Gainesville, Flowery Branch, and Buford all advanced to the third round of the state football playoffs Friday night -- and each did so in their own way.
Four-time defending Class AA champion Buford (12-0) had little trouble in a 31-0 win over Jefferson County, holding the Warriors to 85 total yards of offense.
Gainesville (11-1), meanwhile, never trailed but needed a first-ever career field goal from Aiden Reising to beat Monroe of Albany, 16-13 in Class AAA.
And for a second straight week Flowery Branch (11-1) had to rally for a win, this time using 14 fourth-quarter points to knock off Thomas County Central 31-21 in Class AAAA.
Stephens County, however, saw its season end in a 40-14 loss to Cairo on the road in Class AAA. And North Gwinnett remained winless against south Georgia schools in recent playoff games, suffering a 17-7 home loss to Colquitt County in Class AAAAA.
The Red Elephants, Falcons and Wolves will now practice through the Thanksgiving holiday in preparation for next week's Elite Eight contests.
Gainesville will find out on Saturday -- via coin-flip -- whether it will play host to or travel to battle fellow No. 1 seed Sandy Creek in the next round. The defending Class AAA champion Fighting Patriots (12-0) are currently riding the state's longest intact win streak at 41 after defeating Troup 42-14 in the second round.
Flowery Branch, meanwhile, knows it will head back on the road, traveling to face top-seeded Tucker (12-0) next week after the Tigers defeated Griffin 46-0 in the first round.
Buford will stay at home for the holidays for certain, however, as the the Wolves will play host to third-seeded Elbert County (11-1) after the Blue Devils defeated Cook County 28-7 in the Class AA second round.
AREA SCORES FROM SECOND ROUND PLAYOFFS, NOV. 18
Colquitt County 17, North Gwinnett 7
Flowery Branch 31, Thomas County Central 21
Gainesville 16, Monroe 13
Cairo 40, Stephens County 14
Buford 31, Jefferson County 0
THIRD ROUND PLAYOFF GAMES FOR AREA TEAMS, NOV. 25
Flowery Branch at Tucker
Gainesville vs. Sandy Creek (site TBD)
Elbert County at Buford
Monday
June 9th, 2025
3:43PM
