Strong Second Half Leads Macon County To 48-6 Victory Over Fulton; Brennan Flowers Rushes For 3 TDs

By Michael Lindsay

The Class 4A defending state champion Macon County Tigers started off the 2025 season in style Saturday night at Pat Parker Memorial Field as they cruised to a 48-6 victory over the Fulton Falcons.

“Our fans showed out and packed the stadium tonight,” said Macon County head coach Kyle Shoulders. “I’m thankful we’re able to produce an environment that these kids can continue to enjoy.”

The Tigers led 14-6 at halftime before scoring 34 unanswered second-half points. Junior running back Brennan Flowers scored 3 rushing touchdowns and 79 yards on 9 carries while Xavier Bentley racked up 137 rushing yards and a score. Senior quarterback Matthew Wheeley went 3-3 through the air for 56 yards and a touchdown.

“It all starts with the guys up front,” said Flowers. “When they get a good push, we can go places.”

“Brennan is able to throw his weight around and can move like an athlete,” said Shoulders. “He has a key role for us offensively and defensively; he had to play both ways tonight.”

Special teams was the name of the game Friday as senior kicker Eli Gammon and the Tigers recovered two kickoffs and recovered a fumble in the win.

“Special teams has always been a priority of ours,” said Shoulders. “We have a phenomenal kicker (Gammon) on our football team, and he’s got a lot of good guys around him.”

After a scoreless first quarter, Macon County broke through late in the first quarter as Flowers broke loose for a 17-yard touchdown run with 1:14 remaining in the second period to give the Tigers a 7-0 lead.

The ensuring Gammon kickoff was fielded by Macon County’s Bradley Crawford to give the Tigers possession back at the Fulton 28-yard line. Wheeley connected with Bentley on a touchdown pass on the next play for Macon County’s second touchdown in 9 seconds, giving the Tigers a 14-0 lead with 1:05 left until halftime.

Fulton answered on the final play of the first half as the Falcons scored on a 12-yard touchdown pass, but Macon County’s Camren Miller blocked the extra point to make the score 14-6 at halftime.

“If we’re going to operate on a state championship level, the first half has got to clean up,” said Shoulders. “We had a lot of self-inflicted wounds, but those are things we can change.”

Macon County took control in the third quarter as Flowers punched in a pair of goal-line touchdowns along with a Bentley 13-yard touchdown run to take a 34-6 lead with 2:02 remaining in the third.

The Tigers found the end zone two more times in the fourth quarter as Bradyn Hasse and Ricardo Mendez rushed in a touchdown each to secure Macon County’s 48-6 victory.

The 1-0 Macon County Tigers are scheduled to hit the road next week for a non-region showdown at rival Westmoreland (0-1).