The Commerce Tigers will head out to square off against the Rabun County Wildcats at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Commerce, yet to win a game, are hoping to taste some of the success that has characterized Rabun County's (thus far) undefeated season.
On Friday, Commerce came up short against Elbert County and fell 16-6. The matchup marked the Tigers' lowest-scoring game so far this season.
Despite the loss, Commerce got top-tier performance from Jace Lyle, who rushed for 106 yards and one touchdown on only ten carries.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Rabun County). They claimed a resounding 62-21 win over Providence Christian Academy. The final result isn't all that surprising considering the Wildcats' considerable advantage in MaxPreps' Georgia football rankings (they are ranked 95th, while the Storm are ranked 347th).
Rabun County's win came from a few key players Commerce will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Reid Giles, who rushed for 135 yards and a pair of scores on only nine carries, and also caught one TD. That's the most rushing yards he has posted since back in October of 2024. Another player making a difference was Ty Truelove, who threw for 200 yards and three touchdowns while completing 92.3% of his passes.
Rabun County didn't let much get past them through the air: they limited Providence Christian Academy to a completion percentage of just 44%. That dominant aerial defense primarily came from two players: Giles and Jakaden Fruster, who each logged one passes deflected. Rabun County has been improving in that area: they had allowed a completion percentage of 0.58 earlier this season, but they've only allowed one of 0.58 in their last three games.
Rabun County's defense didn't let Hutson Moore, get away unscathed either: they got into the backfield for three sacks. The team can thank three different players for their defensive prowess: Ryan Yearwood, Takeo(TJ) Hilber, and Mack Williams, who each picked up one sack apiece.
Rabun County's victory bumped their record up to 6-0. As for Commerce, their defeat dropped their record down to 0-6.
Commerce didn't have too much breathing room in their contest against Rabun County in their previous matchup back in October of 2024, but they still walked away with a 42-38 win. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Giles, who rushed for 232 yards and three scores while picking up 11.6 yards per carry, and also picked up 61 receiving yards and one TD. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will the Tigers still be able to contain Giles? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
