Drama, upsets and blowouts. Oh my! Week 2 of high school football had a little bit of everything for us to take in Friday night.
Here are five things we learned from Week 2:
1. HALL COUNTY TEAMS ARE ON THE UP AND UP
So we know it's early in the year, but the Hall County schools are trending up. Take for example the four schools Cherokee Bluff, East Hall, Chestatee and West Hall. Last year, those four won a combined seven games. This year, those four are a combined 6-1. Maybe it's just coincidence, but we think it's much more likely that Hall County schools as a whole are on their way back to making a lot of noise come November.
2. JEFFERSON HAS OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION
A lot of question marks came after Jefferson's loss to Marist in Week 1, especially offensively. Well, consider those questions answered. Gavin Markey looked like he had been running the offense for years, sprinting for a 99-yard touchdown run and tossing the ball around for 188 yards and a pair of scores. The defense looked like the defense of yesteryear as well, forcing two interceptions and holding Jackson County to less than 200 yards of offense. It doesn't seem like rebuild mode is in effect down Highway 129, but rather a Dragon team that is now reloaded and ready to push to a potential Region 8-3A title.
3. FLOWERY BRANCH RUNS THE BALL REALLY WELL
It wasn't pretty for the Falcons in Week 1 as the offense failed to score. So what do they do? They start throwing wrinkles in, namely running the triple option. Boy, did that change things. The numbers don't jump off the page at you as Flowery Branch only had 211 yards of offense, but all of it was on the ground, led by Griffin Harper's 176 yards on 25 carries. Couple that with recovering four fumbles from Habersham Central's offense and capitalizing on short fields, the Falcons found their first win of the year. We think that if Branch keeps learning and executing the triple option, they might play spoiler for a lot of teams down the stretch.
4. NORTH HALL RELOADING, NOT REBUILDING
Yes, the Trojans lost to Wesleyan Friday night, but they showed us A LOT of good things in their opener, especially given that they had a lot of pieces to replace on the offensive side of the football. We knew the defense could be something special, but we found out the offense is going to be just fine this season. Smith McGarvey and Alex Schlieman combined to throw for nearly 250 yards while completing 22-of-32 passes. Cole Cable emerged as the go-to wide out with over 100 receiving yards. When, not if, the Trojans clean up some special teams and other mishaps that came up Friday, this Trojan team is primed to push for a deep run in November.
5. SURPRISING POWER TEAM IN RABBITTOWN?
When you think of the power teams in our area, who do you think of? Sure, Gainesville and Jefferson are first to the top of the mind, and rightfully so, but what if we said we would throw East Hall into the mix? Hear us out. The Vikings have an offense that just put up 414 yards this week and a defense that has held its two opponents this season to just 21 points, including holding Oglethorpe to absolutely nothing after their first drive Friday. And oh, by the way, remember they had a goal line stand Week 1 to win over Banks County. Keep an eye on the guys in Valhalla, there just might be something special brewing over there.
