Our Week Eleven Game of the Week takes us to Commerce for the first time this season, where #3 Commerce takes on #4 Rabun County in a game that will decide the Region 8-A DI Championship.

COMMERCE

The #3-ranked Tigers are looking incredible after a blowout win AT Elbert County. If Commerce wins on the home field, the Tigers are the Region Champions. The Tigers are having their best offensive season since 2020 when they last won the region title. This is coach Mark Hollars’ best team in his 3 years, as they have averaged 33.7 per game and give up 14.3. Those have them ranked inside the top-10 in the state in both categories (7th in offense; 5th in defense). In 8 of 9 games, Commerce has held opponents to 21 or less. They’ve got 6 straight wins going for them as well.

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RABUN COUNTY

The Wildcats are still reeling from the 21-9 loss to Elbert. Although the Cats won 38-0 last week over winless Athens Christian, that was the 6th straight shutout loss for the Eagles, and the 38 points was the fewest scored on AC all season. That said, Rabun held back a bit in the second half, and were without star RB Reid Giles. Ty Truelove didn’t really pass much either, so the Cats just stayed vanilla and got out of there with an easy win. Noah English had a great performance though, and he’s putting together quite the season. Rabun’s offense ranks 8th in the state, while the defense ranks 10th. 

BY THE NUMBERS (2023)

COMMERCE

• 8-1 (2-0 in 8-A DI)
• Region Standings: 1st
• 33.67 OFFENSE AVG (7th in Class 1A DI)
• 14.33 DEFENSE AVG (5th in Class 1A DI)
• #3 State Ranking

RABUN COUNTY

• 7-2 (1-1 in 8-A DI)
• Region Standings: T-2nd
• 33.44 OFFENSE AVG (8th in Class 1A DI)
• 17.56 DEFENSE AVG (10th in Class 1A DI)
• #4 State Ranking

GAME HIGHLIGHTS

Be looking for highlights post-game late tonight as well as a story recapping Week Eleven. BLITZ partners with Fox 5’s 11 PM “High 5 Sports” show throughout the season. We make sure to get Lumpkin County and White 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, with our official pick linked below. Let’s look at Commerce first. The duo of Jaiden Daniels and Tysean Wiggins has combined for well over 2,000 rushing yards and 25 TD. That’s insane. And Jacari Huff isn’t a slouch either, as he is closing in on 500 yards. The run game is just about unstoppable. Whether it’s chewing up the clock for nickel and dime runs until reaching pay dirt, or exploding for chunk plays and homerun plays for TDs, the Tigers can do it all. The defense has quietly been solid as well. So at home, with all those things in hand, a healthy Commerce just needs to play its brand of football and not let up. Rabun County’s name precedes itself. The Wildcats aren’t used to being in this spot of not having control of their own destiny in the region. It’ll be a road test unlike any other since maybe the Stephens County game. Rabun still has playmakers, but the explosiveness hasn’t been as consistent. Don’t count them out though, as Willie Goodwyn is averaging a TD once every 3 receptions. That’s ridiculous. If he has a great night in open space, and Ty Truelove can get others involved, it could be a recipe for success. OUR PICK: SEE HERE

DO WE BRING LUCK?

For Commerce, we’ve only caught 5 games going back to 2015, but the Tigers have gone 3-2 in those. For Rabun County, we’ve been to 63 games, in which the Wildcats have gone 49-14 but only 1-2 this season.

DETAILS OF THE MATCHUP

TIME: 7:30 PM Kickoff
PLACE: Commerce HS / Commerce, GA
LAST MEETING: 2022 (#2 Rabun County 27, Commerce 22)
ALL-TIME RECORD: Commerce leads the all-time series 21-8-1
RECORDS: #3 Commerce Tigers (8-1; 1-1 in 8-A DI); #4 Rabun County Wildcats (7-2; 1-1 in 8-A DI)
HEAD COACHES: Mark Hollars (50-36; 8 Seasons); Michael Davis (19-3; 2 Seasons)

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING

This rivalry runs pretty deep. Commerce leads 21-8-1, but have lost the last 2, including last year’s 27-22 thriller and the 2013 version where Charlie Woerner and the Wildcats won 28-0. Before that, it was almost all Commerce. Rabun did win the first meeting ever in 1951 and the 1952 sequel, but the teams split the next 4. Then Commerce took off with a win in 1964 and winning or tying (once) the next 15 contests stretching to 1995.

TEAM LEADERS (2023 Stats)

*Stats accumulated by team-published data on Ga MaxPreps from this season

COMMERCE

PASSING
N/A

RUSHING
Jaiden Daniels – 1,353 yds, 15 TD
Tysean Wiggins – 1,093 yds, 12 TD
Jacari Huff – 402 yds, 4 TD
JP Allen – 153 yds, 0 TD

RECEIVING
N/A

DEFENSIVE LEADERS
N/A (Unknown/unpublished)

RABUN COUNTY

PASSING
Ty Truelove – 1,592 yds, 17 TD, 3 INT, 61% passing

RUSHING
Reid Giles – 762 yds, 10 TD, 11.4 YPC
Noah English – 491 yds, 6 TD, 5.9 YPC
Ty Truelove – 304 yds, 4 TD, 6.3 YPC

RECEIVING
Willie Goodwyn – 781 yds, 12 TD, 36 rec
Reid Giles – 211 yds, 1 TD, 13 rec
Paul Picciotti – 205 yds, 1 TD, 15 rec
Cooper Welch – 192 yds, 1 TD, 21 rec
Jarret Giles – 78 yds, 2 TD, 8 rec
Noah English – 49 yds, 0 TD, 5 rec

DEFENSIVE LEADERS (missing 2 games of stats)
Noah English – 58 TKL, 3 TFL
Elvis Hunt – 55 TKL, 2 TFL, 1 FR, 1 FF
Riley Stewart – 38 TKL, 4 TFL, 1 FF
Reid Giles – 30 TKL, 7 TFL
Celton Littrell – 22 TKL, 1 Sack, 1 FR
Paul Picciotti – 19 TKL, 1 TFL, 1 INT, 1 FF
Jarret Giles – 15 TKL, 4 TFL
Willie Goodwyn – 10 TKL, 5 INT, 1 FR
Ethan Hopper – 5 TKL, 2 TFL, 2 Sacks