By: Noah Johnson

 

The Lumpkin County Indians kicked off the 2022-2023 regular season against the Riverside Eagles on a rainy night in Dahlonega. The Indians came out dominant in the first quarter of the contest, scoring 21 unanswered points against the Eagles before the end of the quarter. The Eagles did not seem to have an answer for the Indian offense, using all three of their timeouts before the end of the quarter. The Eagles would respond in the final seconds of the first quarter with a 79-yard kick return to score the team’s first touchdown. That would be the only points gained by the Eagles as the Indians dominated the contest before and after the weather delay, coasting to a 61-7 victory in their home opener.

 

The Indians came into the contest reliant on the run game, and it worked well in their favor. As the rain began to fall, the Indians were in control of the game scoring their first touchdown within a minute of the quarter. The bulk of their success can be attributed to offensive back and the player of the week, #32 Mason Sullens. Sullens scored three rushing touchdowns before the end of the first quarter and proved to be a sparkplug for the Indian offense. In the final seconds of the quarter, the Eagles responded with a 79-yard kick return to the endzone making the score 21-7. 

The Indians had the ball at the beginning of the second quarter and put together a quality drive that ended up with a rushing touchdown by offensive back Cal Faulkner that put the Indians up 28-7. Four minutes into the second quarter the rain began to fall heavier and several on-field plays were resulting in multiple flags against each team. There was a significant delay as a player for the Riverside Eagles was injured and had to be carted off the field. The Eagles were unable to respond and were forced to punt with six minutes left in the quarter. Sullens would again rush for his 4th touchdown of the game, putting the Indians up 34-7 as the extra point was no good. The Eagle’s struggles on offense and defense would continue as the Indians recovered two back-to-back fumbles and returned them for touchdowns by Cal Faulkner and Will Wood, respectively. The Indians went to halftime up 47-7 against the Eagles. 

 

The resume of play after halftime was delayed due to lighting in the area. The lighting would subside and the teams began the third quarter with rain still pouring in. The Eagles would receive the ball at the beginning of the half, but were unable to score and turned it over on downs after a failed fake punt attempt. The Indians would put together another scoring drive as they went up 54-7 with six and a half minutes left in the third quarter. The Eagles were unable to get any offense cooking as they turned over the ball on downs with one minute left in the quarter. 

The Indians began the final quarter with another touchdown in the first minute, making the score 61-7. The Eagles were unable to best the impenetrable Indian defense in the final quarter, however, they did manage to stay alive on fourth down in the final minutes only to turn over the ball on downs with less than four minutes left in the contest. The Indians ran a final couple of running plays before kneeling the ball down to let the clock run out. The final score would be the Indians 61 and the Eagles 7. The Indians look to build on the momentum of this victory as they go to Blairsville to battle the Union County Panthers next Friday.