Eagles crowned in Queen City

The Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School football team made its case for being one of the top programs in the nation in Charlotte on Oct. 20 as the Eagles pulled the plug on the Chargers of Providence Day 42-27 in a matchup on a national stage. With the No. 1-ranked Eagles’ defeat of No. 2 PD, RGNS jumped 34 spots in the MaxPreps national rankings and is now the 45th-best football team in the entire country as of Monday.

When Derek White was hired as the head coach of the Eagles after the 2021 season, Head of School Jeff Miles made it a goal for RGNS to become a top-50 program in America. 

The Eagles will seek its first-ever undefeated regular season Friday on the road at Cannon with a 7 p.m. kickoff in RGNS’s 11th contest of 2023.

As the Eagles’ bus rolled in behind Providence Day’s stadium on Oct. 20 after hail and rain just a few hours before the contest, the Eagle players saw what resembled to be the final score of their loss to PD in the 2021 NCISAA state championship game on the scoreboard.

For the Eagles, it was just further motivation to disappoint the masses who showed up to cheer on the Chargers. 

Overcash Stadium, the home of the Chargers, was filled to the brim with fans as seats overflowed. Along with the healthy amount of collegiate potential covered in RGNS’s gold and white on one side and with PD’s blue and red on the other, the sidelines were bursting with members of the media from end to end. There also was a slew of scouts from prestigious college programs who graced the field on Saturdays. 

A hostile environment greeted the Eagles as they took the field before the game and returned to the locker room during halftime. PD students and fans booed RGNS players. 

The Eagles’ victory over the Chargers was certainly a spectacle to watch as prior to the game MaxPreps listed the matchup as the fifth-best game in the entire country for the week of Oct. 20. Despite being the No. 1 team in North Carolina and a rising star in the national ranks, RGNS was an underdog to the No. 2 Chargers, who have won seven state titles and are the reigning back-to-back NCISAA state champions. 

“Our guys battled,” White told The Clayton Tribune after last Friday’s victory. “When there had to be a time to make a play, we made them.” 

White also stressed that while the Eagles controlled the clock on offense and the defense made key stops, they RGNA had much left in the tank. 

Few outside of Northeast Georgia believed the Eagles would prevail. The doubters included a panel of five pickers of The Charlotte Observer’s “Observer Preps” crew who unanimously predicted PD to defeat RGNS. 

Those who doubted were made honest by the Eagles who totaled 488 yards of offense against the Chargers. A total of 177 of those yards came from Georgia Tech commit Trey Horne who also scored five of RGNS’s six touchdowns. Horne is listed as a wide receiver but his role was expanded to that of an athlete who is dangerous from any skill position. All five of Horne’s TD’s were scored on the ground while taking direct snaps. 

“Everyone needs to realize that Trey Horne is the real deal,” White said of the senior who wears the No. 1 jersey. “The saying is if No. 1 is on the field, we’ve got a chance … special player, special guy.” 

Overall, Horne has 18 touchdowns across 1,160 total yards of offense in 10 regular-season games and has been a threat for RGNS in 2023. 

The ground game also was controlled by running backs Tyrell Campbell and Anthony Quinn Jr., who White refers to as a “two-headed monster.” Quinn Jr. ran for 71 yards on 16 carries, while Campbell earned 65 on 14 carries. 

PD’s performance on the ground was miniscule compared to that of the Eagles as the Chargers totaled just 20 yards rushing on eight attempts. 

PD quarterback and University of Michigan commit Jadyn Davis threw for 315 yards and three TD passes and an interception. Charger seniors Jordan Shipp and Channing Goodwin cradled in a majority of Davis’ yards as they combined for 239 yards receiving and three TDs. 

Shipp is currently committed to play for the University of North Carolina at the next level, while Goodwin will follow his QB to play for the Wolverines. 

While Davis guided a steady ship, he didn’t seem to be the most electric playmaker while he was on the field. RGNS sophomore defensive tackle James “Tank” Carrington found himself in the backfield for multiple sacks while forcing Davis to fumble twice in the pocket. RGNS defensive end Gideon Herbert recovered both of the forced fumbles that gave the Eagles possession in PD territory. 

Davis also was bested by junior defensive back Patrick Williams who iced any chance the Chargers had to complete a comeback as he picked off a Davis pass late in the fourth quarter of the game. 

Davis’ counterpart, Eagle QB Gavin Owens threw for 171 yards while completing 8-of-15 passes for a 94 QB rate. Owens also ran for the only RGNS TD that wasn’t scored by Horne. 

RGNS junior WR Marshall Prichett led all Eagle receivers with 73 yards on three catches. Horne added 18 yards after cradling in three passes, while Quinn Jr. and senior Huseyin Simsir each caught one pass, both for at least 30 yards. 

