CLEVELAND - Despite it being scheduled as the season finale for both the North Hall and White County football teams, it was a game many in the Region 7-AAA community looked at before the season began as a game that would have huge playoff implications.
But instead, both teams enter Friday night's 7:30 p.m. rivalry game at White County Stadium wondering what could have been if a just one or two plays had turned out different.
The Warriors (5-4, 4-4 in region) lost 10-7 to Gainesville, with the only touchdown in the game being scored on a 6-yard drive following a White County fumble. They also lost 7-6 to West Hall in a monsoon three weeks ago.
North Hall (5-4, 4-4) will be thinking about back-to-back losses to Pickens and Chestatee after holding leads in the second half.
"There are always a lot of plays in a season you can look back on and say 'That was the one' or 'This is the one,' but that's part of the game," White County coach Mark Wilson said. "We felt like we gave away two games and that is difference in us not playing for a playoff spot."
"It's easy to look back and think we should have won that one or that one. But in the end, we had a very young team experience-wise coming into this season and we knew it would take a while for things to come together," North Hall coach Bob Christmas said. "We feel like perhaps we should have won one of those games, but we didn't.
"But, right now I feel like we are playing our best football of the year and it's giving us something positive to build on for next year. That's our focus right now - not what could have been."
Christmas said their goal after being knocked out of the playoffs three weeks ago in the loss to Chestatee was to finish with a winning record for the senior class. Back-to-back wins over Gilmer and West Hall give the Trojans that chance.
"These seniors have meant a lot to the program and we want to send them out on a winning note. We may not have the playoffs to look forward to, but we feel we like we still have a lot to play for," Christmas said.
White County is looking for its first winning season since 2001 and Wilson said that was a goal of theirs before the opening kickoff of the season.
"We've been making progress each of the last three seasons and finishing with a winning record was one of our goals," Wilson said. "I think it adds a lot of spice to what is already a good rivalry game. Both teams really have a lot to play for. I expect it to be a tough, hard-hitting game, but a fun one for the fans."
The key matchup could be the North Hall offense, which has come alive averaging 39 points the last two weeks, and the Warriors defense, which is allowing just 15 points a game, and take out a double overtime 41-35 loss to Chestatee and they are yielding just 11 points a game.
"They have played great defense all year and I think this will be our biggest test all year other than the Gainesville game," Christmas said. "It should be a lot of fun."
Meanwhile, the White County offense has averaged 28 points a game over the last six weeks while the North Hall defense has allowed just 14 points a game over the past three games.
REGION 7-AAA STANDINGS WEEK 10
TEAM..............Region...................Overall
*Gainesville..........8-0-0...............8-1-0
*Flowery Branch...7-1-0...............8-1-0
*Pickens.............6-3-0...............7-3-0
*Chestatee.........5-3-0...............5-4-0
White County......4-4-0...............5-4-0
North Hall...........4-4-0...............5-4-0
Fannin County.....3-5-0...............4-5-0
West Hall...........3-5-0...............3-6-0
Johnson.............1-8-0...............1-9-0
Gilmer County.....0-8-0...............1-8-0
FRIDAY'S GAMES, 10-28
Flowery Branch at Gilmer, 7:30 p.m.
Fannin County at Chestatee, 7:30 p.m.
Gainesville at West Hall, 7:30 p.m.
North Hall at White County, 7:30 p.m.
(Johnson and Pickens are off)
LAST WEEK'S SCORES
Gainesville 27, Gilmer 7
Flowery Branch 41, Chestatee 13
Pickens 21, Fannin County 14
North Hall 36, West Hall 12
White County 42, Johnson 15
* - Teams qualified for state playoffs
(By Jeff Hart)
Thursday
May 15th, 2025
4:58AM
