Indians Fall To Titans in OT, 21-14

Stephens County comes up just short in an overtime thriller at the Reservation.

North Oconee stopped the Indians twice from the 1-yard line in overtime, including a fourth down play, to beat Stephens County 21-14 Friday night in Toccoa.

Indians’ Head Coach Frank Barden said that while the Indians came up short, he is proud of the effort the team showed.

“Our purpose is not the scoreboard,” said Barden. “Our purpose is to find our football team and find out how good we can be. Tonight, we were close to being there. We’re not there. But that scoreboard is not going to define us.”

North Oconee led 7-0 at halftime after scoring the only touchdown of the first half on an 18-yard touchdown run by Zantravious Shields.

The Indians tied the game at 7 late in the third quarter when Mason Long hit Brandon Ballenger for a 28-yard touchdown pass.

Stephens County then took a 14-7 lead with less than eight minutes to go when Desmond Wheeler scored on a 6-yard touchdown run.

North Oconee came back and tied the game at 14 with just over two minutes to go on a 1-yard run by Kawon Bryant, who had over 100 rushing yards for the Titans.

Then in overtime, Bryant scored on a 3-yard run to give the Titans the lead that they held with the goalline stand.

Desmond Wheeler had over 100 yards rushing for Stephens County, putting him over 1,000 yards for the season.

Meanwhile, the Indian defense forced four turnovers, including interceptions from Logan Loudermilk and Micah Oglesby.

Stephens County falls to 7-2 overall with the loss and 5-1 in the region.

The win moves North Oconee to 6-3 overall and 5-1 in the region.

Stephens County finishes the regular season at home next week against Buford.

In other Region 8-AAAA action from Friday night, Buford shut out Madison County 44-0, North Hall beat Chestatee 28-17, and White County beat Monroe Area 51-22.

Elsewhere in the area, Habersham Central beat North Forsyth 32-7, Franklin County edged Johnson of Gainesville 14-13, and Hart County beat Morgan County 40-14.

VanMinos Insurance Agency Player of the Game: Logan Loudermilk
Hart EMC Lineman of the Game: Vonquise Nicely
X-Factor Sub of the Game: Desmond Wheeler
First Baptist Church Spirit Award: Dylan Huff