Our Round One Game of the Week takes us to Tiger for a first-round matchup between unbeaten Rabun County and Dade County.

RABUN COUNTY

The Wildcats are a team that carries the 7th-best offense in the state (36.3) and 10th-best defense (15.3). Rabun is led by Jaden Gibson, the 3-star WR who owns the state records for all-time TD catches and receiving yards. Keegan Stover is having a heck of a year at QB, and the defense is led by so many players, notably the state’s leading tackler in Nic Baloga. Rabun County is ranked #2, just won their 9th straight region title, and completed a 4th perfect regular season. Now the team hopes to make it 8 straight quarterfinal runs or deeper.

DADE COUNTY

Dade County is a respectable opponent that averages 27.4 per game on offense and gives up on average 17.4. However, 3 of the Wolverines’ 6 wins came against out-of-state opponents, and in region play Dade was 0-3 in a 4-team region. That gave the Wolverines an automatic state berth. Dade is primarily a running team, having 4 players with 300-plus yards on the season. SR QB Brody Cooper is the engine that runs the Wolverines, as he has 1,600 total yards and 18 TD.

BY THE NUMBERS (2022)

RABUN COUNTY

• 10-0 (3-0 in 8-A DI)
• Region Standings: Region Champions
• 36.3 OFFENSE AVG (7th in Class 1A DI)
• 15.3 DEFENSE AVG (10th in Class 1A DI)
• #2 State Ranking

DADE COUNTY

• 6-4 (0-3 in 7-A DI)
• Region Standings: 4th
• 27.4 OFFENSE AVG
• 17.4 DEFENSE AVG
• N/A State Ranking

GAME HIGHLIGHTS

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

OUR PREDICTION

As per usual, we give you the case for both to win. For Rabun to win, the Cats just need to show up basically. With or without a couple of key players, there is enough talent and depth to still put up the points to put this game away early. The defense will be stifling. Though unlikely, Dade could steal a mammoth upset if the Wolverines use the ground game to chew up massive amounts of time off the clock, and convert those drives into touchdowns (not field goals). If Dade does that maybe 3-4 times in the game, it shortens the contest and puts pressure on Rabun. That’s the case for both, but we have a clear prediction… OUR PICK: SEE HERE

DO WE BRING LUCK?

We are 47-12 all-time in games we’ve gone to for Rabun County, and that includes 4-0 in 2022. The last playoff game we were at for the Cats was the Quarterfinals loss last season at Thomasville, and we are 13-6 in playoff games for the Cats.

DETAILS OF THE MATCHUP

TIME: 7:30 PM Kickoff
PLACE: Rabun County HS / Tiger, GA / Frank Snyder Memorial Stadium
LAST MEETING: N/A
ALL-TIME RECORD: N/A
RECORDS: #2 Rabun County Wildcats (10-0; Region Champions 8-A DI); Dade County Wolverines (6-4; 4th in 7-A DI)
HEAD COACHES: Michael Davis (10-0; 1 Season); Jeff Poston (15-16; 3 Seasons)

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING

This is a first-ever meeting between Rabun County and Dade County, so history is made either way.

TEAM LEADERS (2022 Stats)

*Stats accumulated by team-published data on Ga Maxpreps

RABUN COUNTY

PASSING
Keegan Stover – 2,942 yds, 34 TD, 1 INT, 65% completion

RUSHING
Lang Windham – 736 yds, 8 TD, 5.8 YPC
Keegan Stover – 93 rush yds, 3 TD, 2.0 YPC

RECEIVING
Jaden Gibson – 1,576 yds, 24 TD, 89 rec
Noah Legault – 556 yds, 4 TD, 35 rec
Willie Goodwyn – 240 yds, 3 TD, 14 rec
Cory Keller – 167 yds, 0 TD, 15 rec
Paul Picciotti – 156 yds, 1 TD, 9 rec
Jarret Giles – 133 yds, 0 TD, 4 rec

DEFENSIVE LEADERS
Nic Baloga – 160 TKL, 12 TFL, 2 Sacks, 2 INT, 1 FR, 2 FF
Ethan Owens – 113 TKL, 6 TFL, 1 Sack
Cory Keller – 67 TKL, 1 TFL, 1 Sack
Hayden Ross – 58 TKL, 7 TFL, 3 Sacks, 1 INT, 1 FR, 1 FF
Emiliano Ortiz – 54 TKL, 5 TFL, 2 Sacks, 1 FR
Cesar Cruz – 50 TKL, 5 TFL, 1 Sack, 1 BLK
Paul Picciotti – 50 TKL, 9 TFL, 5 Sacks, 1 FR
Noah Legault – 47 TKL, 1 TFL, 3 INT, 1 FR, 1 FF
Jarret Giles – 43 TKL, 2 TFL, 1 Sack, 1 INT, 1 FR, 1 FF
Willie Goodwyn – 36 TKL, 3 INT

DADE COUNTY

PASSING
Brody Cooper – 1,179 yds, 8 TD, 5 INT, 58% completion

RUSHING
Braylon Sullivan – 683 yds, 8 TD, 7.6 YPC
Brody Cooper – 561 yds, 10 TD, 5.2 YPC
Evan Koger – 451 yds, 4 TD, 7.4 YPC
Landon Williams – 411 yds, 3 TD, 6.7 YPC
Zeke Wheeler – 314 yds, 3 TD, 6.7 YPC
Brandon Willerson – 126 yds, 0 TD, 4.7 YPC

RECEIVING
Zeke Wheeler – 426 yds, 2 TD, 22 rec
Demetrius Walker – 252 yds, 3 TD, 16 rec
Braylon Sullivan – 202 yds, 1 TD, 9 rec
Nick Eacret – 105 yds, 1 TD, 10 rec
Caleb Massey – 99 yds, 2 TD, 5 rec

DEFENSIVE LEADERS
Landon Williams – 89 TKL, 17.5 TFL, 4 Sacks
Jax Guinn – 68 TKL, 6.5 TFL, 1 Sack, 1 INT
Zeke Wheeler – 44 TKL, 6 TFL, 2 Sacks
Levi Raines – 44 TKL, 17 TFL, 4 Sacks, 1 FR, 1 FF
Lucas Costley – 38 TKL, 7 TFL, 1 Sack
Caleb Massey – 34 TKL, 3.5 TFL, 2 INT
Eli Kimbrall – 32 TKL, 10 TFL
Kade Pardue – 14 TKL, 3 INT