MT. AIRY — Already riding a two-game losing streak, Gainesville could ill-afford to see it become its longest since 2007 against Habersham Central Friday night in a crucial Region 8-AAAAAA opener for both teams.
The Red Elephants defense made sure it wouldn’t. They held the high-flying Raiders offense to just 64 total yards in the second half as the offense used a pair of third quarter touchdowns to pull away for a 24-7 win at Raider Stadium.
Red Elephants’ defensive linemen Herve Aklotsoe, Zion Williams, Mandrell Banks, and Keith Harris harassed Habersham Central quarterback Cole Wilbanks all night piling up five sacks, six quarterback hits, and forced quick throws as Wilbanks finished just 15-of-39 for 99 yards and two interceptions.
They also held Raiders running back Michael Babers to his lowest output of the season (17 carries, 58 yards, 0 touchdowns).
“I thought the defense as a whole played very well and the guys up front were outstanding,” Gainesville coach Bruce Miller said. “We talked all week about having to play well because their offense is explosive.”
Gainesville quarterback DJ Irons, meanwhile, put the offense on his back connecting on 19-of-31 passes for 285 yards and three touchdowns. But none were bigger than an 84-yard bomb to Jim Barnett early in the third quarter to extend a slim Gainesville lead to 17-7. The Raiders never recaptured the momentum.
The only real concern was that the Red Elephants ground game managed just 62 yards. They came in averaging just 39 yards rushing on the season.
“That was a huge play for us,” Miller said. “DJ played well and the offense made some big plays when we needed them. But I would like to see us get our run game going. We’re going to need it at some point.”
Habersham Central coach Benji Harrison wore the frustration on his face afterwards. It was the lowest output of the season for his Raiders, who had just 183 total yards. They came into the game leading Region 8-AAAAAA in scoring at more than 28 points a game.
“I definitely feel we’re a better team than we showed tonight,” Harrison said. “But our defense battled. (Irons) can extend plays and we talked about that during the week and that was the difference.”
The only other second half score also came in the third quarter when Irons found Tyriq Kabir on a short pass over a blitzing Raiders defense for a 9-yard touchdown and a 24-7 lead with 4:33 left.
The defenses controlled the fourth quarter as three times Habersham was stopped on downs and Gainesville once.
After forcing Habersham Central (4-2, 0-1 Region 8-AAAAAA) to punt on the opening drive of the game, the Red Elephants (3-3, 1-0) got the first big play of the game when Irons connected with Andy Hayes on a 61-yard bomb to the Raiders 13. The drive stalled, however, and Brandon Reyna capped the drive with a 30-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead midway through the first quarter.
The teams traded punts and Habersham Central mounted its best drive of the game. Wilbanks was 2-of-4 on the drive for 19 yards and then capped the 13-play drive with a 5-yard serpentine run and then bowled his way into the end zone to give the Raiders a 7-3 lead early in the second quarter.
The teams again traded punts and then Gainesville put together a 10-play drive, with Irons going 5-of-6 for 68 yards, including a 21-yard touchdown pass to KD Smith on third down with 2:11 left in the half, for a 10-7 lead. The scoring play came one play after the Red Elephants had a 19-yard touchdown pass nullified on a penalty.
The Red Elephants defense gave the offense one last chance late in the half when Kris Montague intercepted Wilbanks at the Raiders 41. But three incomplete passes forced Gainesville to punt and the Raiders ran out the final 32 seconds of the half.
“We just couldn’t get anything going at all,” Harrison said. “We missed a lot of opportunities in the first half.”
Montague had a big first half to pace the Gainesville defense adding eight tackles to his interception.
In the first half neither team really established much consistency. Irons finished 10-of-17 for 145 yards and one touchdown but managed just 35 yards rushing.
The Raiders got 54 yards rushing but Michael Babers was held to just 32 yards and his longest gain was just 6-yards. Wilbanks was just 8-for-20 for 65 yards and was under pressure most of the half. Their longest play from scrimmage was just 13 yards.
Barnett finished with five catches for 112 yards and Hayes had six catches for 96 yards to lead eight Gainesville receivers.
In the pivotal third quarter, Habersham had the ball for just nine plays on three 3-and-outs.
SCORING SUMMARY
Gainesville......3....7....14....0 -- 24
Hab Central.....0....7.....0....0 -- 7
First Quarter
GHS - Reyna 30 FG 3-0, 6:18
Second Quarter
HCHS - Wilbanks 5 run (Hotard kick) 7-3, 9:58
GHS - KD Smith 21 pass from Irons (Reyna kick) 10-7, 2:11
Third Quarter
GHS - Barnett 84 pass from Irons (Reyna kick) 17-7, 9:16
GHS - Kabir 9 pass from Irons (Reyna kick) 24-7, 4:33
