Football: Cancellations alter Week 3 radio broadcast schedule

COVID-19 continues to cancel games around the state, and it has hit really close to home this week. 

On Wednesday morning, Flowery Branch was forced to pull the plug on its contest against arch-rival Gainesville. The game was slated to play at City Park on Friday. With the news, Gainesville coach Heath Webb went on the hunt to find a new Week 3 opponent. As of Wednesday night, the Red Elephants were still on the hunt for a team to play. 

Also on Wednesday, Rabun County coach Jaybo Shaw was forced to make the COVID call on the Wildcats' game against Class A-Private third-ranked Eagle's Landing Christian Academy. The Wildcats were scheduled to make the road trip to McDonough on Friday but due to COVID-19 cases inside the program in Tigers, the game is off the schedule. 

The Branch-Gainesville game cancellation has forced a change in the Jacobs Media radio schedule on Friday. 

Union County travels to Chestatee. This one has an "interesting" tag placed on it. Union County beat Chestatee, 39-19, last season, but a lot of things have changed since then. Union County has a new coach in Michael Perry, and even though we know what Perry brings to the mountains with his air raid offense, the Panthers are 0-1 and had last week's game against Commerce canceled. Chestatee, on the other hand, played Cherokee Bluff and had problems slowing down the Bears in a 60-21 loss. The positive, however, for the War Eagles was quarterback Luke Bornhorst's performance, tossing two deep touchdown passes and finishing with 231 yards through the air. You can hear that game on WDUN AM 550. (Click to listen live)

Jefferson will look to continue its winning streak with three in a row when they play host to Southside, SC. Last week, Sammy Brown continue his pace to a 1,000-plus-yard season with a 120-yard rushing performance to lead the Dragons to a 42-7 win over Central Gwinnett. The defense held Central Gwinnett to just 156 yards of total offense. The game against Southside has been on the schedule since 2018 but only played once, a 31-7 win in 2018. Weather and COVID-19 canceled the last two meetings. Southside is 0-2, coming off a 41-7 loss to Woodmount on Friday. You can listen to the game on WDUN FM 102.9. (Click to listen live)

And North Hall will travel to Hart County. After getting routed by Stephens County, 42-0, in Week 2, the Trojans look to get back on track against the Bulldogs. But it's not going to be an easy task. The Bulldogs are averaging 51.5 points per game on offense -- second-best in Class 3A -- and feature a brutal rushing attack led by senior JL Lackey. He has nearly 400 yards rushing in the first two games, including 188 yards and five touchdowns against White County last week. Most likely the Bulldogs will play use Stephens County's plan on defense, forcing the Trojans to pass out of their wing-T offense. On defense, the Trojans will have to focus on both the pass and the run as the Bulldogs are efficient at both. But expect the Trojans to play more inspired this week and if they do, this game could be interesting. The game can be heard live on FM 94.5 The Lake. (Click to listen live)

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 and keep up with live scoring on Twitter: @FridayGameNight.