Stephens County heads on the road tonight, looking to wrap up a spot in the playoffs and stay in the hunt for the region title.

The Indians are heading down Highway 17 to the Granite Bowl to take on Elbert County.

Stephens County is coming off of a 21-10 win over Franklin County last week at the Reservation. Meanwhile, Elbert County defeated Jackson County 25-23.

The Indians come into the game 4-1 in region play, and 6-2 overall. They remain tied for first place with East Side and Hart County.

Elbert County, meanwhile, is 2-3 in the region and 4-4 overall.

You can catch all the action between the Indians and the Blue Devils tonight on AM 630 WNEG and online at wnegradio.com beginning at 7 p.m. with “Coach’s Corner,” the pre-game show at 7:15 p.m., and kick-off between the Indians and the Blue Devils from the Granite Bowl at 7:30 p.m.

In other Region 8-AAA action, Hart County travels to Franklin County, Jackson County hosts Oconee County, and East Side heads to Morgan County.

Both the boys’ and girls’ high school cross country teams will be going to the state meet in Carrollton next week.

At the Region 8-AAA meet Thursday, the girls got third place and the boys got fourth to qualify each group as a team.

Oconee County took both the boys’ and girls’ team titles.

For the Lady Indians, Kelsey Barnes led the way with an 8^th place overall finish, while Kelsey Runyan and Jodie Zuno took 10^th and 20^th respectively.

This is the third year in a row the Lady Indians have qualified for the state meet as a team.

On the boys side, Nick Shurtz crossed the line in 11^th place to lead the way for the Indians, while teammates Ryan Martucci and Clay Williams took 16^th and 17^th respectively.

It is the second year in a row the boys have qualified.

The region meet was held at Athens Academy.

The Stephens County cross country team wraps up their region season today with the Region 8-AAA meet.

The Stephens County team hopes to make another appearance in the state meet by qualifying through regions.

Both coaches, Laura Brown and Bill Mallelieu, say the boys and girls’ teams have performed well this year and hope to progress through what they call a tough Region 8-AAA.

Today’s Region 8-AAA meet is hosted by Oconee County and takes place at Athens Academy.

There is now a three-way tie for first in Region 8-AAA.

Stephens County defeated Franklin County Friday night 21-10 at the Reservation to do its part.

The Indians trailed at halftime, but came back in the second half to pull away for the victory.

Head Coach Travis Noland likes the way his team responded.

“We played out of character for the first half for whatever reasons and had way too many personal foul penalties tonight,” said the coach. “I told them after the game, that is not who we are. We talk with our pads and not our mouths. However, they showed a tremendous amount of character to play the way they did in the second half and get a big region win.”

The Indians are now 4-1 in Region 8-AAA, along with East Side and Hart County, who both won over the weekend.

Stephens County will hit the road this week, traveling to the Granite Bowl for a Halloween Night showdown Friday with Elbert County.

The Stephens County Indians win another one in the rain.

The Indians defeated Franklin County in a big Region 8-AAA game on Senior Night at the Reservation.

The Indians trailed 10-7 at halftime, with the only points coming on a 2-yard touchdown run by Ren Teasley.

Stephens County took over in the second half. They scored on a 1-yard Dacen Cash quarterback sneak to take a 14-10 lead. Then, the Lions fumbled the next kickoff and Stephens County recovered. On the very next play, Cash hit Quan Trammel for a 38-yard touchdown pass to make the score 21-10.

The Indians’ defense took care of business from there. They intercepted Franklin County twice in the second half to seal the win.

The player of the game was Jai Holland and the lineman of the game was Tra Burtch.

Stephens County moves to 4-1 in Region 8-AAA and 6-2 overall. They travel to Elbert County next Friday night.

A big game will take over the Reservation tonight.

The Stephens County Indians will host their rival, the Franklin County Lions, in a crucial region 8-AAA game.

Both teams are 3-1 in the region, part of a four-way tie for first, along with East Side and Hart.

Rain is possible for tonight’s showdown in Toccoa. The Indians played in the rain last week as well, defeating Morgan County 28-0.

Meanwhile, Franklin County beat Elbert 34-9.

Stephens County Wide Receivers Coach Andrew Stamey said the rain can have an effect on the game.

“You have turnovers all the time when you have a rain game and the penalties can play a part in it,” said Stamey. “That is one reason we try not to coach about the external factors. We just tell them to go out and play the game of football.”

