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The Week Twelve Game of the Week takes us to Jackson County as both the Panthers and visiting Habersham Central Raiders seek to make history in this bona fide Region Championship game.
JACKSON COUNTY
The Panthers have been around since 1980. Jackson County has had some really good teams along the way. A few things they’ve never done – win 10 games in a season, make it past the first round of the playoffs, and win a region championship. The Panthers can check one of those boxes tonight if they can beat the Raiders to claim the 8-AAAAA trophy. This is quite easily the best team Jackson has had by nearly every metric, including the best offense, defense, and the eight wins is tied for the program record. The backfield sophomore duo of Daylen Maxwell and Jayson Lee are combined for more than 2,000 yards from scrimmage with 30 TDs. That’s the bread and butter.
HABERSHAM CENTRAL
The Raiders have 10 more years in existence than the Panthers, and have had five region titles. However, Habersham Central hasn’t had a shot at getting one in nearly 20 years. It was 2006-07 when the Raiders won back-to-back region crowns with a King by the first name of Tavarres. Hab Central has had other solid teams since 2007, notably the 2018 7-win, second round team, but this is the best team the Raiders have fielded in a long time. Donnie Warren is a top-10 running back in the state, and Paris Wilbanks is a solid QB with several receivers to rely on. But that defense might be the best since 2008, and the combination of those things has Habersham in a rare position.
BY THE NUMBERS
JACKSON COUNTY
- 8-1 (5-0 in 8-AAAAA)
- Region Standings: T-1st
- 45.0 OFFENSE AVG (3rd in Class 5A)
- 10.78 DEFENSE AVG (4th in Class 5A)
- #8 State Ranking
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HABERSHAM CENTRAL
- 7-2 (5-0 in 8-AAAAA)
- Region Standings: T-1st
- 31.44 OFFENSE AVG
- 15.11 DEFENSE AVG
- N/A State Ranking
GAME HIGHLIGHTS
Be looking for highlights post-game later tonight as well as a story recapping the contest. BLITZ partners with Fox 5’s 11 PM “High 5 Sports” show throughout the season. We make sure to get Habersham Central coverage on the big market show! You can also follow us on Twitter (@BlitzSportsGa) for live score updates (5G pending).
OUR PREDICTION
We typically make a case for both, with our official pick linked below. Let’s begin with the home team, the Panthers. If that sophomore backfield runs on the Raiders like Cherokee Bluff and Flowery Branch did, it’s going to spell doom for Habersham. The tough thing is even if you load the box on those guys, QB RJ Knapp (13 TD, 1 INT) can pick you apart with the short passes. If Jackson gets ahead early by more than one possession, they’ll likely win this. The Raiders need to do the old clichés early and often – no turnovers, limit the penalties, and convert on third down both offensively and defensively. They need a near flawless game to pull out a win on the road of this magnitude. OUR PICK: SEE HERE
DO WE BRING LUCK?
For Habersham Central, the Raiders have gone 19-36 overall in our 55 games covered for them going back to 2009.
DETAILS OF THE MATCHUP
TIME: 7:30 PM Kickoff
PLACE: Jackson Co HS / Panther Stadium / Hoschton, GA
LAST MEETING: 2024: Jackson County 34, Habersham Central 21
ALL-TIME RECORD: Habersham leads 9-2 in the all-time series
RECORDS: #8 Jackson County Panthers (8-1) vs Habersham Central Raiders (7-2)
HEAD COACHES: Korey Mobbs (86-44; 12 Seasons); Benji Harrison (58-88; 14 Seasons)
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING
These teams have some good history going, and some interesting storylines as well. First, Habersham has owned the series at 9-2 all-time. However, Jackson County won last year and in 2022. The Raiders won the 2023 version, and the first eight from 1998-2007. Habersham’s recent win in ’23 was in overtime, and last year’s 34-21 was relatively close throughout. These two head coaches have a fairly similar start time, though Benji Harrison has a couple years on Korey Mobbs. Harrison was the former Jackson County coach from 2012-14, netting the Panthers a couple of playoff runs. These guys have actually squared off seven times, mostly when Mobbs was at Lanier. The region foes of Habersham and Lanier went at it each year from 2016-2020, and Mobbs came out victorious the first four times before the Raiders won in 2020. Mobbs has the 5-2 edge over Harrison in head-to-head battles.
TEAM LEADERS (2025 Stats)
*Stats accumulated by team-published data on Ga MaxPreps
JACKSON COUNTY
PASSING
RJ Knapp III – 1,553 yds, 13 TD, 1 INT, 66% completion
RUSHING
Daylan Maxwell – 1,235 yds, 18 TD, 7.8 YPC
Jayson Lee – 574 yds, 12 TD, 8.7 YPC
RJ Knapp III – 119 yds, 0 TD, 6.0 YPC
Kaleb Clark – 103 yds, 3 TD, 5.7 YPC
RECEIVING
Silas McDaniel – 483 yds, 6 TD, 31 rec
Daylan Maxwell – 243 yds, 0 TD, 12 rec
Landon Jones – 242 yds, 4 TD, 15 rec
Robert Spry – 239 yds, 2 TD, 17 rec
Maddox Griswold – 174 yds, 2 TD, 9 rec
Kaleb Clark – 77 yds, 1 TD, 7 rec
DEFENSIVE LEADERS
Noah Bade – 84 TKL, 6 TFL, 4 Sacks, 1 BLK
Tyler Mobbs – 70 TKL, 2 INT
Deacon Wiley – 57 TKL, 13 TFL, 1 Sack, 1 FR, 1 FF
Caylor Phillips – 57 TKL, 8 TFL, 1 Sack, 1 FR, 1 FF, 1 BLK
Maher Magness – 50 TKL, 1 TFL, 1 BLK
Bryce Garrison – 37 TKL, 1 FR
Slade Swierczek – 30 TKL, 11 TFL, 3.5 Sacks, 1 FF, 1 BLK
Mason Allen – 27 TKL, 1 TFL, 1 Sack, 2 INT, 1 FF, 1 BLK
HABERSHAM CENTRAL
PASSING
Paris Wilbanks – 1,283 yds, 12 TD, 4 INT, 55% completion
RUSHING
Donnie Warren – 1,429 yds, 17 TD, 7.3 YPC
Paris Wilbanks – 260 yds, 6 TD, 3.8 YPC
Hayden Copous – 68 yds, 1 TD, 4.5 YPC
RECEIVING
Jay Feltus – 567 yds, 6 TD, 35 rec
Tylon Davis – 247 yds, 1 TD, 21 rec
Drake Roland – 203 yds, 1 TD, 12 rec
Donnie Warren – 146 yds, 1 TD, 13 rec
DEFENSIVE LEADERS
Jackson Adams – 63 TKL, 9.5 TFL, 5 Sacks
Noah Harkins – 63 TKL, 7 TFL, 1 Sack, 1 FF
Griffin Cunningham – 61 TKL, 6.5 TFL, 1 INT, 2 FF
CJ Davis – 60 TKL, 14.5 TFL, 5 Sacks, 1 FR, 1 FF, 1 BLK
Parks York – 55 TKL, 9.5 TFL, 3 INT, 1 FR
Sutton Porter – 51 TKL, 0.5 TFL, 2 INT, 3 FR, 1 FF
Gio Ethridge – 37 TKL, 1 TFL
Hudson Gailey – 33 TKL, 2 TFL, 1 FR
Sawyer Burgess – 29 TKL, 2 TFL, 1 INT, 1 FF
