Our Week Five Game of the Week takes us to Cleveland for the first time this season to catch the high-flying and well-rested Warriors of White County take on #2-ranked Stephens County. Coach Wesley Tankersley goes for win #100 in his career. The QB battle is a Tripp (Underwood) vs Tripp (Nix)!
WHITE COUNTY
Look out for the Warriors. White County is 2-1 overall with 120 points scored against 62 allowed. That comes out to 40.0-20.67, both figures noticeably better than last year's 28.5-32.2. Granted, we are 3 games in, but the fact remains that to this point last season the record was the same 2-1, but with 97-63. We all knew the offense was going to succeed, with 3rd-year starter and junior Tripp Nix back under center. He's been really good, throwing for 579 yards and 6 TD against ZERO picks. That's the key. He also has 136 rushing yards and 5 TDs. Cam Wilson, Ryan Fowler, Caysen Duvall, and Von Dre Nelson are a big reason for all that offensive firepower. Defensively, the emergence of leaders like Jon Scott has proven to be a reliable piece for this team. The 34-6 win over Habersham Central was pure dominance against a team that stands 3 classes higher.
STEPHENS COUNTY
This team was supposed to be solid, and good. The record is in line with what we thought, at 4-0 or even 3-1 was expected. But since the 31-29 win over Habersham, Stephens has outscored #2 Rabun County, #8 Flowery Branch, and reigning Region Champs Dawson County in the past 3 weeks by a combined 102-7. ONE HUNDRED and TWO to SEVEN! That's just ridiculous. This defense is spectacular, and it goes beyond just Aidan Butts, who might be the best DE in the area. Jakob Lunsford, Jasec Smith, and Santana Smith are playing such great ball right now. The offense is clicking just fine with Javin Gordon already up to 649 yards and 7 TD. Every facet of this Indians team is just flat out great!
BY THE NUMBERS (2023)
WHITE COUNTY
- 2-1 (0-0 in 7-AAA)
- Region Standings: 1st
- 40.0 OFFENSE AVG (3rd in Class 3A)
- 20.67 DEFENSE AVG
- N/A State Ranking
STEPHENS COUNTY
- 4-0 (0-0 in 8-AAA)
- Region Standings: 1st
- 33.25 OFFENSE AVG
- 9.0 DEFENSE AVG (3rd in Class 3A)
- #2 State Ranking
GAME HIGHLIGHTS
Be looking for highlights post-game late tonight as well as a story recapping Week Five. BLITZ partners with Fox 5's 11 PM "High 5 Sports" show throughout the season. We make sure to get White County and Stephens County coverage on the big market show! You can also follow us on Twitter (@BlitzSportsGa) for live score updates (5G pending).
OUR PREDICTION
We typically make a case for both, with our official pick linked below. For White County to steal a win, even being at home, would mean the Warriors have to score off one of the top defenses in the state. That's not going to be easy, even with a great group of athletes. Still, if White County can put up several TDs and force some turnovers, that would be the recipe. It will take White County scoring 5 TDs to win this game combined with the defense playing like it did against Habersham. For Stephens County, just staying true to what the Indians have been doing. Leaning on Javin Gordon to establish a run game, then having Tripp Underwood pick apart the holes in the field. Long drives that eat clock and result in 6 points will be the game. The defense is going to be the best that White County has faced all season, and maybe the best they will face all the way through. OUR PICK: SEE HERE
DO WE BRING LUCK?
For White County, we've been to 32 games for the Warriors since 2009. In that span, White County is an even 16-16. Sadly, the last 5 Warriors games have been losses for them, including this same matchup a year ago at The Reservation in Toccoa. For Stephens County, we've been to 25 contests, and the Indians have gone 14-11 in those including 1-0 this year.
DETAILS OF THE MATCHUP
TIME: 7:30 PM Kickoff
PLACE: White County HS / Cleveland, GA
LAST MEETING: 2022 (#9 Stephens County 53, White County 14)
ALL-TIME RECORD: Stephens leads 5-2 in the all-time series
RECORDS: White County Warriors (2-1; 0-0 in 7-AAA); #2 Stephens County Indians (4-0; 0-0 in 8-AAA)
HEAD COACHES: Chad Bennett (6-7; 2 Seasons); Wesley Tankersley (99-69; 16 Seasons)
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING
Despite the 37 miles between, White County and Stephens County have only squared off in 7 regular season meetings. The first only came in 2010, which is hard to believe. That was a White County win in the Warriors' 2nd Round season. In 2011, 2014, and 2015, Stephens County got the victories. White County finally got another in 2020, and the 2021 version went to the Indians in a 34-20 game. Last year in 2022, Stephens dominated to a 53-14 final, going up by over 30 before halftime. White County has won 2 of its 3 home games in the series.
TEAM LEADERS (2023 Stats)
*Stats accumulated by team-published data on Ga MaxPreps from this season
WHITE COUNTY
PASSING
Tripp Nix - 579 yds, 6 TD, 0 INT, 58% completion
RUSHING
Ryan Fowler - 246 yds, 2 TD
Tripp Nix - 136 yds, 5 TD, 3.7 YPC
Noel Lammers - 149 yds, 2 TD
RECEIVING
Von Dre Nelson - 189 yds, 2 TD, 8 rec
Cam Wilson - 173 yds, 1 TD, 9 rec
Caysen Duvall - 117 yds, 0 TD, 7 rec
Ryan Fowler - 85 yds, 1 TD, 6 rec
DEFENSIVE LEADERS
Jon Scott - 44 TKL, 3 TFL, 2 Sacks
Bryce Dockery - 31 TKL
Carson Smith - 30 TKL
Alex Johnson - 29 TKL, 1 TFL, 1 FF
Cade Dockery - 28 TKL, 1 FF
Jason Rewis - 26 TKL, 3 TFL, 1 Sack
Noah Williams - 15 TKL, 3 TFL
Isaiah Whitlow - 8 TKL, 1 FF, 1 INT, 1 TD
STEPHENS COUNTY
PASSING
Tripp Underwood - 440 yds, 4 TD, 3 INT, 52% completion
RUSHING
Javin Gordon - 645 yds, 7 TD, 6.1 YPC
Omari Feaster - 252 yds, 4 TD, 9.0 YPC
RECEIVING
Jasec Smith - 154 yds, 2 TD, 11 rec
Davon Swinton - 109 yds, 1 TD, 6 rec
Javin Gordon 68 yds, 0 TD, 9 rec
DEFENSIVE LEADERS
Jonah Swinton - 38 TKL
Dawson Childs - 32 TKL, 3 TFL, 2 Sacks, 1 FumRec, 1 FF
Santana Smith - 25 TKL, 4 TFL, 2 INT
Jakob Lunsford - 25 TKL, 4 TFL
Brock Tankersley - 25 TKL, 1 TFL, 1 FumRec
Aidan Butts - 21 TKL, 8 TFL, 3 Sacks
Solomon Dupree - 20 TKL, 5 TFL, 3 Sacks
Jasec Smith - 17 TKL, 1 TFL, 3 INT
Davon Swinton - 14 TKL, 2 INT, 1 FumRec
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