Vibes were high in Overcash after the Chargers struck first with 9:16 remaining in the first quarter thanks to a 16-yard TD connection between Davis and Shipp that put PD ahead 7-0 with a successful point-after attempt. This score was the Chargers’ third attempt at the end zone after Shipp dropped a pass in the back corner and a Davis run was called back due to a Charger penalty. 

PD fans were flying high on the 7-0 lead for the next five minutes. The Chargers forced a stop during the next Eagle drive and were looking to score again, but out of nowhere, Carrington plowed Davis for the first fumble of the game with Herbert recovering the ball in PD territory.

Despite the Eagles pounding on the door, PD forced a fourth down. However when the Chargers expected the field goal unit to take the field, Horne instead took a direct snap from outside of the PD 10-yard line and scored on an up-the-middle run, dragging Chargers on the turf along the way. 

In the following drive for PD, the Chargers attempted to close out the first quarter with another score to take the lead.

But their drive was foiled by the Eagles’ defense and they were forced to punt. The quarter ended with the Eagles marching down the field in their next drive. 

As RGNS’s drive carried over into the second quarter, Horne capped it off with his second TD of the night that put the Eagles ahead 14-7 with the successful PAT. 

The score was another direct snap run that Horne took from just over five yards out, pushing toward the outside of PD’s defensive line and scoring with ease. 

The Eagles’ defense came to play in Charlotte, something that PD hasn’t dealt with much in its seven scheduled games prior to RGNS; those opponents have lost a combined 30 games. 

The Chargers were once again stuffed in their drive following the TD from Horne and were forced to punt after a two-minute drive. 

Starting with the ball at their own 18 following the punt, the Eagles proceeded to drive 82 yards to the end zone. The drive lasted over six minutes and it was none other than Horne who took it himself for the third time to put RGNS ahead by two scores. 

After the score, Horne flashed three fingers to celebrate his three-score night, though he wasn’t quite done slashing the PD defense. 

The Chargers now had pressure with two minutes remaining in the first half and needed a score. Despite starting deep in their own territory, a score is just what they got.

They also received some help from multiple RGNS penalties that helped move the ball forward. However, Davis found the end zone after taking it himself for the score. This ended the half with the Eagles leading 21-14. 

RGNS had done enough to hold a lead against Charlotte’s beloved Chargers, but White was not satisfied and stressed to his players, who rested outside of the away locker rooms, that they needed much more to put away their opponents. 

“You have to knock out champions,” White said to his players at halftime as Charger fans heckled them from the stands above. 

Play resumed in the third quarter and it was RGNS’s ball. It took the Eagles a little over two minutes to get to the 40-yard line where the Chargers had forced another Eagles fourth down.

Surely, the Eagles would not go for it in their own territory – but that’s what they did. Horne split the PD defense for the fourth time, taking it 60 yards for his fourth TD run. It was now 28-14.

Carrington continued to place heavy pressure on QB Davis by sacking him for a second time following the Eagle score. Overall, the five-star Carrington had three sacks, four tackles for loss and two hurries against the Chargers. 

After Carrington’s sack that forced a punt, the Eagle offense slowly worked their way back down PD territory from their own 48-yard line. After failing to get in the end zone once, Owens attempted a second straight QB-keeper with 2:37 left in the third. The TD extended the Eagle lead to 35-14 after a PAT.

Just two minutes later, Davis responded to the RGNS score by slinging his second TD pass of the night to slim the Eagles’ lead to just 14. 

The Charger defense finally stopped Horne and the Eagle offense at the start of the fourth quarter. The stop allowed Davis to gain enough momentum to throw another TD pass that made it a 35-27 game. 

However, Horne and the Eagles got back to normalcy with 6:28 remaining in the game after Horne capped off his elite performance with his fifth rushing TD. 

“My offensive line, I’ve gotta give great credit to them. They were making holes all night,” Horne said after the Eagles’ victory over PD. 

With the score now 42-27 and with less than six minutes remaining in the game, the Chargers had little room for error. 

But during their final two drives in crunchtime, Davis fell victim to another sack-fumble from Carrington and Herbert and was later picked off by Williams who iced the game with 2:33 remaining. 

Thanks to those key defensive stops, the Eagles had shut the door and earned one of the RGNS football program’s greatest victories. 

“These guys really do love each other,” said White of his players. “Great game and a great group of guys.” 

With the win over the Chargers, the Eagles are not set to have home field advantage throughout the entirety of the NCISAA state tournament, including the championship game if they continue to win. RGNS has one final regular season game at Cannon School this Friday (Oct. 27).