Round One of the state playoffs is here. Nearly two dozen Northeast Georgia area teams are competing to extend their seasons into the Sweet 16, Rabun County among them. First, the Wildcats will have to get past the Blue Devils at home. Here’s a look at their November 14 matchup.
RABUN COUNTY
Rabun County grabs the 15-seed for 1A DI after a tough end to their season. That said, the Cats had a solid win in the finale at rivals Elbert County. They survived an early 14-0 deficit and showed that fight we’ve seen all season. Ty Truelove had one of his best games of the season, and Rabun County finished 8-2. Rabun was punished by getting dropped out of the state polls due to the back-to-back losses, but they’re fine with that – even if it means a tougher playoff journey.
DODGE COUNTY
The Indians (7-3) are a solid team that just like Rabun, have had some tough luck to close out the season. Dodge dropped two in a row leading into this one, and one was a narrow loss of 22-16 to state-ranked Dublin. They earned an upset win in their opener #7-ranked Bleckley County, and have an offense that has been good for nearly 32 points per contest. Defensively, at 17.6 on average, it’s a solid unit.
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BY THE NUMBERS
RABUN COUNTY
8-2 (4-2 in 8-A DI)
Region Standings: 2nd
38.8 OFFENSE AVG (6th in 1A DI)
20.00 DEFENSE AVG
N/A State Ranking
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DODGE COUNTY
7-3 (6-3 in 1-A DI)
Region Standings: 4th
31.7 OFFENSE AVG
17.6 DEFENSE AVG
N/A State Ranking
HOW THEY STACK UP
Let’s begin with the home team, the Wildcats. Rabun County has struggled with the pass on defense. Teams that excel in that area tend to give them trouble. Can they make the adjustments against a team that does throw a good amount (though not exclusively)? Offensively, getting out front is going to be key. Rabun wins if it plays ahead early. The visitors must do the exact opposite. They need to force the Wildcats to play from behind. They need to get to the ball fast, which means putting pressure on Ty Truelove and Reid Giles.
TEAM STATS
For Rabun County, the Wildcats have gone 54-18 overall in our 72 games covered for them going back to 2013.
DETAILS OF THE MATCHUP
TIME: 7:30 PM Kickoff
PLACE: Rabun Co HS / Frank Snyder Memorial Stadium / Tiger, GA
LAST MEETING: N/A
ALL-TIME RECORD: N/A
RECORDS: Rabun County Wildcats (8-2) vs Dodge County Indians (7-3)
HEAD COACHES: Rance Gillespie (178-93; 23 Seasons); Phillip Brown (16-6; 2 Seasons)
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING
These teams have never played each other, so this is a great opportunity for someone to get out to a great start.
TEAM LEADERS (2025 Stats)
*Stats accumulated by team-published data on Ga MaxPreps
RABUN COUNTY
PASSING
Ty Truelove – 1,500 yds, 15 TD, 1 INT; 60% completion
RUSHING
Reid Giles – 1,080 yds, 17 TD, 8.9 YPC
Lake Evans – 699 yds, 9 TD, 6.1 YPC
Ty Truelove – 541 yds, 6 TD, 9.5 YPC
RECEIVING
Reid Giles – 609 yds, 5 TD, 48 rec
Reed Burrell – 273 yds, 3 TD, 17 rec
Reed Lafevers – 182 yds, 3 TD, 17 rec
Hayden Cannon – 138 yds, 0 TD, 8 rec
Lake Evans – 114 yds, 1 TD, 12 rec
Colter Cannon – 100 yds, 1 TD, 3 rec
Dane Tyler – 43 yds, 2 TD, 4 rec
DEFENSIVE LEADERS
Brock Brady – 51 TKL, 8 TFL, 3 Sacks, 1 INT, 2 FF
JK Fruster – 49 TKL, 7 TFL, 1 Sack
Ethan Hopper – 49 TKL, 10 TFL, 2.5 Sacks, 1 INT, 1 FR, 1 FF
Reid Giles – 47 TKL, 3 TFL, 3 INT, 1 BLK
Reed Burrell – 47 TKL, 3 TFL, 1 INT
Mack Williams – 37 TKL, 5 TFL, 5 Sacks, 1 FF
Ryan Yearwood – 37 TKL, 7 TFL, 2 Sacks, 1 INT, 2 FR
TJ Hilber – 21 TKL, 8 TFL, 4 Sacks
DODGE COUNTY
PASSING
Kain Mincey – 2,044 yds, 21 TD, 8 INT; 55% completion
RUSHING
Jeremiah Alston – 492 yds, 5 TD, 4.6 YPC
Jamal Smith – 205 yds, 6 TD, 3.6 YPC
Terrance Fordham, Jr – 122 yds, 2 TD, 4.7 YPC
Kain Mincey – 105 yds, 3 TD, 5.0 YPC
Jordan Spady – 85 yds, 2 TD, 5.3 YPC
RECEIVING
Jaureil Bray – 697 yds, 8 TD, 40 rec
Jerimiah Burns – 663 yds, 7 TD, 34 rec
Jeremiah Carr – 230 yds, 1 TD, 15 rec
Jamal Smith – 140 yds, 1 TD, 7 rec
Terrance Fordham, Jr – 131 yds, 3 TD, 12 erc
Jeremiah Alston – 75 yds, 1 TD, 9 rec
DEFENSIVE LEADERS
Cam Hughes – 87 TKL, 14 TFL, 7 Sacks, 1 FR, 2 FF
Kawaski Robinson – 57 TKL, 7 TFL
Peyton Butts – 57 TKL, 7 TFL, 3 Sacks, 1 FR
Braydon Hand – 50 TKL, 3 TFL, 3 Sacks, 1 INT
Jordan Spady – 43 TKL, 2 INT
Jamal Smith – 38 TKL, 6 TFL, 3 Sacks, 1 FR
Terrance Fordham, Jr – 24 TKL, 4 INT, 1 FR
Jerimiah Burns – 14 TKL, 3 INT
