Thursday March 28th, 2024 4:58AM

Week 9: Gainesville halts skid, as area teams continue course for late-season showdowns

One area team halted a streak in a big way, while plenty more set up big finishes during Week 9 of prep football around northeast Georgia.

Gainesville got its first win of the season -- and first of the Heath Webb era -- as the Red Elephants fended off Winder-Barrow 20-7 at City Park. It was an emotional night for the Red Elephants on a number of levels, but -- most importantly -- it kept Gainesville in the thick of the Region 8-6A playoff hunt.

Plenty more teams saw their playoff picture get that much clearer on Friday, including in Region 8-2A.

(NOTE: To see a round-up of Friday's scores from around the area scroll down. And visit our Friday Game Night page for video highlights and game stories.)

Rabun County and Union County set up a huge showdown for the Region 8-2A crown, as the two mountain rivals each won to stay undefeated in region play, the Wildcats hammering Social Circle 63-7 and the Panthers drilling Oglethorpe County 56-0. The two foes face one more region foe before facing off on Nov. 2 in Tiger. Banks County also ended a two-game skid and got back in the thick of the playoff race with a 24-12 defeat of Putnam County.

Region 7-4A, on the other hand, saw plenty of scenarios thrown into the air, as Denmark nipped White County 28-27 in Alpharetta to deny the Warriors consolidating their hold on the fourth playoff spot. Meanwhile, Marist blanked a beat-up Flowery Branch team 20-0 in Atlanta to set up a region title showdown between Marist and Blessed Trinity next week after the Titans shut out Chestatee 42-0.

The Region 8-3A crown was decided on Friday, as No. 3 Monroe Area overcame Jefferson 35-21 at Memorial Stadium. Jackson County also fell 24-6 to Franklin County and East Jackson suffered a 56-0 defeat to Hart County.

North Hall and Dawson County also continued on their collision course, as each won handily in Region 7-3A. The Trojans blitzed Lumpkin County 70-0, while the Tigers ran away from Fannin County 53-7. The two teams are currently set for a battle for the No. 2 seed in 7-3A, as Greater Atlanta Christian pulled away from Cherokee Bluff 45-7.

In Region 8-A, Commerce stayed undefeated at 8-0 on the season witha  49-7 win at Towns County, while Riverside Military suffered a hardfought 17-7 loss to Hebron Christian.

FRIDAY'S AREA PREP FOOTBALL SCORES
Banks County 24, Putnam County 12

Blessed Trinity 42, Chestatee 0

Commerce 49, Towns County 7

Dacula 49, Habersham Central 7

Dawson County 53, Fannin County 7

Denmark 28, White County 27

Franklin County 24, Jackson County 6

Gainesville 20, Winder-Barrow 7

Greater Atlanta Christian 45, Cherokee Bluff 7

Hart County 56, East Jackson 0

Hebron Christian 17, Riverside Military 7

Lanier Christian Academy 28, Griffin Christian 12

Marist 20, Flowery Branch 0

Monroe Area 35, Jefferson 21

North Hall 70, Lumpkin County 0

Prince Avenue Christian 55, Lakeview Academy 6

Rabun County 63, Social Circle 7

Union County 56, Oglethorpe County 0

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