You can catch all the action between the Indians and the Lions right here on AM 630 WNEG. It all gets started with the tailgate show at 5:30 p.m. Ken Brady and Coach Travis Noland pick things up at 7:00 with the Coach’s Corner. The pre-game show gets started at 7:15 p.m. Kick-off between the Indians and the Lions is set for 7:30 at the Reservation.

In other region 8-AAA action this weekend, East Side hosts Oconee, Hart hosts Morgan, and Jackson travels to Elbert.

Stephens County stays in the thick of the Region 8-AAA race.

The Indians defeated Morgan County 28-0 Friday in Madison, Georgia. They were led by two rushing touchdowns and over 120 rushing yards from Ren Teasley. Dre Cunningham also added another rushing touchdown.

Cunningham was the player of the game and Aaron Pinkston was named lineman of the game.

Head Coach Travis Noland called the game a big win for the Indians.

“We are very excited to get our first road win,” said Noland. “That is a big step for our football team. We have been talking all year about getting better and we have to win on the road because we have three out of the last four on the road. This is a big step for us. We keep taking strides and getting better and I am pleased with where we are right now.”

Stephens County moved to 3-1 in Region 8-AAA with the win. Morgan County fell to 1-3 in the region.

Halfway through the region schedule, the Indians are tied at 3-1 for first place with Eastside, who defeated Jackson County 50-0, Hart County, who defeated Oconee County 28-17, and Franklin County, who defeated Elbert County 34-9. Oconee is 2-2 in the region, Elbert is 1-3, tied with Morgan. Jackson County is 0-4 in region play.

This Friday, the Indians will return home to the Reservation to host Franklin County. It is the final home game of the season for the Indians.

Stephens County’s Lady Indian softball comes up just short in the state softball tournament.

The Lady Indians won their first game in the AAA North Sectional Friday night in Gainesville, defeating White County 1-0. However, they lost a second game Friday to St. Pius X 9-1 and then fell to Creekview 7-0 Saturday.

Two teams from Region 8-AAA, Eastside and Oconee, did advance to the state final out of the double-elimination sectional tournament.

The rain could not slow down the Indian ground attack.

Stephens County used over 200 team rushing yards, more than 120 of those belonging to Ren Teasley, to beat Morgan County 28-0 Friday night in Madison, Georgia.

The Indians jumped on top on their very first possession, with Teasley scoring from 13 yards out to give them a 7-0 lead. Then, after a blocked punt, Stephens County took six plays before Teasley punched it in from two yards out for a 14-0 advantage.

In the second quarter, Dacen Cash completed his only pass on a rainy night, hitting Cody Martin for a 34-yard touchdown strike to make it 21-0. Dre Cunningham capped the scoring, with a 42-yard touchdown run to make it 28-0.

Cunningham was the player of the game and Aaron Pinkston was the lineman of the game.

The Indians are now 3-1 in region play and 5-2 overall. Morgan County drops to 1-3 in region and 1-6 overall. The Indians return home Friday to host Franklin County.

The Lady Indians remain alive in the state softball sectional tournament.

Stephens County won its first game, then lost its second game to fall into the losers’ bracket.

The Lady Indians continue play today at noon in the tournament taking place in Gainesville.

Stephens County heads on the road tonight for another Region 8-AAA battle.

The Indians football team will head to Morgan County to take on the Bulldogs.

Last week, Stephens County defeated Oconee County 28-14 to move to 2-1 in region play, making the Indians one of five teams at 2-1 in Region 8-AAA. They were able to control the game via the run, with Ren Teasley rushing for 265 yards to lead the Indians to over 300 yards in all on the ground.

Morgan County, meanwhile, is 1-2 in region play and 1-5 overall. They beat Jackson County, while suffering two straight close losses to Franklin and Elbert in the last two weeks respectively.

Indians’ Running Backs Coach Rocky Fulbright said the Morgan County defense plays very aggressively.

“I guess what we are going to do is just go at them,” said Fulbright. “That is all we can do. Put a man on a man and just go see what we can get. Of course, we are going to try to outflank them if they put that many in the box. We are going to try to throw it over their heads as well. Offensively, they have got some pretty good guys on defense, but if we just hit our blocks, we will be alright.”

Catch all of the action between the Indians and the Bulldogs tonight right here on AM 630 WNEG beginning at 7 p.m. with Coach’s Corner. The pre-game show begins at 7:15 p.m. Kickoff between Stephens County and Morgan County is set for 7:30 p.m. You can also listen online at wnegradio.com.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in Region 8-AAA, 0-3 Jackson travels to 2-1 Eastside, 2-1 Oconee hosts 2-1 Hart, and 2-1 Franklin hosts 1-2 Elbert.

