Gilmer Dominates Second Half, Defeats Fannin 35-14

Bobcats Take Over After Halftime, Pull Away From Rival Fannin

 

ELLIJAY, Ga. — For two quarters, Gilmer and Fannin County looked like they were headed for another four-quarter rivalry battle.

 

Then the Bobcats took control.

 

Gilmer broke a 14-14 halftime tie by scoring 21 unanswered points after the break, pulling away for a 35-14 win over rival Fannin County and improving to 2-0 on the young season.

 

The Bobcats did it by controlling the line of scrimmage and leaning on a rushing attack that piled up 338 yards. Gilmer finished with 459 total yards and 23 first downs, while converting six of nine third downs.

 

Fannin finished with 274 total yards, but the Bobcat defense limited the Rebels to just 110 yards on the ground.

 

Peyton Chancey was the workhorse for Gilmer, carrying the ball 24 times for 145 yards and two touchdowns. J. Few added 66 yards on just five carries, while Ryan Rellinger rushed six times for 41 yards and a touchdown.

 

Quarterback AJ Callihan didn’t have to put the ball in the air often, but he was efficient when he did. Callihan completed 7-of-8 passes for 121 yards and a touchdown, with McCoy Sutton hauling in four passes for 81 yards.

 

Fannin struck first on a four-yard Cannon Holloway touchdown run before Rellinger answered with a 29-yard score to tie things at seven.

 

The Rebels jumped back in front in the second quarter when Holloway connected with Reid Holloway for a 59-yard touchdown, but Gilmer had an answer once again. Callihan found Sutton for a 10-yard touchdown to send the teams to the locker room tied at 14.

 

From there, the game belonged to Gilmer.

 

Chancey punched in a five-yard touchdown in the third quarter to give the Bobcats their first lead of the night. Sutton added a five-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth before Chancey finished things off with a one-yard score.

 

While Gilmer’s offense began to impose its will, the Bobcat defense slammed the door.

 

Fannin didn’t score a point in the second half. The Rebels finished just 3-of-10 on third down and 0-for-3 on fourth down, as Gilmer repeatedly got its defense off the field and gave the football back to an offense that was controlling the game on the ground.

 

The individual defensive numbers showed just how active the Bobcats were around the football. Douglas Callihan led Gilmer with eight total tackles and two tackles for loss. Peyton Chancey and Heath Hice each finished with seven total tackles, while McCoy Sutton recorded six. Mason West, Sutton, Chancey and Hice were each credited with at least one tackle for loss.

 

That second-half performance may have been the most impressive part of the night for Gilmer.

 

Fannin had found some success early, particularly through explosive plays, and went into halftime with 14 points. Holloway finished the night with 164 yards passing and added 64 yards on the ground, but Gilmer adjusted at the break and kept the Rebels off the scoreboard the rest of the way.

 

Meanwhile, the Bobcats continued to pound away offensively.

 

Gilmer’s ability to run the football, stay ahead of the chains and finish drives eventually wore Fannin down. What was a dead-even rivalry game at halftime turned into a convincing three-touchdown victory by the final horn.

 

It’s another impressive result for a Gilmer team that has opened the season 2-0. After knocking off Stephens County 43-28 in the opener, the Bobcats followed it up by taking care of one of their biggest rivals.

 

And for the second straight year, the rivalry belongs to Gilmer. The Bobcats defeated Fannin 42-24 a season ago and have now put up 77 points against the Rebels over the last two meetings.

 

More importantly, Gilmer has started the 2026 season with two quality wins and has shown it can win in different ways. Against Fannin, the formula was pretty simple: run the football, win at the line of scrimmage and make the right adjustments when it mattered most.