TIGER — A note to the rest of Class AA: If you want to knock off Rabun County you better get to the Wildcats early.
Because Rabun is dominating the second half of playoff games.
For the second straight week, the Wildcats stormed out of the locker room and into the next round, this time hammering Early County with 41 straight points en route to a 41-7 second round victory in Tiger. (Rabun County outscored Bremen 35-7 in the second half of its first round win.)
"We didn't play very well on offense in the first half, the offensive line struggled. But the defense played great for four quarters," Wildcats coach Lee Shaw said. "But how our offense responded in the second half and exploded was just incredible really."
Charlie Woerner scored four straight touchdowns to spark the rout, all four coming off Bailey Fisher passes, as Woerner finished the night with 9 receptions for 209 yards. Fisher also completed 17 of 26 passes for 309 yards and six scores and one interception.
The strong finish pushed the Wildcats into the state quarterfinals for the first time since 1998, where they will take on Jefferson County. The Wildcats lost a coin flip following the game and will hit the road for the first time in the playoffs.
"This group continues to do special things," Shaw said. "It's a testament to being champions how they responded in the second half."
Early County actually pulled ahead 7-0 just 52 seconds before halftime after recovering its own fumble for a big gain to set up the touchdown. Yet the visitors managed just 124 total yards against a Wildcats defense that allowed just 1.8 yards per rush during the contest.
"Our defense is playing incredible," Shaw said. "They understand the scheme. The defensive coaches do a great job. We've got our runners and hitters playing, and they're just a special unit. They want to be great, and they understand when we're struggling a little bit offensively then it's on their shoulders."
Rabun finished the game 354 yards of offense, though Early did corral the Wildcats rush attack, allowing just 45 yards on the ground.
The visitors had no answer for Rabun's passing attack, however, as Alden Wright also hauled in four catches for 67 yards and a score, while Tristan Huggins caught a 2-yard touchdown pass to start the second half onslaught that saw Rabun score 27 third quarter points.
