Elephants wary of repeating history against Chestatee in opener

GAINESVILLE - Gainesville football coach Bruce Miller is hoping history does not repeat itself as his Red Elephants prepare for their season opener Friday against Chestatee at City Park Stadium.

Two years ago Gainesville came into its game against the War Eagles heavily favored and having never lost to them in the brief series history only to come out with a 35-19 loss.

This year, the Red Elephants are ranked No. 2 in Class AAA with a high-powered offense while Chestatee looks to rebound from a 4-6 season. It's just the kind of receipe Miller does not find appetizing.

"You never know what can happen with high school kids in situations like these," Miller said this week. "We feel like we have one of the best teams we've had in a long time. We have speed on offense and people who can make plays and we think the defense is going to be good.

"But this is similar to a couple of years ago and they put one on us. Chestatee has several guys who can hurt you from anywhere on the field and I am sure they want to get a good start on their year. We will have to be ready to play."

Chestatee coach Stan Luttrell, however, said the Elephants have a couple of things the War Eagles do not.

"(Quarterback) Blake Sims and (receiver) Tai-ler Jones are the best duo in the region, if not one of the best in the state, and it is nearly impossible to contain them," Luttrell said. "Finding a way to stop those two is definitely the key."

Sims has committed to Alabama while Jones has committed to Stanford. In 2008, Sims accounted for more than 3,200 total yards of offense (2,453 passing, 822 rushing) and 42 total touchdowns. Jones caught 81 passes for 979 yards and 12 touchdowns and added another 104 yards rushing with a score.

But as dynamic as Sims and Jones are, Miller said they have a few "unsung heros" as well. The Elephants return eight starters on an offense that averaged over 37 points a game, including four linemen.

"(Running backs) Devon (Pierce) and Teryan (Rucker) had pretty good years last year and we would like to be a little more balanced and give them a few more opportunities," Miller said. "The line should be real good if everyone stays healthy. I think a lot of our success last year was because of those guys."

Chestatee returns Ben Souther to what should be another solid ground attack while Scott Chewning, who Luttrell said "was born to play quarterback," takes over for the graduated Ethan Souther.

"Ben Souther scares me to death," Miller said. "He can score from anywhere. I expect to see a lot of him so we will have to find a way to slow him down."

Both coaches, however, said balance and mistakes will be a key factor in Friday's game. As well as getting some breaks.

"We will have to be balanced and not give up any big plays," Luttrell said. "You always need a few lucky bounces so we're going to try to put ourselves into a position to get a few. You can never play a perfect game but we're going to have to be as close to mistake-free as you can get. This will be a huge challenge for us."

Miller said he would like to see a high-scoring game.

"We will run a lot of plays so that means we have the potential to make more mistakes," he said. "We can't make many against these guys and expect to win. If we can score some points, I like our chances. If Chestatee is able to control the ball and the clock, we will be in trouble. To me, that is the key to the game."