7:30 PM Kickoff
PLACE: Lumpkin County HS / Dahlonega, GA / The Burial Grounds / Cottrell Field
LAST MEETING: 2021 (West Hall 31, Lumpkin County 14)
ALL-TIME RECORD: West Hall leads the all-time series 12-5
RECORDS: Lumpkin County Indians (7-2; 3-2 in 7-AAA); West Hall Spartans (1-8; 0-5 in 7-AAA)
HEAD COACHES: Heath Webb (68-69; 13 Seasons); Krofton Montgomery (12-37; 5 Seasons)

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING

Just last season with almost the exact same roster, Lumpkin fell 31-14. This is going to be a game that shows just how much better coach Webb has made these guys. West Hall has won 12 of the 17 games all-time in this series that goes back to 1988. Lumpkin won the first-ever meeting that year 29-12, then proceeded to drop the next 6. It wasn’t until 2007 that the Indians got back in the win column, and that started a 4-game win streak in the series going to 2011. Since 2012, West Hall has won the last 6, representing the longest win streak in the series for either team.

TEAM LEADERS (2022 Stats)

*Stats accumulated by team-published data on Ga Maxpreps

LUMPKIN COUNTY

PASSING
Cooper Scott – 1,327 yds, 10 TD, 7 INT, 70% completion

RUSHING
Mason Sullens – 928 yds, 15 TD, 5.5 YPC
Cooper Scott – 537 yds, 10 TD, 5.4 YPC
Will Wood – 100 yds, 1 TD, 14.3 YPC
Cal Faulkner – 69 yds, 2 TD, 7.7 YPC
Gerald Walker, Jr. – 39 yds, 1 TD, 9.8 YPC

RECEIVING
Cal Faulkner – 573 yds, 7 TD, 37 rec
Harper Davenport – 178 yds, 1 TD, 15 rec
Carter Disanto – 154 yds, 0 TD, 12 rec
Mason Sullens – 134 yds, 1 TD, 13 rec
Caleb Norrell – 47 yds, 1 TD, 9 rec

DEFENSIVE LEADERS (incomplete stats)
Will Wood – 50 TKL, 3 TFL, 2 FR
Jay Grizzle – 49 TKL, 2 TFL, 0.5 Sacks, 1 FR, 1 FF
Preston Cox – 48 TKL, 4 TFL, 1 FR, 1 FF
Cameron Stringer – 43 TKL, 3 TFL, 2 FR, 1 FF
Connor Greilich – 34 TKL, 7 TFL, 1.5 Sacks, 1 FR
Tavion Lawrence – 27 TKL, 1 TFL, 2 INT
Harper Davenport – 26 TKL, 1 TFL, 1 INT
Caleb Norrell – 25 TKL, 1 INT
Cal Faulkner – 14 TKL, 1 TFL, 4 INT

WEST HALL (no stats available)

PASSING

RUSHING

RECEIVING

DEFENSIVE LEADERS