TIGER — Bailey Fisher got a taste for the state quarterfinals last season. And on Friday night, the Rabun County quarterback showed he is more than ready for another bite at that postseason treat.
The junior quarterback torched Vidalia for 248 yards passing, 117 yards rushing and six total touchdowns in leading the Wildcats to an impressive 42-7 victory in Tiger.
The performance helped vault Rabun County back into the third round of the postseason for a second straight campaign and third time in program history -- where the Wildcats (11-0) will travel to take on Fitzgerald after losing a coin toss with the Purple Hurricanes to determine homefield advantage between the two No. 1 seeds.
It was about the only thing that did not go Rabun's way on Friday, as the Wildcats found their rhythm early and often behind Fisher.
"He was incredible," Rabun County coach Lee Shaw said of Fisher. "He is just playing out of his mind. The whole team is peaking at the right time. We made some mistakes, but at this point of the season it's about how you overcome that. And we certainly showed that we're ready to do that on Friday."
The Wildcats did fumble the ball away twice and also yielded a second quarter touchdown that allowed Vidalia to pull within 14-7 with just 22 seconds before halftime. But Rabun also answered emphatically after the interval, as Fisher ripped off two third quarter touchdown runs to take full control of the contest. The junior then tossed fourth quarter touchdowns to Cal Drummond and Noah Cannon to keep the Wildcats rolling.
Fisher finished the night completing 20 of 24 attempts with three touchdowns and no interceptions. Austin Jones proved his favorite target, hauling in nine catches for 127 yards, while Cole Keener added six catches for 61 yards. Drummond also rushed 10 times for 98 yards, averaging 9.8 yards per carry, showing Rabun's versatility against a defense that included high-profile linebacker recruit Nate McBride.
Meanwhile, Rabun's defense more than impressed, holding Vidalia's ground-based attack to 141 total yards -- including 3.2 yards per rush -- while picking off two passes.
Now the Wildcats will look to continue their trek and reach the program's first ever semifinal. Rabun fell at Jefferson County 31-28 in last year's quarterfinals and will look to get over that hump this time around in another difficult road environment.
"You've got to win a tough one on the road to win the tough one in the Dome," Shaw said. "That's what I used to say when I was at Flowery Branch when we won so many big road playoff games. And I think this team can be successful because they've been successful on the road all season. We've already won in some tough places.
"And it doesn't matter if the game were on the moon, we'd be there ready to play."
