Game of the Week: Branch and BT battle for Region 7-4A supremacy

FLOWERY BRANCH — Flowery Branch was one play away from knocking off defending Class 4A state champ, Blessed Trinity, in overtime in 2018.

Elijah Gainey lofted a pass toward CJ Goodwin that raked across his fingertips incomplete on the potential game-winning 2-point conversion. The Titans escaped with a 21-20 win at Falcons Field. 

"If you would have told us before the game started last year that we would have one play to win in it, we're going to take that shot," Branch coach Ben Hall said. "Unfortunately, we came up a little bit short. That's the way it goes sometimes."

The game proved, in just two seasons at the helm of the program, Hall and his staff had made massive strides to bring the Falcons back to relevance. 

"Our kids realized the longer we hung, that we could play with these guys," he said. "It really kind of proved to this bunch that they could play with the state's best." 

Tonight, the Falcons will travel to Roswell to battle No. 5-ranked and defending Region 7-4A and Class 4A state champ Blessed Trinity (5-1, 3-0). Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. and can be heard live on AM 550 WDUN.

Both teams enter the showdown undefeated in Region 7-4A, and the seventh-ranked Falcons (6-0, 3-0) know this game has a lot on the line, including the top spot in Region 7-4A. 

It's the start of the Region 7-4A gauntlet for the Falcons, a slate that includes No. 1-ranked Marist in Week 11 and eighth-ranked Denmark on Nov. 8.

"This game can really place us where we want to be in the playoffs," senior defensive back Chandler Dial-Watson said. "We know this is one of the teams that we had to be ready for. We really have to play a perfect game and be on our toes."

It'll be a fight against two physical, run-heavy, stingy defensive teams and, on paper, both are very similar. 

Branch averages 290 rushing yards and 80 passing yards per game. BT averages 280 rushing yards and 65 passing yards per game. On defense, the Falcons have yielded the 4th-fewest points in Class 4A (48, 8.0 ppg), led by defensive back Chase Dial-Watson and linebackers Grant Lackey and Conner Mayfield, and the Titans are 8th, allowing just 86 points (14.3 ppg)

"It's going to be like every big-time game where you have two physical teams," Hall said. "It's going to be a matter of gaining field position. We talk about earning and respecting every yard on that field and not trying to do anything spectacular, just move the chains and gain field position."

The Falcons have proved they can earn yards with junior back Jaizen Ellingham (7.5 yards per carry) and senior back Chandler Smith (8 ypc) behind a strong offensive line. 

"We're going to have to be able to run the ball and offset the run game with the play-action pass," Hall said. "We're going to have to keep them off-balanced with the run game to be as successful. Our backs are going have to run hard and protect the football."

Blessed Trinity, on the other, has tremendous speed out of the backfield with North Carolina-commit Elijah Green (4.39 40-yard time) and freshman Justice Green (4.45 40-yard time). 

"We have to tackle," Hall said. "[Green] He's a great runner. He reminds me so much of Steele Chambers [former BT back and current RB at Ohio State]. The guy he backs up is not a bad player in Elijah Green, who's an FBS kid. They have three running backs that we have to focus on tackling them and be physical up front."

Regardless, this will the Falcons' toughest region test so far this season. 

"It's the biggest game we play this week," Hall said. "We have blinders on. Not to sound cliche, but we have to take each game, at this point in the season, one week at a time and try to be 1-0 each week. We've got to swing as hard as we can swing Friday night and, hopefully, come out with a win. It's a true playoff mentality here in mid-October."