Red Elephants survive slugfest with Creekview <b> (VIDEO) </b>

GAINESVILLE -- Gainesville got all it could handle, but in the end the Red Elephants survived a slugfest with Creekview to take a 42-37 win Friday in the first round of the Class AAAAA playoffs at City Park Stadium.<br /> <br /> Gainesville (9-2) traded scores with the Grizzlies (6-5) until scoring a pair touchdowns in a 1:35 span in the third and fourth quarters for just enough of a cushion to clinch their seventh straight first round playoff victory.<br /> <br /> Mikey Gonzalez threw for 118 yards and two touchdowns, including a 23-yard strike to Messiah Dorsey to reclaim the lead for good in the third quarter. Michael Byrd had a huge game on the ground for the Elephants rushing for 232 yards and getting the clinching touchdown early in the fourth quarter for a 42-31 lead.<br /> <br /> Those touchdowns erased a 31-28 Creekview lead after the two teams traded the lead four times in the third quarter. <br /> <br /> The Gainesville defense, despite allowing 37 points, sealed the win late and did a nice job on Creekview quarterback Kyle Wilkie, who came in with over 2,000 yards and 16 TD passes. Wilkie passed for 240 yards but had just one TD pass and was picked off twice by the Elephants to stop drives. They also held B.J. Smith, who came in with over 800 yards rushing, to just 79 yards on 22 carries, and also forced a fumble.<br /> <br /> "They just never quit and just kept playing," Gainesville coach Bruce Miller said. "They were scary on offense and our defense just did a great job at the end. You just want to survive and move on at this stage and that's what we did."<br /> <br /> The Red Elephants next will travel to Region 1-AAAAA champ Harris County, which held off Warner Robins 33-31 in its first round contest.