Football: No. 1 Rabun, No. 4 Pierce set for major showdown in Blackshear

TIGER — When you have a quarterback like Gunner Stockton, you would think ALL opposing game plans would focus on stopping the 5-star Georgia commit.

However, Pierce County coach Ryan Herring said the Wildcats possess another, equally dangerous secret weapon.

“That (No. 7) is their unsung hero,” Herring said about junior Rabun County running back Lang Windham. “You know what Gunner can do, so you have to defend the pass. But if you drop eight guys in the secondary, (Windham) will eat up your defense. If you put seven or eight in the box to try and slow him down, then Gunner will just throw over the top. Touchdown.

“After watching film -- and it’s scary -- stopping the run is the only real way you have a chance of slowing them down -- if even then. You have to stop No. 7. They may have the best offense I’ve seen in a while.”

Herring and his Bears will get to know the Rabun County offense up-close-and-personal on Friday night when they play host to the Wildcats in a showdown of two of the state’s most highly-ranked teams and state title contenders. Pierce County, currently ranked fourth in Class 3A, is the defending Class 3A state champion. Rabun County vaulted back up to No. 1 in Class 2A after Pierce County knocked off previous-No. 1 Fitzgerald last week.

“Instant classic” may not do justice to the potential of this matchup just north of Waycross and the Okefenokee Swamp.

While Herring was gushing over the Rabun County offense, which leads Class 2A in scoring (252 points, 50.4 ppg), Wildcats coach Jaybo Shaw sounded more than a little concerned about a Bears defense that is fourth in Class 3A, allowing just 6.6 points/game. Pierce County held Rabun County nemesis, Fitzgerald, to just 34 total yards and did not allow a first down until just 9 minutes remained in what eventually was a 17-0 shutout victory.

“They run a different scheme than Jefferson but the way they run to the ball and the athleticism they have, they remind you a lot of Jefferson and how they can dominate a game,” Shaw said. “This is a game very similar to the Jefferson game in that we will have to find a way to move the ball.”

In that season-opening game, the Wildcats were held to a season-low 13 points and Stockton and Co. were held to less than 200 total yards. But Shaw also said that was then, this is now.

“We’ve grown a lot on offense since that game,” he said. “No excuses. Jefferson is a great team and they have an elite defense. They played a great game.

“But at the same time, we had several new guys, like (junior wide receiver) Jaden (Gibson) and (senior tight end) Baxley (O’Brien) that had not played a real game with Gunner. It takes time to get comfortable with everyone and trust what they can do.

“Now they have five games under their belts. You can see the progression with them and the entire offense.”

Against Jefferson, Gibson was held to just two catches and no touchdowns. Four weeks later, heading into last week’s game, he was leading the state in receiving and now has 668 yards and 6 TD catches. O’Brien did not catch a pass against Jefferson but now has 13 for 189 yards and 4 TDs.

It may sound crazy, but Gunner, Windham, and the Rabun County receivers against a quality Bear secondary may not be where the real action will take place.

Five seniors along the Rabun County offensive line -- Bear Old, Nolan Crane, Clayton, Dixon, Dalton Ramey, Will McCraw -- trying to slow down a ferocious Pierce County front-seven that has produced 56 tackles-for-loss and 21 sacks may well decide this one.

Senior linebackers Danarius Johnson, Donelius Johnson, Knox Bennett, and Danny Joe Taylor, and senior linemen Ty Little and Ty Everson have been nearly impenetrable since a season-opening 20-13 loss to Class 6A Brunswick.

“This is going to be a great test for our guys up front, for sure,” Shaw said. “(Pierce) will bring a lot of pressure from different places. But our guys know that when you play a game like this, there is little margin for error. They will have to be on their game, and we have tremendous confidence in them.”

“We will have to get a (pass) rush on Gunner if we stand to have any chance,” Herring said. “We also can’t be chasing him all night because we don’t have the depth. We have a very good front-seven. We will have to generate a rush and be able to stop the run with those guys without doing too many gimmicks.”

Knowing just how well the other defense can take over a game, does that warrant some changes offensively?

“They have a great defense, just like Jefferson did,” Shaw said. “In games like this, the worst thing to do is start trying to do things you haven’t done and probably won’t be good at. You just have to believe in what you do and do it well. Our guys believe in themselves so we have no reason to change our approach on offense, no matter who we’re playing.”

A major factor could be overall depth, as Herring mentioned. Rabun County, in recent history, has been on the wrong end of depth in high-profile games. Herring felt those times are a-changing and that the Wildcats, based on the film, are building themselves into the upper class of Class 2A.

“Rabun has a lot more guys that I have noticed that are able to play just offense or defense than most of the other 2A schools. They are not your typical mountain program,” Herring said. “We don’t have a lot of depth as far as one-way players. Many of our top players play both ways. That could be a huge factor late in the game.”

After Friday, Herring may be the go-to guy to ask on which team may have the upper hand in Class 2A, after facing two of the top three ranked programs in the classification in consecutive weeks.

“Fitzgerald is still very good, no doubt about that,” he said. “But just watching Rabun on film, and I’m sure they’ll be even better in person. Right now, I’d say they’re the team to beat in Class 2A.”

Quite the praise coming from the coach of the reigning Class 3A champions.

“This is a quarterfinal or semifinal-type game,” Shaw said. “We want to show that we’re a program that is ready to challenge for state titles. These types of games help get you there. We’re excited to have the opportunity for this challenge.”