By MICHAEL BOYLAN and KEVIN WANDRA

An 8-0 start by the Fayette County Tigers has captured the imagination of their fans, who could witness the team clinch the region title with a win over their longtime rivals, the McIntosh Chiefs, this Friday. Photo/Michael Boylan.

The Fayette County Tigers have been taking things one step at a time this season and are now one victory away from a region title, their first in what some reports list as close to 50 years, and two steps away from a perfect regular season. The Tigers, ranked in the AJC poll at eighth in Class AAAA and fourth in the GaSports.com/Georgia Athletic Coaches Association poll, have clinched a playoff spot for the first time in 10 years.

“All of this is really neat,” Fayette coach Tommy Webb said. “I’m just excited for the school, players, coaches, student body and the whole city of Fayetteville. We’re feeling pretty special.”

Fayette County has come this far with an explosive offense that features a squadron of talented playmakers, including one of the top one-two punches in the state, dual-threat quarterback Brandon Boykin and bruising fullback Matt Daniels, who has scored one touchdown in every game and a region- and team-high 15 total, and running backs Tim Pettaway and Marquis Dixon.

When teams decide to focus on the run, Boykin and backup quarterback Andrew Prosser make defenses pay through the air, finding big tight end Barack Little and sure-handed wide receiver Terrow Davis.

Fayette’s experienced offensive line — all five starters are seniors — has opened gaping holes and given Boykin and Prosser plenty of time to pick apart opposing defenses from the pocket.

Fayette has the highest-scoring offense in the region — it has scored 222 points through eight games, an average of 27.8 points per game — and has been held to under 21 points only once (Sept. 14, a 14-10 win over Whitewater).

“Offensively, we have two key, big playmakers, Brandon and Matt, and our offensive line has come around,” Webb said. “With the talent we have, we thought, offensively, we would be fine.”

While the offense has been spectacular, the Tigers’ defense has been downright dominant. The defense has limited their opponents to a total of 68 points this season, an average of only 8.5 points a game, second best in Region 2-AAAA.

The Tiger’s tenacious defense forces turnovers and tends to bend and not break. Linebackers Devontae Partridge, Shemar Fletcher, Evan Reid and Josh Parker join safety Daniels and cornerbacks Boykin and Cuincy Carruthers as playmakers on a defense that has shut down some highly touted opposing players.

“I knew we had something special going on in the beginning of the year when we had two goal-line stands against Mt. Zion,” Webb said. “We knew then we could compete. I give a lot of credit to our defensive staff for coming up with a great scheme.”

It also appears that the surging Tigers are continuing to improve. In their last four games, Fayette County has defeated teams by 21, 28, 31 and 26 points.

Fayette County closes out the regular season with two county rivalry games. This Friday, the Tigers host McIntosh in their final home game of the regular season and a region championship is theirs with a win.

On Nov. 9, Fayette County travels to Starr’s Mill and will be looking for its first-ever win over the cross-county Panthers, who are 4-0 at home this season.

When the season started, people looked at the Fayette County roster and knew they had the talent to do something special, but few could have predicted a run like this.

“At the end of last year, our seniors (27 total) set the tone and worked hard in the off-season,” Webb said. “They busted themselves real hard in the heat during the summer. They put in a lot of hard work, but they had to start getting it done on Friday nights. We told the kids talk is cheap. The kids have really come together, competed each week and gained confidence.”