The Week Three Game of the Week takes us to Carnesville to catch the unbeaten Franklin County Lions and a Banks County team that just handed the program over to Mark Hollars.
FRANKLIN COUNTY
An opening OT win at Chestatee was followed by a 70-point first half against lowly Johnson. Franklin has started 2-0 as recently as 2021, but that team lost its final six games. The Lions have shown significant progress in several areas, specifically defensively. The excitement is real in Carnesville.
BANKS COUNTY
The Leopards are in disarray, but now they might be on the right track. Dissention among the coaches and players after a loss in the opener against East Hall led to the firing of Todd Winter. OC Mark Hollars, who had been let go from Commerce after making the Quarterfinals, now takes over. There’s a buzz of excitement that he could get this program back in the right direction. To be fair, that will require some patience, as it may not happen immediately.
BY THE NUMBERS (2025)
FRANKLIN COUNTY
- 2-0 (0-0 IN 8AA)
- Region Standings: T-1st
- 42.0 OFFENSE AVG
- 11.0 DEFENSE AVG
- N/A State Ranking
BANKS COUNTY
- 0-1 (0-0 IN 8-A DI)
- Region Standings: 4th
- 21.0 OFFENSE AVG
- 42.0 DEFENSE AVG
- N/A State Ranking
GAME HIGHLIGHTS
Be looking for highlights post-game later tonight as well as a story recapping the contest. BLITZ partners with Fox 5’s 11 PM “High 5 Sports” show throughout the season. We make sure to get Franklin County and Banks County coverage on the big market show! (NOTE: High 5 officially starts in another week, but they will run tonight’s highlights at some point). You can also follow us on Twitter (@BlitzSportsGa) for live score updates (5G pending).
HOW THEY STACK UP
We typically make a case for both, with our official pick linked below. Let’s begin with the Lions. The biggest question mark lies with the offense. Going back to the scrimmage, it took awhile to get it going. It pieced together just enough to win at Chestatee, then exploded against Johnson – though everyone does. The defense has consistently looked like the strong point for this team. If Franklin loads the box to stop the run against Banks, and maybe gets opportunistic by forcing some turnovers, the offense could get a lead and ride it to a win. Banks County has some new vigor with the coaching change. These boys want to play for Hollars, and that might be the x-factor. Davian Knox and Lane Morris are a two-headed monster when they get going. If they reel off several 20-plus yard gains, it could be the recipe for a win.
STATS
In 15 all-time games we’ve seen for the Leopards, Banks County is 3-12, including dropping nine of the last 10 we’ve been to. For Franklin, we’ve seen just two games, and the Lions have split that. Ironically, the last time we saw a game in Carnesville (and only one to date), it was also against Banks County in 2014.
DETAILS OF THE MATCHUP
TIME: 7:30 PM Kickoff
PLACE: Ed Bryant Stadium / Carnesville, GA
LAST MEETING: 2024: Franklin County 9, Banks County 6
ALL-TIME RECORD: Franklin County leads series 5-3
RECORDS: Franklin County Lions (2-0) vs Banks County Leopards (0-1)
HEAD COACHES: Chuck Holland (6-16; 3 Seasons); Mark Hollars (61-41; 10 Seasons)
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING
This series consists of eight meetings all-time, with Franklin County winning five of them. 2014 was the first all-time meeting, and we were on hand as the Lions won 22-21. Franklin actually won four of the first five before Banks County won in 2022-23. Last year went back to the Lions. The head coaches have never faced each other.
TEAM LEADERS (2025 Stats)
*Stats accumulated by team-published data on Ga MaxPreps
FRANKLIN COUNTY
PASSING
Keyes Harbin – 72 yds, 1 TD, 0 INT; 71% completion
RUSHING
Keyes Harbin – 66 yds, 1 TD
Nava Ware – 64 yds, 2 TD
Carson Cheek – 47 yds, 1 TD
DJ Appleby – 43 yds, 1 TD
RECEIVING
Mason Davis – 47 yds, 0 TD, 4 rec
Cole Woods – 25 yds, 1 TD, 1 rec
DEFENSIVE LEADERS
Elliot Harbin – 21 TKL, 4 TFL, 2 FR, 1 BLK
Ramsey Fulbright – 12 TKL, 3 TFL, 1 BLK
Jeremiah Mayfield – 12 TKL, 1 FF, 1 INT
Kennan Burtch – 6 TKL, 3 TFL, 2 Sacks
DJ Appleby – 5 TKL, 1 TFL, 1 Sack, 1 FR
BANKS COUNTY
PASSING
Lane Morris – 0 yds, 0 TD, 0 INT; 0% completion
RUSHING
Davian Knox – 240 yds, 0 TD
Lane Morris – 56 yds, 1 TD
Haiden Williamson – 23 yds, 2 TD
RECEIVING
No receiving stats
DEFENSIVE LEADERS
No published defensive stats
