Earned, Not Given: Fifteen Wildcats Named to All-Region Team

Photos Courtesy of Von Watts

 

The 2015 edition of the Rabun County Football Wildcats were quite the attraction on Friday night’s in extreme Northeast Georgia during the fall. The offense, led by a sophomore quarterback, would light up the scoreboard and the stat sheet. The defense was a thorn in the sides of their opposition, shutting out four opponents and allowed 10 points or fewer in 8 of their 11 wins. Speaking of 11 wins… that win total tied a school record that was set in 1998. The Cats also won their second consecutive region title, and extended their region winning streak to 15 games.

Coach Lee Shaw was named as 8-AA’s Coach of the Year

With a season of that caliber, one can imagine that respect would be overflowing. It has.

A total of 7 Wildcats were recognized as all-region players for their efforts this season, while 8 more were named honorable mention.

Coach Lee Shaw was honored as “Coach of the Year” for Region 8-AA. He led the Wildcats to an 11-2 record in 2015, including an undefeated region record and an appearance in the third round of the GHSA playoffs… being literally seconds away from playing in the semi-finals. In his time at Rabun County, his alma mater, he has led Wildcat teams to four playoff appearances. The senior class, who were freshmen when he took over the program, finished their careers with 34 wins. That total is a school record. The 1964 and 1965 senior classes won 31 games in their tenure. Shaw does not show any signs of slowing down as well. The Middle School and Junior Varsity Wildcats have played just as well as the varsity. The Middle School is 30-2 in four years, JV is 19-5. With the current staff, and the talent returning for 2016, Rabun County Football will continue to be a power.

Now, for the All-Region team.

Offensively, the Wildcats had three that were named to the all-region team. Quarterback Bailey Fisher, Receiver Charlie Woerner, and Lineman Peyton Backer.

BAILEY FISHER, QB, SOPHOMORE
Bailey Fisher was named to the all 8-AA team as quarterback, barely missing out on being named Offensive player of the year, which went to Union County Quarterback and University of Richmond commit, Joseph Mancuso. Fisher was recognized as player of the year by “Blitz”, a sports media outlet covering athletics in Northeast Georgia. Fisher beat out player such as Union’s Joseph Mancuso, his teammate Charlie Woerner, UGA baseball signee Tucker Maxwell of Dawson County, and Trevae Cain of Banks County. Fisher ended his season with 2,936 yards passing and 38 touchdowns. He also was responsible for 8 more touchdowns on the ground, and 573 yards. Shaw on Fisher: “Bailey Fisher could have easily been offensive player of the year. He’s a playmaker. He’s the trigger guy. I’m very proud of that.”

CHARLIE WOERNER, WR, SENIOR
The Georgia commit had another big season in Tiger. Offensively, he was on the receiving end of 15 touchdowns, and led the team in receiving yards with 960. His 6’5, 240lb frame provided a height advantage to help bring down many passes this season. Shaw on Woerner: “Charlie is Charlie. Charlie was going to make plays, and he really came on strong towards the end of the season, and into the playoffs when we really needed him the most. We were able to spread the ball out a lot this year, and Charlie did an outstanding job.”

PEYTON BACKER, OL, JUNIOR
Rabun County’s offense was stellar this season, with totals of over 2,000 yards on the ground, and 3,000 in the air. Fisher, Woerner, Eli Gipson, and the rest of the offense could not do it alone. That’s where the offensive line comes in, to create space and give the backfield time to make the plays. Peyton Backer played big role in making those numbers happen. Shaw on Backer: “Backer is an animal up front. He had to battle through injury on and off throughout the year, and we couldn’t play him as much on defense as he specifically played on offense. He’s very much deserving of being first team all-region offense.”

Defensively, four players represented Rabun County on the all-region team, and one specialist. Linebacker Rhodes Jones, Defensive Back Eli Gipson, Defensive End Jack Blackstock, Punter Noah Cannon, and the 2015 Defensive Player of the Year, Defensive Back Charlie Woerner.

CHARLIE WOERNER, DB, SENIOR
Charlie Woerner is the 2015 All 8-AA defensive player of the year. Woerner ruined opposing game plans all season long, and not just on the offensive side of the ball. The senior ended the season with 105 tackles, which was second on the list for the team high. He also picked off two passes, and blocked a kick. Shaw on Woerner’s defensive honor: “I think Charlie has been an all-state defensive back pre-season selection for four years now. It was kind of natural that he would end up being defensive player once again because he brings that to the field. He’s so good at playing at the third level, and fitting to the first level with tackling and breaking up balls. He’s a phenomenal player.

RHODES JONES, LB, SENIOR
Rhodes Jones was recognized as an all-region player after leading the Wildcats in tackles with 123, 80 of those were made on his own. He sacked the opposing quarterback 4 times, and had 14.5 tackles for loss. Shaw on Jones: “He’s the bell cow of the defense. He was always a secondary guy until he got here, then we played him in this 3-3 stack as a mike linebacker, and really kind of turned him loose. When he hits you, you don’t fall forward or sideways, you fell backward. He has a chance to be a really good one at the next level.”

JACK BLACKSTOCK, DE, JUNIOR
The Wildcats defensively were acknowledged in all personnel aspects. Blackstock represents Rabun County on the defensive line, as one of the best defensive players in the northeast portion of the Peach State. The senior completed his season with 56 total tackles, but it is how he totaled that number that makes him a monster. 14.5 of Blackstock’s tackles were for losses, which was tied for the team lead with fellow all-region selection Rhodes Jones. He also hit the opposing quarterback behind the line 9 times, which was 5 more than the second player on the list (Rhodes Jones and Sam Butikofer) Shaw on Blackstock: “He was solid last year, but Jack really came on strong this year. He’ll be back for us next year, solidifying that defensive line. He plays with great technique. He’s kind of undersized for a lot of defensive ends that we have played against, but he has tremendous motor and very coachable, and very much a team player.”

ELI GIPSON, DB, SENIOR
Gipson was one of the handful of players who had a strong case for making all-region on both sides of the ball. Defensively, he finished with 64 total tackles, and led the team in interceptions, with 4. He was the team’s leading rusher on offense, carrying the ball 81 times for 687 yards and 6 touchdowns.

NOAH CANNON, P, JUNIOR
Noah Cannon was an ace at flipping the field for Rabun County. Cannon punted the ball 45, averaging 35.4 yards per. His longest of the season was a whopping 61 yard bomb against Jefferson on August 21. Three of his punts landed inside the 20, and 3 punts were over 50 yards.

Seven more Wildcats gained attention from other coaches in region 8-AA, including the backfield duo known as “The Stable”, Cal Drummond and Eli Gipson. Offensively, Eli Gipson and Jack Johnson were named All-Region honorable mention. Tyler Harris, Miguel Ortiz, Hawk Davis, and Kodie Phillips were honorable mentions on defense. For Alden Wright and Cal Drummond, they were honorable mentions on both sides of the ball.

“I just felt like there were several that fell short, that should have been there (on the first team),” says Coach Lee Shaw on the honorable mention selections, “I’m very proud of the guys that were selected from our team. They were tremendous players for us, each and every one. The ones that were selected were very much deserving of that honor.”

Alden Wright (7) and Jack Johnson (4) were all-region honorable mentions

Rabun County football ended the 2015 season with an 11-2 record, which tied the 1998 team’s final record for best in school history. They also made the third round of the GHSA AA playoffs, which is also something that had not been accomplished since 1998. The senior class leaves with the best winning total in history, with 34. Rabun County looks to continue their region title streak in 2016.