Region play for most every northeast Georgia team in the AccessWDUN coverage area will get under way in Week 6 of the 2020 season.
And none will be bigger than when Jefferson travels to Flowery Branch in both teams' Region 8-4A opener. That game can be heard live on WDUN AM 550 (Click to listen live) from Falcons Field. The Dragons (4-0, 0-0 Region 8-4A) come in ranked No. 2 in Class 4A while the Falcons (3-1, 0-0 Region 8-4A) come in ranked eighth. It will be a tremendous clash of styles as Jefferson is averaging nearly 400 yards a game on the ground in a triple-option attack led by Malaki Starks and Kolton Jones. The Dragons defense, until a late fourth quarter surge last week by Hart County, had been nearly impenetrable. Flowery Branch is paced by the state's leading passer in David Renard (1,324 yards) and a slew of receivers but also has one of the area's top running backs in Jaizen Ellingham. This one may be decided by whichever defense can hold up under the pressure.
Gainesville (3-1) survived one of the wildest finishes in years last week to beat Forsyth Central in both teams' Region 6-7A opener. This week the Red Elephants will step back out of region play to take on Hillgrove (2-1) in their final non-region game of the season at City Park. You can hear all the action on FM 94.5 The Lake (Click to listen live). The Hawks' only loss was to Class 7A fifth-ranked Norcross in their season-opener. The Red Elephants are off to their best start since 2015 and can keep some much-needed momentum going before taking on surprise Lambert next week at home when they jump back into their region. Gainesville is 4-2 at home since the start of the 2019 season and finishes the season with 4 of its final 6 games at Ciy Park.
And on FM 102.9 WDUN (Click to listen live), Cherokee Bluff is back on the Jacobs Media airwaves just in time for its Region 7-3A opener against Gilmer in Flowery Branch. The Bears (4-0, 0-0 Region 7-3A) have been as dominant as any team in the area in the early going. They have outscored their opponents 187-14 with three shutouts on defense. The Bobcats (2-1, 0-0 Region 7-3A) have staged one of the biggest turnarounds in the state over the past 1 1/2 seasons. Since a 30-game losing streak from 2016-18, they have gone 6-7 under second-year coach Kevin Saunders. This could be a pivotal game for both teams where head-to-head matchups could very well decide playoff seedings in what is expected to be a tight region race.
Friday Game Night will keep you in tune with all of these contests and more. Be sure to check in with us throughout the night on Friday and keep up with live scoring on twitter: @FridayGameNight.
OCTOBER 9
Cedar Shoals at East Hall *
Central Gwinnett at Buford*
Commerce at Mount Paran Christian
Coosa at Lakeview Academy
Gilmer at Cherokee Bluff* -- FM 102.9 WDUN (Click to listen live)
Habersham Central at Winder-Barrow*
Haralson County at Banks County
Hillgrove at Gainesville -- FM 94.5 The Lake (Click to listen live)
Jackson County at Clarke Central*
Jefferson at Flowery Branch* -- WDUN AM 550 (Click to listen live)
Johnson at Loganville*
Rabun County at East Jackson
West Hall at North Hall*
White County at Dawson County*
Woodland-Cartersville at Union County -- cancelled
(* -- denotes region game)
