ELBERTON — Rabun County football has never been to the legendary Granite Bowl, never tested its metal inside the forge of that atmospheric setting.
And the Wildcats cannot wait for their chance to do so on Friday.
The fact that Rabun's inaugural trek to Elbert County means a Top 10, Class AA showdown with a third-straight Region 8-AA crown in the balance just makes it all the more exciting.
"We really want this game, and I feel like we really have a good chance to get it, so it definitely would put a big stamp on this program," Rabun County junior quarterback Bailey Fisher said.
It's not that the Wildcats don't respect the Blue Devils -- far from it. It's simply about the opportunity to make a statement in what has been a season full of retorts to this preseason's conventional wisdom -- a line of thinking that this was the year Rabun County football took a step back.
"I think they've got a little bit of a chip on their shoulder just because of what's been said in the preseason, and they just love playing football," said Rabun County coach Lee Shaw, who watched the most successful senior class in program history graduate following a 2015 campaign that included a Region 8-AA title and the Wildcats' second-ever state quarterfinal berth. "They play for each other. There's no real standout stars, especially on our defensive side of the ball. They just play, play hard and try to win football games. And I know that's kind of cliche, but that's kind of their mindset. They're not about who the big star is. It's about what the team can do."
Rabun has done plenty of impressing this campaign, leading all of Class AA in points per game (45.8) and scoring defense (6.1 ppg). The fifth-ranked Wildcats (6-0, 3-0 Region 8-AA) have also displayed deadly offensive balance, passing for 249 yards per game (Fisher leads all of Class AA with 1,326 yards) and rushing for 211. Running back Cal Drummond paces the Rabun ground game with 799 yards and 9 TDs, while five different receivers have at least 100 yards and eight different players have caught touchdown passes (Austin Jones paces the group with 16 receptions for 285 yards).
But as nice as all of that has been, the Wildcats know that they had better take their absolute best to the Granite Bowl against a ninth-ranked Blue Devils team that features its own stingy defense (13.5 points per game) and a rushing attack pounding out a staggering 349 yards per game.
"(Elbert County's) numbers may not show what our numbers are showing, but they beat you; they beat you up; they beat you with speed; they beat you physically; they wear you down," Shaw said. "They're extremely well-coached, and they're playing hard. So they've got all the intangibles for success. We've just got to a figure out a way to go the Granite Bowl and pull off an upset."
To do that, Rabun knows it must find a way to bottle the Blue Devils (6-1, 3-0) ground game. Led by Jasquiz Rucker (928 yards rushing, 7 TDs) and La'kel Hood (758 yards, 8 TDs), Elbert County possesses both speed and power.
"Number one we can't let them in the second and third level because we have nobody that can run with them," Shaw said. "We've got to keep speed in the box so to speak and compete. It's going to be a different environment for our guys. It's about playing hard for 48 minutes, and hopefully we'll show up and we'll compete with these guys and go from there."
Rabun's defense has done more than compete this season, not allowing more than 10 points in any game so far. Led by inside linebackers Gavyn Jones (team-high 44 tackles, 4.5 for loss) and Dawson Hendricks (38 tackles, 8.5 for loss), the Wildcats have forced eight fumbles and recovered 10, while also picking off five passes. And though the Blue Devils are averaging just 9.5 pass attempts per contest, turnovers could prove crucial on Friday night.
"We can't have any turnovers; we've got to get turnovers on defense and just keep the ball moving on third down and make drives," Rabun County senior lineman Peyton Backer said.
The Wildcats also know they must be prepared for a full game, and Drummond believes his team is yet to put a complete performance together.
"I think we've had quarters and maybe a half or two that we've played a complete quarter or a half where we've played our best or close to our best, where we've put all the little things together to show what we can do," Drummond said. "But I really don't think we've played a complete game yet to where we've really done our best. So hopefully we can go down there this Friday and put a complete game together."
Do that and Rabun's path to another region crown -- and a No. 1 seed for the state playoffs -- will open wide once again.
RABUN COUNTY at ELBERT COUNTY
-- WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Friday
-- WHERE: The Granite Bowl, Elberton
-- RABUN COUNTY (6-0, 3-0 in Region 8-AA): Defeated Social Circle 65-7 last week. The Wildcats are ranked No. 5 in Class AA.
-- ELBERT COUNTY (6-1, 3-0 Region 8-AA): Bye last week after defeating Oglethorpe County 27-6 on Oct. 7. The Blue Devils are ranked No. 9 in Class AA.
