Daily Dive: Oconee County turns new leaf in wild victory

Oconee County has gotten its season back on track, and the Warriors earned their biggest win of the year on Friday, defeating Cherokee Bluff in a wild back-and-forth affair.

On Friday night, the Warriors and the Bears met in a crucial Region 6-3A matchup. Through the first three and a half quarters the game was a normal defensive battle, with four minutes left in the game, Cherokee Bluff led 17-14. With 3:48 remaining, Brody Hannah scored from one yard out to give Oconee County a 21-17 lead. That was followed by Cherokee Bluff’s Cooper Dean finding Jackson Pirkle for a 32-yard touchdown with only 56 seconds remaining to put the Bears back on top, 24-21. However, the Warriors answered, Hannah connected with Brayden Stephens for a touchdown with only seven seconds left, giving Oconee County a 28-24 lead. Cherokee Bluff had one more chance to win the game. With two seconds left, Dean completed a pass to Malcom Millsap at the Oconee County 10-yard line. Millsap lateraled the ball, but it bounced into the end zone, where Oconee County was able to recover it to seal the victory.

The Warriors are now in a strong position to compete for a region title. Oconee County has two major games remaining. First, on October 14, they will host Monroe Area. The Purple Hurricanes are currently 5-1 and have dominated in most of their wins, winning by an average of 31.8 PPG. The Warriors’ final game of the season will be against the Jefferson Dragons. The Dragons have been dominant defensively, outside of their 35-0 loss to 4A No. 1 North Oconee, they have allowed only 6.7 PPG in their five wins.

The next question to be answered is: how far can the Warriors go? Last year, the Warriors reached the second round of the playoffs before losing to Jefferson. In coach Ben Hall’s three previous seasons as head coach, the Warriors have advanced to at least the second round every year. However, they have not made it past that stage since 2022, when they reached the semifinals. This season the team is once again great defensively and extremely physical offensively. If the uptick in offensive production from the last two weeks continues they will be a tough out.

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