Rabun County football

Enoch Autry/The Clayton Tribune. Ryan Yearwood and JK Fruster celebrate the Wildcats’ win over Fannin County on Aug. 22 as they run to ring the bell.

Enoch Autry/The Clayton Tribune. Ryan Yearwood and JK Fruster celebrate the Wildcats’ win over Fannin County on Aug. 22 as they run to ring the bell.

No. 6-ranked RCHS visits Dalton for Sept. 5 clash

Rabun County High School football returns to action this week on the road versus Dalton after having a bye last week. The Wildcats, who still sit at 2-0 and ranked sixth in the state, are looking to regain the momentum they had after wins versus White County and Fannin County previously.
Enoch Autry/The Clayton Tribune. Rabun County High School Principal Justin Spillers (far right) and then Superintendent Dr. April Childers smile as Class of 2022 honor graduate and record-setting Wildcat quarterback Gunner Stockton receives his diploma in May 2022 from his mother Sherrie Stockton, then a RCHS counselor.

Enoch Autry/The Clayton Tribune. Rabun County High School Principal Justin Spillers (far right) and then Superintendent Dr. April Childers smile as Class of 2022 honor graduate and record-setting Wildcat quarterback Gunner Stockton receives his diploma in May 2022 from his mother Sherrie Stockton, then a RCHS counselor.

Stockton feels supportive pride of Wildcat Nation

All leaders are not made the same. Some are vocal, while others may allow their actions to speak louder than their verbal words. No matter the style, one aspect that is fitting of all leaders is they work with others to get things done.
Enoch Autry/The Clayton Tribune. Rabun County junior JK Fruster (6) and sophomore Colter Cannon celebrate the Wildcats recovering a Fannin County fumble deep in Rebel territory in RCHS’s 35-0 shutout at Frank Snyder Memorial Stadium.

Enoch Autry/The Clayton Tribune. Rabun County junior JK Fruster (6) and sophomore Colter Cannon celebrate the Wildcats recovering a Fannin County fumble deep in Rebel territory in RCHS’s 35-0 shutout at Frank Snyder Memorial Stadium.

RCHS whips Fannin’s fannies

Night and day. That is the level of difference between last year’s meeting of Rabun County and Fannin County and this year’s tilt. Within the confines of Frank Snyder Memorial Stadium, the No.
Enoch Autry/The Clayton Tribune. Rabun County senior running back Reid Giles sprints down the sideline in front of a group of RCHS students on Aug. 15 for a 65-yard touchdown against visiting White County in the Wildcats’ 42-6 win on “Hall of Fame Night.” Giles, a preseason all-state selection, scored three TDs.

Enoch Autry/The Clayton Tribune. Rabun County senior running back Reid Giles sprints down the sideline in front of a group of RCHS students on Aug. 15 for a 65-yard touchdown against visiting White County in the Wildcats’ 42-6 win on “Hall of Fame Night.” Giles, a preseason all-state selection, scored three TDs.

Behind Giles’ 3 TDs, RCHS alum Rance Gillespie gets first win as Cats’ head coach

TIGER – Rabun County football and first-year head coach Rance Gillespie picked up the first win of the regular season on Friday night, dominating White County 42-6. The Aug. 15 victory also marked the first win as the Wildcats’ head coach for Gillespie, who played at RCHS in the 1980s.
Enoch Autry/The Clayton Tribune. The Rabun County cheerleaders continued their tradition of creating special banners for each Wildcat football game so the team can run through them onto the football field. Here the players and first-year head coach Rance Gillespie (left center) make their way toward the home sideline during pregame of the Aug. 8 scrimmage against visiting Franklin, N.C.

Enoch Autry/The Clayton Tribune. The Rabun County cheerleaders continued their tradition of creating special banners for each Wildcat football game so the team can run through them onto the football field. Here the players and first-year head coach Rance Gillespie (left center) make their way toward the home sideline during pregame of the Aug. 8 scrimmage against visiting Franklin, N.C.

RCHS alum back home to coach

Rabun County High School football jumpstarted its season on Friday, Aug. 8, with a scrimmage against one of its former rivals, Franklin (N.C.) High School, with RCHS alumnus Rance Gillespie in his first season as head coach of the Wildcats.
Rabun County wide receiver Sutton Jones (20) is congratulated by quarterback Gunner Stockton (14) and other teammates after making a touchdown catch during the first half against Social Circle at Frank Snyder Memorial Stadium in Tiger last Friday night. (Glendon Poe/The Clayton Tribune)

Rabun County wide receiver Sutton Jones (20) is congratulated by quarterback Gunner Stockton (14) and other teammates after making a touchdown catch during the first half against Social Circle at Frank Snyder Memorial Stadium in Tiger last Friday night. (Glendon Poe/The Clayton Tribune)

Stockton throws 6 TDs, Rabun clips Social Circle

TIGER — Social Circle couldn’t have asked for a better start against the undefeated Rabun County Wildcats. Logan Cross hit Amarion Russell with a screen pass on the game’s first play from scrimmage and Russell raced down the left sideline for a 73-yard touchdown.
Rabun County linebacker Brody Jarrard (13), defensive lineman Phillip Roberson (21) and linebacker Hoff Windham celebrate after Jarrard’s tackle for a loss during the first half against Elbert County at the Granite Bowl in Elberton last Friday night. (Glendon Poe/The Clayton Tribune)

Rabun County linebacker Brody Jarrard (13), defensive lineman Phillip Roberson (21) and linebacker Hoff Windham celebrate after Jarrard’s tackle for a loss during the first half against Elbert County at the Granite Bowl in Elberton last Friday night. (Glendon Poe/The Clayton Tribune)

Cats’ offense hums to season-high in win vs. Devils

ELBERTON — It was a different setting but a similar result for the Rabun County Wildcats at Elbert County’s Granite Bowl last Friday night: another blowout win.