Our first football Game of the Week takes us to Gold City – Dahlonega for a season-opening scrimmage between visiting Habersham Central and Lumpkin County.

LUMPKIN COUNTY

The Indians lost star RB Nolan Matthews and a HUGE chunk of the defense. That said, Kolson Howell takes over at QB and has D1 wideouts Mac Powell and Martin Hulsey. Weston Veater might be a name to start committing to memory. The defense is largely a new cast, but should be disciplined and ready for the challenge.

HABERSHAM CENTRAL

Hab Central returns a veteran group, especially on defense. The Raiders also have senior skill guys like Paris Wilbanks, Jay Feltus, and Drake Roland, among others that will be crucial to the success of the team. The RB-by-committee approach is real, but look for Braiden Shook to break out as a homerun threat and separate himself.

BY THE NUMBERS (2025 STATS)

LUMPKIN COUNTY

• 6-5 (4-3 IN 6-AAA)
• Region Standings: 4th
• 29.25 OFFENSE AVG
• 24.08 DEFENSE AVG
• N/A State Ranking

HABERSHAM CENTRAL

• 7-4 (5-1 IN 8-AAAAA)
• Region Standings: 2nd
• 28.82 OFFENSE AVG
• 20.45 DEFENSE AVG
• N/A State Ranking

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GAME HIGHLIGHTS

Be looking for highlights post-game later tonight as well as a story recapping the contest. BLITZ partners with Fox 5’s 11 PM “High 5 Sports” show throughout the season. We make sure to get Lumpkin County and Habersham Central 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. The x-factor might be Weston Veater. There’s a lot of hype around him and the role he might play on both sides of the ball. New QB Kolson Howell has shown he’s ready, but this will be the first litmus test against a great defense. If Lumpkin establishes a strong run game early, and Howell picks apart the defense with the short and middle passes, he might have some deep ones that have a chance to go for six. The Raiders have an embarrassment of riches on defense. So many good players back. If they play their brand of ball, Paris Wilbanks and the offense will have less pressure on them and will find some scores. It’s a scrimmage, so no official prediction – but look for both teams to not show all their cards and yet show you enough to make you ready for the real season-opener.

DO WE BRING LUCK?

For Lumpkin County, the Indians have gone 8-17 overall in our 25 games covering them. The last four have been losses. Meanwhile, Habersham has gone 19-37 in the 56 we’ve been to for the Raiders, and have won four of the last six we’ve been to.

DETAILS OF THE MATCHUP

TIME: 7:30 PM
PLACE: Lumpkin County HS – The Burial Grounds at Cottrell Field / Dahlonega, GA
LAST MEETING: Never
ALL-TIME RECORD: First-ever known meeting between the schools
RECORDS: Lumpkin County Indians (6-6) vs Habersham Central Raiders (7-4)
HEAD COACHES: Heath Webb (94-82; 16 Seasons); Benji Harrison (58-90; 14 Seasons)

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING

These teams have never squared off in a regular season game. No history to speak of here. Both coaches have combined for 30 years of head coaching experience. They’ve squared off four times in the past (when Heath Webb was over Gainesville and also Winder-Barrow. Overall, Webb has gone 3-1 over Harrison.

TEAM LEADERS (2025 Stats)

*Stats accumulated by team-published data on Ga MaxPreps

LUMPKIN COUNTY (Returning Players Only)

PASSING
Kolson Howell – 0 yds, 0 TD, 0 INT, 0% completion

RUSHING
Caleb Yorkey – 118 yds, 1 TD, 9.8 YPC
Joseph Alvarez – 44 yds, 1 TD, 22.0 YPC
Kolson Howell – 14 yds, 1 TD, 4.7 YPC

RECEIVING
MacLane Powell – 542 yds, 4 TD, 43 rec
Martin Hulsey – 513 yds, 6 TD, 48 rec
Conner Parker – 83 yds, 0 TD, 9 rec

DEFENSIVE LEADERS
Weston Veater – 49 TKL, 3 TFL, 2 Sacks
Kolson Howell – 45 TKL, 2 TFL, 2 INT, 1 FR
Xavier Dorsey – 42 TKL, 2 TFL, 1 FR
Luke Nichols – 24 TKL, 1 TFL, 1 Sack, 1 FR
Micah Popko – 22 TKL, 1 TFL, 2 INT

HABERSHAM CENTRAL (Returning Players Only)

PASSING
Paris Wilbanks – 1,577 yds, 14 TD, 5 INT, 54% Completion

RUSHING
Paris Wilbanks – 282 yds, 6 TD
Gus Ebers – 47 yds, 0 TD
Owen Gailey – 42 yds, TD

RECEIVING
Jay Feltus – 718 yds, 6 TD, 43 rec
Drake Roland – 222 yds, 1 TD, 15 rec
Mason Witt – 35 yds, 0 TD, 2 rec
Ty Spencer – 34 yds, 1 TD, 7 rec
KJ Murray – 33 yds, 1 TD, 3 rec

DEFENSIVE LEADERS
Noah Harkins – 92 TKL, 14 TFL, 1 Sack, 1 FF
Griffin Cunningham – 91 TKL, 9 TFL, 1 Sack, 2 INT, 3 FF
CJ Davis – 78 TKL, 17 TFL, 6.5 Sacks, 1 FR, 1 FF, 1 BLK
Sutton Porter – 72 TKL, 2 INT, 3 FR, 1 FF
Parks York – 68 TKL, 11 TFL, 1 Sack, 3 INT, 1 FR