GAINESVILLE — New turf. New scoreboard. New uniforms.
Despite preseason talk of changes for both offenses, however, Friday's scrimmage between North Hall and Gainesville displayed the styles fans of each have come to know well in a 21-7 North Hall win Friday night in both squads' scrimmage at The Brickyard.
The Trojans ran their patented wing-T while the Red Elephants opened in what looked liked their old spread offense, even after a coaching change and philosophy. But both were overshawdowed by a pair of hard-hitting defenses, at least in the first half.
The Red Elephants denied a long pass for a touchdown on fourth down for the Trojans when junior defensive back Keshaun White got a late hand in to strip the ball and keep it scoreless in the first quarter. Gainesville thwarted another potential North Hall scoring drive in the second quarter when junior JD Brooks belted Daniel Jackson, causing a fumble inside Red Elephants territory.
The North Hall defense answered in kind, however, including a Luke Gunter sack and strip of Gainesville quarterback Walt Dixon and an Austin Sullens recovery. But Erin Sanchez's 37-yard field goal try on the ensuing possession sailed wide right after a bad snap disrupted the timing.
All in all, though, both coaches were optimistic about what they saw in the first live action against competition.
"Our defense played lights out I thought," North Hall's David Bishop said. "For us, especially in the first half, it was about finishing on offense. We had the pass that was right there, the fumble, the missed field goal. We felt like we gave ourselves some chances. Overall though, pretty pleased with what we saw."
"The defense was real good I thought, especially in the first half," first-year Gainesville coach Heath Webb said. "We were competing and that's what I was looking for. Happy overall."
The Trojans, though, took control in the second half. The Trojans scored on a 63-yard Jackson touchdown run and then JT Fair scored on a 15-yard run later in the quarter for a 14-0 lead. Drew Faulkner added a 3-yard touchdown run early in the fourth for North Hall.
Gainesville avoided the shutout with a 12-yard touchdown pass from sophomore Tristan Lyon to Lenny Chatman with just 3 seconds left.
Dixon, a junior, was locked in a three-way battle for the starting quarterback job with and played the entire first half. Lyon came on later.
"(Dixon) may have won it for now but there is still plenty of competition for the job," Webb said.
CORBETT SHINES IN JOHNSON SCRIMMAGE -- The Knights' senior quarterback scored four touchdowns in a 28-21 win over Chestatee on Friday in Oakwood. Corbett rushed for three scores and passed to Jairo Vargas for a TD. Meanwhile, the Johnson defense forced two turnovers -- a fumble recovery and an interception by Caleb Jackson. ... Quarterback Christian Charles, Hunter Chambers and ninth grade QB Hayden Gowin each put up scores for the War Eagles.
BANKS PUTS UP TWO LONG TDS -- In their first action under new coach Jay Reid, the Leopards used a 65-yard touchdown run from Terrance Walker and an 83-yard scoring strike from Sawyer Pace to Jacob Lehotski to knot Aquinas 14-14 in the third quarter. Aquinas went on to win 20-14.
UNION, HABERSHAM OFFENSES ROLL -- No score was kept, but each offense thrived, scoring five touchdowns apiece. Union County quarterback Pierson Allison finished 16-for-20 for 178 yards and 3 TDs, as he slid into the varsity starting position. He also rushed for 32 yards.
DAWSON COUNTY RUSHING ATTACK ROLLS -- Tigers starters SeVaughn Clark and Ahmad Kamara each rushed for touchdowns -- Clark in the first half -- in a 28-14 win over North Forsyth. Dawson County back-up quarterback Riley Herndon also rushed and passed for a score in a contest that was 7-7 at half
WHITE COUNTY BUILDS EARLY LEAD -- Warriors quarterback J Ben Haynes lofted a 38-yard touchdown pass to Cooper Turner for 6-0 lead at the half of White County's eventual 13-7 win over Stephens County. The Warriors led 13-0 at one point.
RABUN COUNTY ROLLS -- Wildcats freshman quarterback Gunner Stockton tossed three touchdown passes, while Brison Beck ran for a score, as the 2017 Class 2A runner-up Wildcats impressed against their oldest rivals, blanking Franklin, North Carolina, 27-0
Other Friday scrimmage scores:
LUMPKIN COUNTY 21, TOWNS COUNTY 14
CHEROKEE BLUFF 14, SOCIAL CIRCLE 7
RIVERSIDE MILITARY 22, PINECREST ACADEMY 7
COMMERCE 7, FRANKLIN COUNTY 7
Thursday scrimmages:
WEST HALL OFFENSE PUTS UP BIG PLAYS VS. CEDAR SHOALS -- The Spartans marched 68 yards on their opening drive, capped by a Quentin Smith touchdown run. Meanwhile, West Hall's Devin Williams scooped up a blocked punt from Terrance Robinson and scored a touchdown. Cedar Shoals rebounded to lead 21-14 at the half but the Spartans' Braylon Powell scored to tie it. Michael Thompson had over 50 yards rushing for West Hall, while Solomon Riley had over 50 yards rushing and an interception, and Caden Collins had 9 tackles and John Stoecker had 8 tackles. Cedar Shoals prevailed 27-21.
JACKSON COUNTY DEFENSE IMPRESSES -- The Panthers pitched a 16-0 shutout of North Oconee in their scrimmage on Thursday. Outside linebacker Rayshun Dorsey proved especially hard for the Titans to contain, while Travis Hughson produced a sack for safety. Offensively, Jackson County's Tyler Wester had a 39-yard TD run, while Ayden Griswold added a 12-yard rushing score.
