GAINESVILLE, Ga. — Gainesville overcame a strong push from Coconut Creek, Fla. to walk out of City Park with a 30-22 win Friday night.
We had to make plays, and we made plays tonight," Gainesville coach Josh Niblett after the game. "They got a good football team, and, you know, the thing is, we just got to play better in different spots, but proud of the kids when we made plays."
It was a back-and-forth first half, with each team answering scores. The Red Elephants grabbed the lead last in the first quarter on a Gavin Hall 21-yard TD. Hall finished the night with 179 yards on 23 carries and caught six passes for 95 yards. He hauled in a 54-yard touchdown.
Coconut Creek tied it up on the next drive on a Jamarie Hostzclaw 3-yard run, then the Red Elephants took back the lead, 14-7, on a 15-yard scoring pass from Wright to tight end Sky Niblett late in the first half.
But it didn't take Coconut Creek long to answer as Hostzclaw rushed 64 yards in less than six seconds to tie the game with 30 seconds remaining in the first half.
In the second half, Hall caught a 54-yard strike from Wright to push the Big Red ahead, 21-14.
Gainesville's defense stepped up, forcing Coconut Creek to punt late in the third quarter. That's when Zion Ferguson blocked a field goal.
"He came off the edge and got good speed, got his hands out and got the ball," Niblett said. "He made a great play."
The Red Elephants scored early in the fourth quarter to go up 30-14 on a four-yard run from Wright.
But Coconut Creek dug in, holding Gainesville scoreless over the next seven minutes, forcing a fumble that was picked up by Travis Thompson and returned for a 69-yard touchdown. Coconut Creek converted the two-point play to close the gap, 30-22 with less than four minutes remaining.
"There's no doubt this group wants to work hard and wants to get better," Niblett said. "This group wants to do the little things and, you know, they're just learning right now. We have a lot of guys who are still learning what we're doing in our program, but those guys are working together to put it all together."
