GAINESVILLE -- Despite not having coach Bruce Miller, Gainesville did not miss a beat Friday night in its annual showdown with cross-town rival Johnson.
Fred Payne paced the defense with three first half interceptions and Ray-Ray Thomas sparked the offense with two electrifying scoring plays in taking a 62-20 win at City Park Stadium in both teams' Region 8B-AAA opener.
Miller was suspended for the game after being ejected last week (for the first time in his career) for equipment violations in the Red Elephants' win over Franklin County.
The Elephants (4-1, 1-0 Region 8B-AAA) wasted little time in jumping on the undermanned Knights. They scored on their first possession and then forced four Johnson turnovers in the first quarter as they built a 35-0 lead after the first 12 minutes. They led 48-0 at halftime.
Quarterback Deshaun Watson had two touchdown runs and two TD passes in the first quarter and then Thomas took over in the second quarter. Thomas's first score came on a shifty 70-yard TD run and then he scored on a 46-yard pass from Stephen Mason, tight-roping down the sideline past four defenders over the final 10 yards.
The Gainesville defense also set the tone holding Johnson (0-5, 0-1) to just 26 yards rushing on 24 carries in the first half. The Red Elephants picked up where they left off to open the second half when Devon Pierce streaked 53-yards on their first possession for a 55-0 lead.
Johnson was able to finally get on the board when quarterback Luke Gilleland scored twice in the fourth quarter to make the score closer than the game indicated.
Thursday
May 8th, 2025
2:20PM
