North Oconee will prepare for it’s first adventure into region play this season.

In its first four years, North Oconee Head Football Coach Terry Tuley and his Titans have won 17 games, capped off with a spectacular 9-1 season last year.

Eight players returned on the offensive side of the ball for the Titans. The offensive line and receiver will be intact.

The question mark will be at quarterback, where it looks like Jamie Fullington (6-3, 190) will call signals for the Titans.

Joining Fullington in the backfield will be running back Steve Uhde (5-10, 180) and fullback Matt Carter (5-9, 190).

Defensively, the Titans returned six starters from last year’s team. North Oconee’s defensive coach has commented that his defensive line will be undersized and could be a problem against bigger teams in the region.

The Titans must replace All-State kicker Michael Pinkerton.

Prediction: This could be a tough game for the Tigers. It could be the difference in securing a No. 2 or No. 3 seed in the region. North Oconee may realize that playing the likes of Fannin, Dawson, Jefferson and Banks is not like playing Towns, Mt. Zion and Gordon Lee, the team’s they played last season.

Playing a region schedule will be a lot different than what they have played the last four years. The Titans may be in a must-win situation when they travel to Dawsonville.

Coach Tuley and his North Oconee team will finish the season with games against Fannin County and Jefferson.

Dawson County Head Football Coach Jeff Lee will try and focus his troops on football instead of the homecoming dance. This will be a difficult task, but I believe his senior-laden squad will prepare themselves in what could be the game of the year.

In a close one: Dawson County 21, North Oconee 20