Sports

Wade Cheek/The Clayton Tribune. The Rabun County boys soccer team celebrates its victory over North Hall after winning in a penalty-kick shootout. The Wildcats were tied at zero with the Trojans before winning the tie-breaking shootout.

Wade Cheek/The Clayton Tribune. The Rabun County boys soccer team celebrates its victory over North Hall after winning in a penalty-kick shootout. The Wildcats were tied at zero with the Trojans before winning the tie-breaking shootout.

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Wildcat soccer earns first win of season after PK’s

Wade Cheek
Thursday, February 27, 2025
The Rabun County High School boys and girls soccer teams are back on the pitch and their respective 2025 seasons are well underway.
Wade Cheek/The Clayton Tribune. Rabun County junior post Hayes Free draws a foul at the rim during Rabun’s Sweet-16 loss to BEST Academy on Saturday, Feb. 22. Free scored a team-high 19 points against the Eagles.

Wade Cheek/The Clayton Tribune. Rabun County junior post Hayes Free draws a foul at the rim during Rabun’s Sweet-16 loss to BEST Academy on Saturday, Feb. 22. Free scored a team-high 19 points against the Eagles.

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Wildcats historic season ends in Sweet 16

Wade Cheek
Thursday, February 27, 2025
The Rabun County High School boys basketball team lost to BEST Academy (Atlanta) 72-59, ending the 2024-25 season in the second round of the Georgia Class A-Division I state tournament.  The No. 2 Wildcats, who did not hold one lead in the home playoff bout against the No.
Wade Cheek/The Clayton Tribune. Sophomore Morgan Lovell hugs her senior teammate Jacie McCall after the Lady Cats fell 71-35 in the class A-DI quarterfinal against Banks County.

Wade Cheek/The Clayton Tribune. Sophomore Morgan Lovell hugs her senior teammate Jacie McCall after the Lady Cats fell 71-35 in the class A-DI quarterfinal against Banks County.

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A season of growth, adversity and togetherness

Wade Cheek
Thursday, February 27, 2025
The Rabun County High School girls basketball team lost 71-35 to Banks County in the quarterfinal-round of the Georgia Class A-Division I state tournament on Tuesday, Feb. 25.  Rabun’s tough loss in the elite eight to No.
Wade Cheek/The Clayton Tribune. Senior wrestler Tucker Buchanan placed second in the Georgia Class A-D1 Traditional Wrestling State Championship in the 215-pound weight class.

Wade Cheek/The Clayton Tribune. Senior wrestler Tucker Buchanan placed second in the Georgia Class A-D1 Traditional Wrestling State Championship in the 215-pound weight class.

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Buchanan highlights state tourney for Rabun wrestling with second-place finish

Wade Cheek
Monday, February 24, 2025
The Rabun County High School boys wrestling team traveled down to Macon last week to test its skills in the Georgia Class A-Division I Traditional Wrestling State Championship with one grappler claiming state runner-up.
Wade Cheek/The Clayton Tribune. Rabun County sophomore Adelyn Thompson (2) leaps in celebration with fellow sophomore Addy Beth Owens after Thompson makes the game-winning, three-point shot in Tuesday’s first-round playoff game on the road at Armuchee High School. The Lady Cats now are in the Sweet 16.

Wade Cheek/The Clayton Tribune. Rabun County sophomore Adelyn Thompson (2) leaps in celebration with fellow sophomore Addy Beth Owens after Thompson makes the game-winning, three-point shot in Tuesday’s first-round playoff game on the road at Armuchee High School. The Lady Cats now are in the Sweet 16.

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Thompson wins it in crunch time for Lady Cats

Wade Cheek
Monday, February 24, 2025
10.1 seconds was all that was left before the No. 10 Armuchee girls basketball team advanced to the second round of the Georgia Class A-Division I state tournament. 10.1 seconds remained in Rabun County’s season.  But gamechangers can happen in 10.1 seconds.
Wade Cheek/The Clayton Tribune. The Rabun County High School boys basketball team celebrates and hoists their region championship trophy after defeating Commerce High School 68-56 on Friday, Feb. 14. The second-seeded Wildcats were scheduled to host No. 31 Social Circle in the state tournament on Wednesday, Feb. 19.

Wade Cheek/The Clayton Tribune. The Rabun County High School boys basketball team celebrates and hoists their region championship trophy after defeating Commerce High School 68-56 on Friday, Feb. 14. The second-seeded Wildcats were scheduled to host No. 31 Social Circle in the state tournament on Wednesday, Feb. 19.

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Road to Macon set: Wildcats claim region title with win over Commerce, will host Social Circle Redskins in GHSA first round

Wade Cheek
Monday, February 24, 2025
The storied run for the Rabun County High School boys basketball team presses on as the Wildcats claimed their third-ever region title after defeating Commerce High School 68-56 on Friday, Feb. 14.
Wade Cheek/The Clayton Tribune. Sophomore shooting guard Brian Neely Jr. (24) scored nine points in the Indians’ region basketball game against George Walton Academy on Monday, Jan. 27. TFS defeated the Bulldogs 59-42.

Wade Cheek/The Clayton Tribune. Sophomore shooting guard Brian Neely Jr. (24) scored nine points in the Indians’ region basketball game against George Walton Academy on Monday, Jan. 27. TFS defeated the Bulldogs 59-42.

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Indians too hot to handle in region victory against George Walton

News Staff
Thursday, January 30, 2025
From the jump, No. 8 Tallulah Falls School set the pace in its region victory over George Walton Academy on Monday, Jan. 27.  The Indians (11-8) blistered out to a 19-7 lead on the way to a 59-42 decision at home against the Bulldogs (3-13), marking back-to-back wins.
Wade Cheek/The Clayton Tribune. The 2024-25 RCHS volleyball team and others celebrated their senior setter Faith McDade on Friday, Jan. 24, as she signed her national letter of intent to play volleyball at the next level with Toccoa Falls College. McDade (seated in center) and her teammates are joined by RCHS volleyball head coach April Jones.

Wade Cheek/The Clayton Tribune. The 2024-25 RCHS volleyball team and others celebrated their senior setter Faith McDade on Friday, Jan. 24, as she signed her national letter of intent to play volleyball at the next level with Toccoa Falls College. McDade (seated in center) and her teammates are joined by RCHS volleyball head coach April Jones.

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McDade inks future with Toccoa Falls College

Wade Cheek
Thursday, January 30, 2025
Rabun County High School volleyball setter Faith McDade signed her national letter of intent to continue her athletic and academic career at Toccoa Falls College on Friday, Jan. 24.
Wade Cheek/The Clayton Tribune. Senior Chloe Erlewine (22) speeds down the court with an Athens Academy defender last Saturday in a 65-32 loss to their region opponents.

Wade Cheek/The Clayton Tribune. Senior Chloe Erlewine (22) speeds down the court with an Athens Academy defender last Saturday in a 65-32 loss to their region opponents.

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Goals remain the same for Rabun County girls basketball

Wade Cheek
Thursday, January 30, 2025
This year hasn’t been the same as last year for the Rabun County High School girls basketball team, when the state saw the Lady Cats finish 24-7 and advance to the semi-final round of the Georgia Class A-Division I state tournament as the last-remaining public school.