CLAYTON, Ga. — On the surface, the Pickens Blue Flame’s 70-14 road loss to the Rabun County (Ga.) Wildcats on Friday night looked like a lopsided beatdown of an overmatched team.

It wasn’t pretty. It wasn’t fun. What it was was a hard lesson learned a long way from home that will stick with the Blue Flame players, coaches and Pickens faithful for a long time.

The taste a loss of this magnitude leaves in your mouth is bitter indeed. It is

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