Football Recap: Northwest Whitfield Comes Up Short + How To Watch

It's hard to turn regular season success into postseason wins, a fact Northwest Whitfield can now relate to. They fell just short of the Oconee County Warriors by a score of 39-37 on Friday. The Bruins lost against the Warriors in their previous head to head back in November of 2019, too, but the margin this time around was much closer than the 41-14 score last time.

Gavin Nuckolls

Passer Rating

10/24/25 vs Ridgeland	169.5
09/12/25 @ Southeast Whitfield County	163.2
11/14/25 vs Oconee County	161.2
09/20/25 @ Gilmer	149.3
09/26/25 vs Heritage	143.8
+ 6 more games

When it comes to explaining why Northwest Whitfield lost, don't look at Gavin Nuckolls. Despite the final result, he threw for 340 yards and five touchdowns while completing 81% of his passes, and also rushed for 33 yards. Nuckolls' passing game has become a key predictor of the Bruins' success: the team is 6-1 when his passer rating is 100 or higher, but only 1-3 otherwise. Kade Mitchell was in the mix as well, providing Northwest Whitfield with two scores.

Oconee County's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Darius Darden, who rushed for 87 yards and a pair of TDs. Darden also put in work on the defensive side of the ball, picking up a sack and making three total tackles. Brody Hannah was another key player, rushing for 69 yards and one touchdown.

Northwest Whitfield has been struggling recently as they've lost three of their last four contests. That's put a noticeable dent in their 7-4 record this season. As for Oconee County, they are on a roll lately: they've won six of their last eight games. That's provided a nice bump to their 7-4 record this season.

Northwest Whitfield does not have any more games scheduled as of now. As for Oconee County, they will face off against West Laurens at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. That matchup will pit two of the most dominant backs against one another: Caiden Wood and Ty Cummings.