GAINESVILLE - Despite the dominating performances most of the season, the Class AAA No. 1-ranked Gainesville Red Elephants have not yet clinched the Region 7-AAA title.
They can do that Friday on the road against Fannin County.
Coach Bruce Miller said playing for a region title is something special and they are not taking anything lightly.
"Anytime you have a chance to win a championship of any kind for any team it means a lot . It was one of our goals at the beginning of the season and that also makes it special," Miller said. "The kids are hungry to get another (region title) and they've been focusing on playing Fannin and not slipping up."
The Red Elephants (8-0, 8-0) have been rolling the last three weeks averaging 45.6 points a game but need to win at least one of the last two games to clinch. North Hall, with just one loss - to Gainesville - could still win the region if the Elephants drop their last two games.
Miller said Fannin is playing some of the best football in the region right now. The Rebels (4-4, 4-4) won two of their last three games and put up 41 on Chestatee last week, which had been playing pretty well defensively over the last month.
"That was impressive because Chestatee had done some good things against Pickens and West Hall to slow them down," Miller said.
Miller said recent injuries to the defensive secondary - most noticeably Carlos Cobb and John Castleberry, both of whom have been out with broken ankles - has left them a little vulnerable.
"They have a very quick receiver and a pretty good quarterback and they put a lot pressure on the (defensive) backfield, which is where most of our injuries are, so that's something that concerns me," he said.
However, Miller said they are preparing for Fannin and the playoffs by taking care of their problems and going back to the basics
"The last two weeks we've been working on the fundamentals of the game, like holding on to the ball," he said. "It's hard to work on those during the playoffs because you have a short amount of time to prepare for the next opponent. We can't be making the kinds of mistakes we made the last couple of weeks."
Gainesville managed to beat West Hall despite seven turnovers.
"We were very lucky to escape that game with a win," Miller said.
Wednesday
July 2nd, 2025
7:08AM
