Friday March 29th, 2024 8:50AM

GHS, Hab Central face 'can't lose' game in critical 8-6A showdown

By Jeff Hart Sports Reporter

While Gainesville and Habersham Central’s Region 8-6A showdown on Friday at Raider Stadium may not be an absolute must-win for both teams, it certainly more than qualifies for a ‘can’t-lose’ game.

Both teams are coming off region-opening losses last week -- Gainesville fell to Dacula 37-7 while Habersham lost 38-10 to Lanier. Couple that with Apalachee’s stunning 7-6 upset of Winder-Barrow in their openers last week and the playoff scenarios in 8-6A suddenly have taken on a whole new dynamic.

And both Gainesville coach Heath Webb and Habersham Central coach Benjie Harrison are well aware.

“Just a huge game,” Harrison said. “Not necessarily an elimination game but the loser will have their backs against the wall, no doubt. That Apalachee win changes some things.”

“I know Winder is a little young in spots but I’m not sure we saw (Apalachee winning that one) coming,” said Webb, who was the coach of the Bulldoggs the past four seasons. “That opened some eyes I think. But (new Apalachee coach Tony) Lotti is a good coach.

“Considering that we’re both 0-1 right now, you can’t start this region 0-2 and expect to make the playoffs. For us we feel it’s a game we have to win at all costs. The loser isn’t out of it but it would be extremely, extremely difficult.”

Gainesville (0-6, 0-1 Region 8-6A) is also fighting more than just its opponents as the Red Elephants are mired in the program’s worst-ever start. But they also are just a minute and perhaps three or four plays from two or three wins. Webb said they are only looking at this week and not what has happened in the past.

“The streak is not on our minds at all,” Webb said. “Our goal is to be 1-0 this week. That’s the only thing we’re worried about. But there’s no doubt that a win would be huge for the confidence of this group.”

Offense has been the real issue for Gainesville, which sits 48th (72 points, 12.0 points per game) out of 58 Class 6A teams. Walt Dixon and Gionni Williams both have started games this season at quarterback. 

Dixon and Williams have continued an amazing trend for the Red Elephants. Beginning with Deshaun Watson’s final year in 2013, the pair of signal-callers make the program’s sixth and seventh different starters over those six seasons. Watson was the only starting quarterback in his four years at Gainesville and Blake Sims started the three seasons before that for just two quarterbacks over the same time span.

The Red Elephants do have senior running back Quintavious Hayes, who is having a breakout season and a big, but somewhat inexperienced, offensive line that at times has looked dominant and at other times looked its age. However, the Raiders defense has allowed 257 yards rushing a game so it’s a matchup that could be favorable for the Gainesville offense.

“We just haven’t been able to find any consistency on offense,” Webb said. “We’ve been able to run the ball pretty well most of the season but we’ve struggled in the passing game and you have to have balance in this region. Right now Walt and Gionni are battling for the starting spot this week. It will probably be a gametime decision.”

The Raiders (3-3, 0-1) started the season strong winning three of their first four games but are currently riding a two-game losing streak, including what Harrison felt was a frustrating loss last week. Habersham came into the Lanier game with a top 10 offense in Class 6A averaging over 33 points a game. But they gave up a pick-6 and a long punt return to set up another Longhorns score when the game was still very much in doubt. It was their lowest offensive output in two years.

“We just did not execute the way we had been up to that point,” Harrison said. “Lanier had a lot to do with that. They have a very tough, physical defense. Easily the best we’ve seen all year. But we also made a lot of mistakes.”

The Gainesville defense has played well at times, like holding a powerful Flowery Branch offense to just 21 points (the Falcons scored a touchdown on a blocked punt). They have struggled against power rushing teams but an athletic secondary has helped them hold their own against spread passing attacks, much like they’ll see in the Raiders.

Senior Habersham Central quarterback Tre Luttrell, who was the Red Elephants starting quarterback in 2017, is having a big year. He has 1,268 yards passing with 13 touchdowns and just 4 interceptions and is the leading rusher with 477 yards and 3 scores. Senior wide receiver Donnie Curry has 30 catches and 530 yards while senior receiver Dontarius Bailey has 318 yards and 6 TDs receiving.

“Gainesville still has a lot of talent,” Harrison said. “It should be a good matchup between our offense and their defense. But it will really be more about us just doing what we do. When we execute I feel we’re hard to stop.”

Matchups aside, both coaches realize that any thoughts of a playoff push begin with a win on Friday. For Harrison and the Raiders, however, a win could be just the catalyst they’ve been looking for as they try to take that next step toward elitism.

“Last week was disappointing considering the opportunity we had against one of the top programs around,” Harrison said. “This is another one of those opportunities. To get ourselves to the next level it’s time for our program to beat a program like Gainesville.”

For Webb and the Red Elephants, they are looking at Friday as a chance to hopefully turn the corner.

“There’s no doubt that we’re frustrated, but that’s just because we’re all competitive and want to win and we feel like we’ve had some chances,” he said. “We were inexperienced but now we have six games under our belts. We’re not anymore. Now it’s just about executing and getting better each day. Confidence is really all we need right now. A win Friday could give us just what we need to get things going.”

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