The Stephens County Lady Indian softball team will begin play in the North AAA Sectional State Softball Tournament later tonight.

The Lady Indians are the third seed out of Region 8-AAA and will take on the second seed out of Region 7-AAA White County in their first-round game tonight at 6 p.m. at Lanier Pointe in Gainesville.

Head Coach Chris Colwell said White County will prove a tough test for the Lady Indians, but adds the team is up to the task.

“They are competitive,” said Colwell. “They are going to put the ball in play. They have solid pitching. I do not think it is anything we have not seen, that we cannot beat. It just depends on if we come out and take one pitch at a time, one play at a time, and one inning at a time.”

It is a double-elimination tournament. Four teams from the north sectional will advance to the State Finals in Columbus.

If the Lady Indians win against White County, they would play the winner of St. Pius X and Cedartown at 8 p.m. tonight. A loss would put the Lady Indians against the loser of that game Saturday morning.

Football is not the only sport moving through its season. The boys’ and girls’ cross country teams at Stephens County High School are doing well.

That is from coaches Laura Brown and Bill Mallelieu, who spoke to WNEG during “Crunchtime” last Thursday.

Both coaches said their respective teams are performing well and showing improvement against a tough region 8-AAA.

Most recently, Mallelieu said the teams were in White County for a meet where they ran well.

“There are 32 teams there and usually those are held on a Saturday,” said Mallelieu. “So, you had 32 teams there this year in a tight area. It is a great course. The kids always do well there. As a matter of fact, this past week, they all got personal records. It is not only high school, but middle school as well, so you have about 64 teams. It is just like a big festival of runners.”

Brown said the season continues this week with another meet.

“We are running at Athens Academy, just in a regular season meet on October 14,” said Brown. “October 21, we are running at Habersham Central. That is the regular season we have left.”

The Region 8-AAA meet takes place on October 30 at Athens Academy.

The Stephens County Middle School Rebels Football Team ended its season on a winning note by defeating Commerce Saturday night at The Reservation, 33-6.

Jabacus Wiley and Chaz Thornton each scored on rushing touchdowns in the first quarter and the Rebels added a touchdown on a fumble return in the second along with two PAT’s by Ryan Ferreira for a halftime score of 20-0. Commerce scored their only points in the third quarter on a 22-yard run. However, Stephens County added to the score with a 59-yard touchdown run by Thornton in the third quarter to extend the lead to 26-6. The Rebels’ final points came in the fourth quarter on a 7-yard touchdown run by Chris Mayweather and an extra point by Ferreira to make the final score, 33-6.

Stephens County ends their season with a record of 4 wins and only 1 loss, their first season under Head Coach Matt Miller.

Stephens County gets a win on homecoming.

The Indians used 265 rushing yards from Ren Teasley and two scores from Dre Cunningham on the ground to wear down Oconee County and win 28-14 Friday night.

Stephens County jumped on top 14-0, but Oconee came back and tied the game on the first play of the second half on a 65-yard touchdown scamper by Jamie Stephens.

Stephens County though wore down Oconee with a 16-play, nine minute drive. Dacen Cash capped it off with a nine-yard touchdown run to give the Indians a 21-14 lead, a lead they would not relinquish.

Cunningham scored with under seven minutes left to cap the scoring.

The player of the game was cash and the lineman of the game was Brandon Nicholson.

In homecoming news, the queen was named. It is Jocelyn Dooley.

Stephens County is now 2-1 on the year in region play and 4-2 overall. They will travel to Morgan County next Friday.

The Stephens County Lady Indian Softball team has clinched a spot in the state playoffs.

They defeated Morgan County 4-3 yesterday in the Region 8-AAA tournament. The region tournament continues this weekend to determine positioning.

Previously in the region tourney, the Lady Indians beat the top team in the state, Oconee County.

The Stephens County Indians will look to get back on the winning track tonight at home in Region 8-AAA football.

The Indians will host Oconee County in a crucial region game. Not only is it Homecoming at Stephens County, but the Indians are looking to get back above .500 in the region.

Last week, the Indians lost to Eastside 38-14 to fall to 1-1 in the region and 3-2 overall.

This week’s test, the Oconee County Warriors, should prove just as tough. The Warriors enter the game with a 2-0 region record and 2-3 overall record.

Oconee County is led offensively by ace quarterback Zach Mettenberger. Mettenberger has verbally committed to the University of Georgia.

Stephens County Safeties Coach Kentrell Curry said the Warrior offense will pose some serious challenges to the Indian defense.

