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Ben Stowe
The Stephens County Indians will open the 2022 football season here Friday, Aug. 19, against rival Habersham Central. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at The Reservation. The Indians will enter the game after a 21-0 victory over Fannin County in a scrimmage game played last week in Blue Ridge.
In the scrimmage win, SCHS struck first with a touchdown in the first quarter. The Indians notched their first score when quarterback Ben Stowe found Cam Lacy on a quick out and Lacy ran away from a Fannin defender to turn it into a 25-yard connection for a touchdown. Stephens County’s next score came in the closing seconds of the second quarter. The Indian defense forced a turnover that set up the touchdown. In the closing seconds, Fannin County was on their 31-yard line and ran a running play.
The Indian defense forced and recovered a fumble on the Fannin 41-yard line with only 16 seconds left on the clock. Stowe threw a quick 12-yard pass to Lacy who went out of bounds to conserve some time. On the next play, Stowe hit Jasec Smith on a 29-yard touchdown pass to put SCHS up 14-0 at halftime.
The next SCHS score came when Indian backup quarterback Tripp Underwood threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Costner Brock on fourth down in the third quarter. That score made it a 21-0 score SCHS way. The same two players combined for a long touchdown pass in the first pre-season scrimmage against Elbert County. The score stayed at 21-0 the rest of the way.
Now the Indians are looking to start the regular season with a victory over the rival Raiders from Habersham. The Indians won last year’s matchup 35-18.