Streaks, momentum mean little when Branch-GHS meet

One team is looking to continue its ascent to the top of one of the toughest classifications in the state. The other is looking to try and continue its ascent back to prominence.

But no matter which team is doing what when none of the outside noise seems to matter when Gainesville and Flowery Branch meet. And such will be the case once again as the two programs square off Friday night at Falcons Field for the 15th time.

The Falcons (3-0) have been one of the early dominant teams in the state. The Red Elephants (2-2) are still trying to climb their way back out of a two-year hole that saw them register a program-worst losing streak and lopsided losses.

“It doesn’t really matter what is going with either team usually when we play,” Flowery Branch coach Ben Hall said. “Last year’s game [a 28-19 Falcons’win that went down to the final minutes] is a prime example. (Gainesville) played probably its best game of the year and that game had a lot of twists and turns. We’re expecting another tough battle for four quarters.”

“Our mindset tries not to change no matter who we’re playing,” said Gainesville coach Heath Webb, who is in his second season at Gainesville. “But our guys really seemed to get fired up last year for this one and I already see that this week. I think it will be another good game, I hope.”

The Falcons this season still own one state stat. They are the only team left in all classifications that have not given up a point on defense on the season. They own full-game shutouts over East Hall and Clarke Central, who are averaging 31.1 points per game combined against everyone else, and a 7-0, weather-shortened win over Winder-Barrow.

Meanwhile, the Branch offense has shown plenty of balance and firepower behind sophomore quarterback David Renard, who assumed the starting job after senior Elijah Gainey went down for the season just before the season opener.

The Red Elephants have been on the proverbial roller coaster in the first half of the season. They opened the season with a tremendous upset win over Mary Persons and blasted Class 7A Lambert 55-7. But they also looked shaky in a loss to North Forsyth and were roughed up last week in a 41-7 loss to Jefferson. They have averaged 41 ppg in their two wins but have managed just 14 total points in their two losses. However, Gainesville has not been shutout over its past 14 games.

“We’re still building with a very young team,” Webb said. “We only have seven starting seniors across the board. The young kids are still growing and developing.

“Our young guys are still having a tendency of getting too emotional in these rivalry-type games, like last week. We’re still trying to find a way to combat that. Hopefully, we’ll do a better job of that this week.”

It’s almost the exact opposite for the Falcons. They are an experienced group that is looking to build off last year’s near-breakout season that was cut short due to injuries. They were within a fingertip in a 21-20 overtime loss of knocking off then-No. 1 ranked Blessed Trinity, who went on to capture its second straight Class 4A state title.

It has shown as they have dominated their early foes. The Clarke Central win was especially eye-opening. The Gladiators were shutout at home for the first time since a 13-0 loss to Brookwood in 1999.

“(The defense) is a mature group that really plays well together,” Hall said. “They’re fun to watch. The older kids are routing for the younger kids when they get in.

“The freshmen and other guys down the line played most of the second half against East Hall and all of the fourth quarter against Clarke Central so I thought they did a fantastic job of preserving the shutouts. We’re really proud of how the entire group has played so far.”

But despite the numbers, both coaches are expecting another slugfest down to the wire.

“Our biggest concern is (Gainesville’s) lines of scrimmage. They’re huge upfront,” Hall said. “We will have to play fast and hard to be able to combat their size. The (shutout) streak is nice but I don’t expect that to last. I expect some points to be scored in this one.”

“What you see is what you get with (Flowery Branch),” Webb said. “They won’t do anything tricky because they can just line up and come right at you. The key for us will be controlling the lines of scrimmage and making tackles when we have the chance.”