DAHLONEGA, Ga. — Sparked by a late first-half touchdown drive, Cherokee Bluff rallied to beat Lumpkin County 31-21 on Friday night at Cottrell Field.
Down 14-0 with 1:51 left in the half, the Bears drove 67 yards for a touchdown to cut the Indians' lead in half. Cherokee Bluff (1-0) then scored on its first two possessions of the second half.
The Bears were sputtering offensively until quarterback Cooper Dean and Malcolm Millsaps connected on four straight passes, including a 15-yard touchdown pass in the final minute of the first half to ignite the Bears’ offense.
After totaling only 102 yards in the first half, the Bears found their footing and finished with 359 yards for the game. The key for Cherokee Bluff was its running game. The Bears ran for 248 yards, 214 coming in the second half. Jackson Pirkle led the way with 91 yards. Millsaps added 71 yards, and Tony Rushin 50 for Bluff. Dean passed for 111 yards and rushed for 36.
Dean and Millsaps teamed again to start the second half, with a 37-yard touchdown pass that tied the game at 14-14. After forcing a fumble, Rushin finished an 89-yard drive with a 6-yard TD run.
Lumpkin (0-1) bounced back with a 66-yard drive, capped by Nolan Matthews’ 4-yard run. He finished with 132 yards on 25 carries.
The Bears regained the lead on their first drive of the fourth quarter. Kicker Jacoby Guiliano booted a 30-yard field goal. Then the Cherokee Bluff defense, which limited the Indians to 120 yards in the second half, did its part.
Pirkle intercepted a pass at the Lumpkin 23. Dean ran 14 yards to the Indians’ 9, then Rushin punched it in from 6 yards out to give the Bears a 10-point cushion.
Cherokee Bluffs' defense got the stops when it needed them. Pirkle had two interceptions.
There were bright spots for the Indians. In addition to Matthews’ 132 rushing yards, senior quarterback Mason Hester completed 15-of-25 passes for 169 yards. Hester was replacing Cal Faulkner, who’s now at Georgia Tech.
Hester hit Martin Hulsey for touchdown passes of 8 and 31 yards as the Indians took a 14-0 lead. Hulsey caught eight passes for 120 yards.
Both teams are coming off trips to the Class 3A state playoffs in 2024, and showed signs on opening night that they could be back in the postseason again this year.
The Bears play their home-opener against Apalachee next Friday. After a week off, the Indians travel to Hart County on Aug. 29.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2025/8/1297957/dean-millsaps-lead-bluff-rally-past-lumpkin