Our Quarterfinals Game of the Week takes us to Gold City for the fourth time this season as the Indians square up with Savannah Christian in a contest of high-flying offenses with stout defenses to counter.

LUMPKIN COUNTY

Who had walkoff field goal by Will Staples on their bingo card? If you haven’t kept up, or live under a rock, the Indians are still unbeaten at 12-0. It was another OT thriller, this time a 2 OT version with Staples’ historic boot to bounce Oconee County and reach the first-ever Quarterfinals. The final score read 45-42. That was a lot different than the 52-6 first round win over Gordon Lee, but more evidence of the prowess of the offense. Mason Sullens has now raced up over 2,000 yards on the season, putting him in rarified air. Cal Faulkner’s performance was unforgettable with nearly 300 all-purpose yards and 4 TD. Nolan Matthews had 111 receiving yards and 2 scores as well. Lumpkins’ high-octane offense is now averaging 43.75 points per contest, which is among the top-5 in the state. The defense has had some hiccups as of late against White County (4 OT, 55 points allowed), 23 allowed to Dawson, and now 42 to Oconee. Still, the unit as a whole gives up 17.92 per night. Coach Heath Webb is overseeing a magical run that now has the Indians again playing on Black Friday in a Quarterfinal game in Gold City.

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SAVANNAH CHRISTIAN

Savannah Christian, ranked #4 in the state, will be on the opposite sideline, and this is a 10-2 team that was Runner-Up from 3-AAA. The Raiders have a robust 7-game win streak going, dueling with Peach County in a 48-46 OT contest in the first round before a 33-10 win in the second round over Morgan County. SC averages 42.25, just a hair below Lumpkin’s output, and gives up 16.5, just a tad better than the Indians. This team is battle-tested with a big-play offense and pretty stout defense. The offense for the Raiders is made to run the ball, with junior Zo Smalls (1,394 yds, 25 TD) leading those efforts. In large part, this Savannah Christian team is fairly young, and will be traveling about 5 hours for this one. That won’t be easy the day after Thanksgiving. Worth mentioning here, they do have the #1 recruit in the country (c/o 2025) in 5-star junior DE Elijah Griffin (83 TKL, 27 TFL, 15.5 Sacks).

BY THE NUMBERS (2023)

LUMPKIN COUNTY

• 12-0 (7-AAA Region Champions)
• Region Standings: 1st
• 43.75 OFFENSE AVG (2nd in Class 3A)
• 17.92 DEFENSE AVG
• #5 State Ranking

SAVANNAH CHRISTIAN

• 10-2 (3-AAA Runner-Up)
• Region Standings: 2nd
• 42.25 OFFENSE AVG (3rd in Class 5A)
• 16.50 DEFENSE AVG
• #4 State Ranking

GAME HIGHLIGHTS

Be looking for highlights post-game late tonight as well as a story recapping the Quaterfinals. 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, with our official pick linked below. Let’s begin with the Indians. If Lumpkin County has a lot of success running the ball early with Sullens, it will only open things up for Faulkner to be the dual threat that he is. Lumpkin will have to sacrifice some on the line to account for the 2025 top recruit in the USA with Elijah Griffin. He’s special. The Indians simply cannot afford to give up 42 this time around, so the defense will need to play exceptionally well. Savannah Christian will need a big game from Griffin and the rest of the line. The Raiders will need to go all out to stop Sullens, and force Faulkner to scramble. This seems to hinge a lot on the defenses in this game. OUR PICK: SEE HERE

DO WE BRING LUCK?

Okay, this goes two ways. Overall, dating back to 2009, we have seen Lumpkin go just 8-13. However, this season, we’ve caught 3 straight wins for the Indians and 5 of the last 6 going back to last year.

DETAILS OF THE MATCHUP

TIME: 7:30 PM Kickoff
PLACE: Lumpkin County HS / Dahlonega, GA / Lynn Cottrell Field at The Burial Grounds
LAST MEETING: N/A
ALL-TIME RECORD: 1st-ever meeting
RECORDS: #5 Lumpkin County Indians (12-0; 7-AAA Champs); #4 Savannah Christian Raiders (10-2; 3-AAA Runner-Up)
HEAD COACHES: Heath Webb (81-70; 14 Seasons); Baker Woodward (55-18; 6 Seasons)

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING

None to speak of whatsoever. This is the first all-time meeting. These two coaches are not exactly long in the tooth, with a combined 20 seasons between them leading a program. Heath Webb is the more experienced in terms of seasons overall with 14. Baker Woodward has 6 seasons, but amazing success so far with 2 region titles and now 5 out of 6 seasons reaching the Quarterfinals. He made it to the Semifinals in 2018, his first season as coach of the Raiders. This is Webb’s first trip to the Quarterfinals.

TEAM LEADERS (2023 Stats)

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

LUMPKIN COUNTY

PASSING
Cal Faulkner – 1,550 yds, 17 TD, 1 INT, 70% passing

RUSHING
Mason Sullens – 2,126 yds, 33 TD, 6.9 YPC

RECEIVING
Luke Evans – 751 yds, 5 TD, 55 rec
Nolan Matthews – 418 yds, 6 TD, 28 rec
Harper Davenport – 122 yds, 2 TD, 15 rec
Walker Scott – 67 yds, 2 TD, 6 rec

DEFENSIVE LEADERS
Will Wood – 80 TKL, 1 TFL, 1 FF
Gerald Walker, Jr – 60 TKL, 4 TFL, 4 Sacks
Nate Gilleland – 54 TKL, 1 TFL, 2 FR
Preston Cox – 51 TKL, 4 TFL, 3 Sacks, 1 FR, 1 FF
Connor Greilich – 42 TKL, 5 TFL, 1 FR
Connor Bagley – 40 TKL, 4 TFL, 2 Sacks
Cal Faulkner – 9 TKL, 3 INT
Harper Davenport – 36 TKL, 2 INT, 1 FR

SAVANNAH CHRISTIAN

PASSING
Blaise Thomas – 1,671 yds, 13 TD, 7 INT, 66% passing

RUSHING
Zo Smalls – 1,394 yds, 25 TD, 7.4 YPC
Kenry Wall – 843 yds, 11 TD, 11.9 YPC
Jamari McIvory – 261 yds, 4 TD, 9.7 YPC
Blaise Thomas – 139 yds, 4 TD, 3.7 YPC

RECEIVING
David Bucey – 606 yds, 6 TD, 41 rec
Logan Brooking – 481 yds, 2 TD, 29 rec
Kenry Wall – 462 yds, 5 TD, 18 rec
Zo Smalls – 139 yds, 2 TD, 6 rec
Jamari McIvory – 90 yds, 2 TD, 4 rec

DEFENSIVE LEADERS
Jaden Miles – 115 TKL, 6 TFL, 2 Sacks, 1 INT
David Bucey – 85 TKL, 14 TFL, 1 Sack, 1 INT, 2 FF, 1 BLK
Elijah Griffin – 83 TKL, 27 TFL, 15.5 Sacks
Reid Penrose – 81 TKL, 3 TFL, 1 FR, 1 FF
Isaiah Redmond – 66 TKL, 10 TFL, 3.5 Sacks, 1 FR
Ladamion Guyton – 65 TKL, 17.5 TFL, 9 Sacks, 2 FR, 2 FF
Logan Brooking – 58 TKL, 10.5 TFL, 6 Sacks
Noah Stone – 36 TKL, 3 INT
Jacari McIvory – 28 TKL, 6 INT, 1 FR, 1 FF