Week One is in the books for the 2023 season! Here’s what happened!

*keep checking back for additions to the recaps as that data becomes available.*

#4 Jefferson 34, Alpharetta 24

The Dragons were plagued by early turnovers, falling behind 17-7 at the half with 2 TDs coming after a muffed punt and fumbled kickoff. But Jefferson had a monster third quarter in which it scored 27 unanswered, with the first 3 TDs coming in a 4-minute span. Sammy Brown had 4 TDs and made a ton of bigtime plays on defense, while Gavin Markey scored a rushing TD and made a good many key passes in the second half. Rhett Hemphill had a couple of takeaways on defense as well.

#3 Rabun County 45, Haralson 21

The Wildcats got off to a quick start with an early TD run by Ty Truelove and a Truelove-to-Willie Goowyn 23-yd TD pass to take a 14-0 lead. In the second, Marcus Remillard got a chip-shot field goal to push it up to 17-0. Truelove hit Goodwyn for a sensational 21-yd TD in which the latter pinned the ball against his defender’s back. That put the lead at 24-0. Truelove connected later with Paul Picciotti for a 23-yd TD and the 31-0 lead. It reached 38-0 on a Truelove-to-Reid Giles TD pass just before the half. Haralson ran 11 minutes off the clock to start the second half, capping it with a TD run. Giles got a 45-yd TD run early in the fourth to cap the Rabun scoring. Truelove finished with 4 TD passes and a rushing TD.

#5 Stephens County 31, Habersham Central 29

The Indians pulled off a miracle in a game that looked like the Raiders had in the bag. Habersham scored first, and took advantage of an early turnover to go up 14-0 on a TD pass from Carson Parker to Zeke Whittington. Tripp Underwood threw a TD of his own from 31 yards out to get within 14-6, which held to the second. A Raiders safety took the lead to 16-6. Another TD made it 22-6, but a free kick attempt was returned for a TD by the Indians to make it 22-13 at the break. That was the beginning of it falling apart for Hab Central. After a Parker-to-Whittington 34-yd TD made it 29-13 with only 4:32 left in the third, it really looked like the Raiders would get their second win in a quarter century. Before the quarter was over, Stephens pulled within 29-20. However, the Raiders still held that margin with under 2 minutes to go in the contest after picking off a pass in the end zone. An Underwood TD pass to Jasec Smith and an ensuing 2-point conversion made it 29-28 with 1:45 to go. The Indians successfully recovered an onside kick, then marched down the field and notched a game-winning field goal with 5 seconds left to stun the Raiders.

Commerce 21, #4 Southside (SC) 19

The Tigers made a statement against #4-ranked Southside (SC) for a second year in a row. Jaiden Daniels capped off a first quarter drive with a 2-yd TD for the 7-6 Commerce lead. Tysean Wiggins played well in the first half with over 5 yards per carry. Daniels got his second TD in the second quarter, and Ivy Tolbert’s PAT made it 14-6 late in the half. Southside needed a change at QB, and brought in a lefty, who threw a TD with 38 seconds left in the half to get within 14-12. The defense for the Tigers shined, breaking up a 4th down pass in the end zone early in the third. Mac Mullis blocked a go-ahead field goal attempt to maintain the lead, and Daniels had a big interception as well. The 14-12 score held to the fourth, and Daniels had a 36-yd TD run to push it to 21-12. Southside retaliated with 3:23 left to make it a 21-19 game, but Daniels got a 20-yd first down run on 4th down late to seal the game.

*Recap Info from Jason Lord of Commerce*

Hayesville (NC) 35, Towns County 2

The Indians only got a safety, and were scored on 5 times in a tough opening loss to rivals Hayesville.

Jackson County 16, Dawson County 0

The Tigers were shut out against Jackson County in the season-opening contest. While the offense couldn’t generate much, the defense was solid.

North Hall 49, White County 34

The Trojans scored early and often, starting with a TD run early in the first. Noel Lammers got a 16-yd TD run for the Warriors to tie the game with 3:09 in the first, but North Hall got it back with a TD pass in the final seconds. After going up 21-7, the Trojans never looked back. Tripp Nix had a 12-yd TD run early in the second to get within a possession. He had a 3-yd TD with 1:12 left in the half to pull within 28-20, but North Hall led 35-20 at the break. Nix’s third TD run (a 1-yd score) came with just under 8 minutes to go in the third, making it a 42-27 game. Nix had a 1-yd TD pass to John Phillips in the final minutes of the game, closing the game with a 49-34 final.

Union County 50, Fannin County 12 (Thursday)

The Panthers left no doubt they were ready to make a statement. Union racked up nearly 500 yards of offense, 350-plus rushing. Braylen Rader had 4 rushing TDs on the night, as Union held a sizeable 28-6 halftime lead. Rader had 3 rushing TDs in that half alone (7-, 20-, 2-yd runs), while Caiden Tanner threw a 5-yd TD pass to Jensen Goble for the other. It was 42-6 going into the final quarter with a running clock.

Banks County 53, Johnson 7

The Leopards slammed Johnson 53-7 to open up the season in style. Aucy Jacobs has a big game with a pair of TD runs, and the defense was spectacular.

OTHER LOCAL GAMES

#2 Gainesville 34, #5 Marist 26
#1 Buford 18, #2 St. Frances Academy 0
Flowery Branch 38, Decatur 7
East Hall 35, West Hall 28
#7 Elbert County 24, Hart County 14
East Jackson 14, Oglethorpe County 7
Hebron Christian 70, Chestatee 14
West Forsyth 40, Cherokee Bluff 7 (THUR)
Madison County 41, Franklin County 7
King’s Ridge 20, Lakeview 13