Sports

Wesley Branch/The Clayton Tribune. The Rabun County girls basketball bench celebrates a basket in Rabun County’s 66-46 win over Providence Christian Academy on Feb. 4. The Lady Cats are 19-4 with two games remaining in the regular season.

Wesley Branch/The Clayton Tribune. The Rabun County girls basketball bench celebrates a basket in Rabun County’s 66-46 win over Providence Christian Academy on Feb. 4. The Lady Cats are 19-4 with two games remaining in the regular season.

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Rabun basketball stays hot with home victories over Banks

Wesley Branch
Thursday, February 12, 2026
The state-ranked Rabun County girls and boys basketball teams continued their winning streaks on Tuesday night with victories over region-rival Banks County. The Lady Cats held off a comeback attempt by Banks in the fourth quarter after leading for the majority of the game to win 52-46.  The No.
Wesley Branch/The Clayton Tribune. Rabun Gap head football coach Derek White (center) poses with Rabun Gap seniors CJ Willingham (left) and Devon Holly (right) on Feb. 5 at Rabun Gap’s signing day recognition for Willingham and Holly. Willingham will continue his football and academic careers at Columbia University, while Holly signed to North Carolina A&T.

Wesley Branch/The Clayton Tribune. Rabun Gap head football coach Derek White (center) poses with Rabun Gap seniors CJ Willingham (left) and Devon Holly (right) on Feb. 5 at Rabun Gap’s signing day recognition for Willingham and Holly. Willingham will continue his football and academic careers at Columbia University, while Holly signed to North Carolina A&T.

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Two Rabun Gap athletes ink to next level on signing day

Wesley Branch
Thursday, February 12, 2026
RABUN GAP – Two more Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School athletes signed to continue their athletic and academic careers on signing day on Wednesday, Feb. 4, and were highlighted with a recognition on the school’s campus on Feb. 5.
Photo courtesy Rabun Gap Athletics. Rabun Gap basketball seniors pose for a picture with first-year head coach Devin Liferidge (center) ahead of the Eagles’ 59-46 win over Asheville School on Feb. 7. The Eagles are 16-9 on the season with two games remaining before the state playoffs.

Photo courtesy Rabun Gap Athletics. Rabun Gap basketball seniors pose for a picture with first-year head coach Devin Liferidge (center) ahead of the Eagles’ 59-46 win over Asheville School on Feb. 7. The Eagles are 16-9 on the season with two games remaining before the state playoffs.

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Rabun Gap basketball picks up ‘Senior Day’ wins

Wesley Branch
Thursday, February 12, 2026
Both Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School’s boys and girls basketball teams picked up wins on Saturday, Feb. ,7 over Asheville School on “Senior Day.”  The Lady Eagles – who now sit at 15-9 on the year – were victorious 53-40, redeeming a previous loss to Asheville School.

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TFS tennis splits with Gainesville in opener

(not verified)
Thursday, February 12, 2026
The Lady Indians opened the season with a great 5-0 victory at home over Gainesville on Tuesday evening. The all-time winningest tennis player, Jaeda-Lee Daniel-Joseph, won in straight sets without dropping a game.
Wesley Branch/The Clayton Tribune. Georgia head football coach Kirby Smart and East Tennessee State head football coach Will Healy talk during the Rabun Gap College Coaches Social on Jan. 28. Multiple players in attendance received a scholarship offer from Georgia following the event, and Rabun Gap’s Jaxon Totherow received an offer from ETSU, marking his first Division I offer.

Wesley Branch/The Clayton Tribune. Georgia head football coach Kirby Smart and East Tennessee State head football coach Will Healy talk during the Rabun Gap College Coaches Social on Jan. 28. Multiple players in attendance received a scholarship offer from Georgia following the event, and Rabun Gap’s Jaxon Totherow received an offer from ETSU, marking his first Division I offer.

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Rabun Gap hosts winter ‘College Coaches Social’

Wesley Branch
Thursday, February 5, 2026
RABUN GAP – With college and high school football season in the rearview, prime recruiting season is in full swing.

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Stewart selected new head football coach at Rome High

Wesley Branch
Thursday, February 5, 2026
Rabun County defensive coordinator Bill Stewart was named the next head football coach at Rome High School on Thursday, Jan. 29. Rome City Schools made the official announcement early Thursday morning, following a Board of Education (BOE) meeting.
Wesley Branch/The Clayton Tribune. Rabun Gap head girls basketball coach Dale Earnhardt directs his team during a timeout in its Jan. 30 game against Buford. Earnhardt recently notched his 450th career victory as a head basketball coach.

Wesley Branch/The Clayton Tribune. Rabun Gap head girls basketball coach Dale Earnhardt directs his team during a timeout in its Jan. 30 game against Buford. Earnhardt recently notched his 450th career victory as a head basketball coach.

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Rabun Gap’s Earnhardt secures 450th career victory

Wesley Branch
Thursday, February 5, 2026
In the year 2000, Dale Earnhardt – not that Dale Earnhardt, even though they share the same birthday and are from neighboring counties in North Carolina – was hired to be the head football coach at Asheville School in Asheville, N.C.
Wesley Branch/The Clayton Tribune. Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School junior Joonatan Tartu fights through the Buford defense for an and-one layup in Rabun Gap’s 61-56 win over Buford on Jan. 30. Tartu converted the and-one pictured above and made an important block late in the game in the Eagles’ victory.

Wesley Branch/The Clayton Tribune. Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School junior Joonatan Tartu fights through the Buford defense for an and-one layup in Rabun Gap’s 61-56 win over Buford on Jan. 30. Tartu converted the and-one pictured above and made an important block late in the game in the Eagles’ victory.

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RGNS boys basketball wins nail-biter at Buford

Wesley Branch
Thursday, February 5, 2026
BUFORD – Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School’s boys basketball team fought off several distractions and surges by its opponent on Jan. 30 to secure a 61-56 road win over Buford.
TFS Senior Neyo Bain

TFS Senior Neyo Bain

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Tallulah Falls seniors earn All-Star game selections

(not verified)
Thursday, February 5, 2026
TFS Athletics A pair of senior guards for Tallulah Falls have earned GIAA All-Star game selections. Both Neyo Bain for the Indians and Lia Sanjur Santos for the Lady Indians have garnered invites for the upcoming GIAA All-Star game in March.

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Schedules updated for winter sports after snow storm

Wesley Branch
Thursday, February 5, 2026
With the impacts of the heavy snowfall of Winter Storm Gianna, several sports events in Rabun County over the weekend and early into this week have been rescheduled or canceled for Rabun County, Rabun Gap-Nachoochee School and Tallulah Falls School.