RABBITTOWN — The score itself is enough to make any statistician reach for the Advil to combat the onset of writer's cramp.
Habersham Central outsugged East Hall 72-55 Friday night at East Hall Stadium in a football game that would make both school's basketball program's envious. It also probably gave most of the defensive coaches ulcers.
The Raiders (1-0) piled up 853 yards of total offense, including a ridiculous 671 yards rushing. The Vikings (0-1) had 648 total yards, including 499 through the air. That's a combined total of 1,501 yards.
Four combined touchdowns, two by each squad, were scored in the first four minutes and a Austin Parker 9-yard touchdown run gave East Hall a 21-20 lead heading into the second quarter. But Habersham exploded in the second quarter getting a pair of touchdown passes from quarterback A.J. Curry, one each to Donovan Curry and Jim Barnett, to cap a 23-point quarter and pull away for a 43-27 halftime lead. The Raiders never trailed again.
East Hall pulled within 50-39 by the end of the third quarter on a 74-yard touchdown strike from Parker to Sedrion Morse but the Raiders pushed the lead back to 57-39 on the third of Daniel Matkovic's four touchdowns from 3-yards out. Matkovic's final score came with 4:38 left on a 19-yard run to put the game out of reach for good.
Matkovi finished with 240 yards on 20 carries (a 12-yard average) while teammate Baylor Hinshaw amassed 249 yards and two scores on 27 carries to lead Habersham. Curry finished with 182 yards passing and three touchdowns to go with 165 yards rushing and one touchdown.
Parker was 21-of-32 for 449 yards passing with five touchdowns for the Vikings. Morse was his favorite target with 6 catches for 188 yards and three touchdowns. Tripp Rider had 98 yards receiving and one touchdown catch and Mon Prather also had one touchdown catch.
Cambren Harrison had 126 yards rushing and two touchdowns for East Hall.
The numbers could have been even bigger if not for the 24 combined penalties and 257 total penalty yards for the game.
