ACWORTH — The Flowery Branch defense proved it is one of the elite units in all of Georgia.
They just couldn’t overcome five turnovers by the offense in a gut-wrenching 14-6 to No. 1 Cartersville on the road Friday night in the Class 4A playoffs.
The Falcons turned a powerful Hurricanes offense one-dimensional holding them to just 103 yards rushing. But quarterback Tee Webb also showed why he is one of the state’s top passers throwing for 280 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
The first came on a 26-yard pass to Kyler Johnson to cap the opening drive of the game for a 7-0 lead. The second came one play after a Falcons fumble when he connected with Devonte Ross on a 49-yard bomb for a 14-6 advantage early in the third quarter.
In between, Flowery Branch more than held its own as Jaizen Ellingham’s 5-yard touchdown run capped a long drive to pull the Falcons within 7-6 after the extra point was blocked. Flowery Branch drove deep into Hurricanes territory two other times but turnovers snuffed out both opportunities.
Ellingham finished with 62 yards on the ground for the Falcons.
It was the second consecutive season Flowery Branch has been knocked out in the first round by a high-ranked opponent.
