Blue Ridge- It took all 32 minutes of last night’s Region Semi-final matchup at Fannin County High School for the no. 1 seed Chattooga Indians to get the best of the no. 3 seed Dade County Wolverines.

Chattooga’s hard-nosed defense can be attributed to the 58-55 victory, as they buckled down in the last minute and locked up Dade County’s offense. It was a back and forth game for all four quarters, and it made sense that it came down to the final possession. Dade County found themselves with the basketball and a chance to tie it up, trailing 57-55 with less than 5 seconds left.

Dade County’s Brodie Swader brought the ball up the court and tried to split two Chattooga defenders in the lane, but Indians guard Brody Mobbs stepped in front of the driving Swader and took a charge. Chatooga would go on to get fouled on the ensuing possesion and hit 1/2, making it 57-55. Dade County’s full court heave was no good, leaving the Wolverines to battle it out in the 3rd place game tonight against Coosa. Chattooga will try to secure a Region 7AA title tonight as they tip off against Model. All games will be played at Fannin County High School.

After the game, Chattooga’s Jaylon Johnson was honored as the Region 7AA Player of The Year. Xavier Gray and Damien Smith were also named to the 7AA All Region first team, while Trey Smith was named to the second team.

Dade County’s Brodie Swader received first team honors, while David Cole and Brady Cooper received All Region second team honors.