GAINESVILLE - Johnson won big while North Hall lost a tough game to Gainesville last week.
But both football teams feel they are playing their best football right now. And they meet Friday at The Brickyard at North Hall in a battle for second place in Region 7-AAA and possibly a chance to host a first-round state playoff game.
"It's huge game," North Hall coach Bob Christmas said. "We feel like we have the best home crowd in the region and to be able to host a playoff game would big a big event and a great chance to advance. This is probably a bigger game than last week."
"We would love to have a playoff game at home. As long as we don't stumble down the stretch, this game probably will decide who gets that other home game. No doubt this is the biggest game of the year right now," Johnson coach Blair Armstrong said.
Armstrong also said flip a coin over who has the advantage.
"They probably have the edge offensively and they're at home, but we probably have the edge on defense so it's going to be a test for both of us. It should be a great high school battle," he said.
If it's anything like last year's game, the fans will be in for a treat. North Hall (4-1, 4-1) won last year's game 14-6 and stopped the Knights (5-1, 5-1) on the final drive deep in its territory to preserve the win.
"We just kind of ran out of time but that was a great game to be a part of. It may be even better this year," Armstrong said.
Both teams come in at full strength with no major injuries. the key matchup will be between the Johnson defense, which is allowing just 7.9 points a game, and the North Hall offense, which is averaging 38.1 points a game.
"Johnson is sound all the way around and that defense is tough. They held Gainesville to nothing in the second half so we're going to work hard to get anything," Christmas said.
Armstrong said the challenge from his perspective is how to stop North Hall's triple-threat ground attack.
"(T.J.) Pitts is fast and (Beau) Whitemire and (Michael) Christmas give them a tough duo in the middle and their quarterback (Corey Hutchins) can run and pass so that's a lot of weapons. I don't know how Gainesville held them to just 21 points," Armstrong said.
For Johnson on offense, B.J. Jackson had perhaps his game of the year rushing for 114 yards and scoring three times in the win over Flowery Branch.
"He's had more yards but blocking, running and doing the little things that was his best game. He's capable of doing that every game and hopefully that was his breakout game," Armstrong said.
Monday
June 30th, 2025
5:05PM