“With the spread offense, the short routes are kind of like establishing the run with our ‘I’ offense,” he said. “I think establishing the short routes first and then they are going to take a shot downfield later on. They have a lot of great guys. They run good routes, catch the ball well, and they have a great quarterback who is throwing it right to them. We have a lot of things we have to think about and defend against this week.”

Curry said the defense will stand tough, citing the experience and depth in the secondary.

Of course, you can catch all the action tonight between the Indians and the Warriors right here on AM 630 WNEG. It all starts at 5:30 p.m. with the Indian Tailgate Show. Coach’s Corner picks the coverage up at 7 p.m. and the pre-game show gets underway at 7:15 p.m. Kick-off at the Reservation between the Indians and Warriors is set for 7:30 p.m.

In other action around Region 8-AAA, Hart faces Eastside, Franklin squares off with Jackson, and Morgan takes on Elbert.

The Lady Indian softball team no-hits the number one team in the state.

In the first round of the Region 8-AAA tournament yesterday in Oconee County, Stephens County beat Oconee County 1-0.

They will face Morgan County Thursday in Oconee County.

Results are in for the annual Currahee Challenge road race.

In the six-mile division, 20-year old Terry O’Connor of Clemson, South Carolina was the overall winner and the overall male winner. 31-year-old Clint Sanders of Toccoa finished second and 17-year-old Nick Shurtz of Eastanollee finished third. 21-year-old Anna Slifka of Toccoa was the top overall female in the six-mile race.

Moving to the three-mile run, 54-year-old Bill Wright came all the way from Arizona to win. 13-year-old Cody Helgeland of Toccoa finished second and 20-year-old Courteney Cox of Toccoa finished third.

Wright was the top male and Cox was the top female in the three-mile race.

The Currahee Challenge run was held on the trail going up Currahee Mountain as part of the festivities surrounding Currahee Military Weekend last Saturday.

The Stephens County Middle School Rebels football team defeated Madison County Saturday night in Danielsville, 20-12. It was a come-from-behind victory for the Rebels as they trailed at one point, 12-6.

Rebel running back Chaz Thornton rushed for three touchdowns and over 200 yards, his third consecutive 200+ game. According to the Rebel coaches, quarterback Foster Westmoreland had a good game. The Rebel defense played well holding Madison County on a goal-line stand in the first half. Big defensive plays came from Timothy Bray, Jabacus Wiley, and Brandon Littleton. A turning point in the second half was a big punt from Paul Hopkins to change field position.

Stephens County improved to 3-1 and will play their final game of the season this Saturday night at the Reservation as they host Commerce. Kickoff will be at 7:00 p.m.

The Stephens County Indians suffer a Region 8-AAA football loss.

The Indians fell to Eastside 38-14 Saturday night in Covington, Georgia.

Stephens County got around 200 yards rushing and two touchdowns from Ren Teasley. However, Eastside used a number of big plays to score their 38 points.

The player of the game was J.R. Roberson and the lineman of the game was Matt Ward.

The Indians are now 1-1 in region play, while Eastside is 2-0. Overall, the Indians are 3-2.

Next up for the Indians is Oconee County at home this Friday night. AM 630 WNEG will have all the action live from the Reservation beginning at 5:30 p.m. with the tailgate show. “Coach’s Corner” starts at 7 p.m., the pre-game show starts at 7:15 p.m. Kick-off between Stephens and Oconee counties is set for 7:30 p.m.

The Stephens County Indians will square off in a special Saturday night football showdown this week.

Travis Noland and his team will head to Covington tomorrow to take on East Side in a crucial Region 8-AAA match-up.

Stephens County Assistant Coach Kirk Rogers says they have had a very good week of practice to prepare for East Side.

East Side and Stephens County both come into the game 1-0 in region play. The Indians pulled out a 21-17 nail-biter over Hart County last week, while East Side beat Elbert County.

As always, you can catch all of tomorrow night’s Indian football action on AM 630 WNEG. Airtime is at 7 p.m. with the Coach’s Corner. The pre-game show gets underway at 7:15 p.m. Kick-off between the East Side Eagles and Stephens County Indians is set for 7:30 p.m.

The Stephens County Lady Indians Softball team has finished their regular season and is now preparing for the Region 8-AAA Tournament coming up next week. The Lady Indians will be seeded number 7 in the 8-team field, after finishing the region with a 4 & 6 record and an overall mark of 11-17-1. Stephens County will open the double-elimination tournament against the number 1 team in the state, Oconee County, Tuesday at 3 o’clock in Watkinsville.