One word was all that seniors Alex Payne and Julius Columbus needed to describe Friday’s massive showdown between Gainesville and Carrollton at Grisham Stadium in Carrollton.
“Fun! Can’t wait!”
Okay, technically, that was three. However, the two key Red Elephants shared a few thoughts after a Tuesday morning practice at Bruce Miller Field, as did head coach Josh Niblett.
“When you’re on the D-line, and you play against a great O-line as they have, that makes it fun for sure,” said Columbus, a Duke commit on Gainesville’s defensive line.
“Definitely, definitely fun,” said offensive tackle Payne, who has committed to North Carolina. “(Carrollton’s defensive line) is mostly linebackers playing there so they’re a little quicker than some of your normal (D-line) guys. That’s going to be real fun for us because we’re going to have to get out of our comfort zone and be quicker with our feet. It should be a great matchup.”
For Niblett, who has coached in more than his fair share of big games, including a Class 6A state title game in his first season (2022) at Gainesville, these kinds of matchups never get old.
The Red Elephants come in 3-0 and are ranked No. 2 in Class 5A. The Trojans (4-0) have been ranked No. 1 in Class 6A all season.
“It’s always fun to be in big games like this because it means you’re probably pretty good yourself,” said Niblett. “We told the kids this is a big game. We didn’t downplay it. We’re 3-0 right now, and we don’t feel like we’re where we want to be yet. The only way we’re going to get there is by playing the best competition out there.”
Even Carrollton coach Joey King chimed in when we reached out for his thoughts on the “fun” aspect of what will probably be the biggest game of the night in the state.
“The potential that both teams have to make big plays is both fun -- if it's us making the plays -- and nerve-wracking -- if it's them making the plays,” he said. “Both teams have the potential to make a big play at any given time on either side of the ball and special teams.”
Both teams have been as dominant as you can get in the first third of the 2024 season. The Trojans have outscored their opponents 166-43. Big Red has outscored its opponents 113-17. The star-studded matchups are endless with both featuring a trio of 3-star recruits or better.
While every matchup, no matter who has the ball, could provide a game-changing situation, the Carrollton offense against the Gainesville defense could be the key one. The Trojans have scored 24 or more points in 29 straight games with 4-star senior quarterback Julian Lewis (USC commit) at the helm. The Red Elephants have not yielded more than 22 in a game over their past 12 contests.
The Carrollton offense is led by Lewis (71-of-90, 1,034 yards, 78.9%, 18 TD, 1 INT). Four players -- juniors Ryan Mosley (17 rec., 309 yards, 6 TD), Peyton Zachary (15-217, 3 TD), Kimauri Farmer (14-142, 3 TD), and senior Kiyun Cofer (14-134, 2 TD) -- give Lewis a slew of dangerous targets. Farmer leads the team in rushing with 314 yards on 58 carries, nearly 15 a game, with two more touchdowns.
Big Red’s defense is led by Columbus and 4-star junior linebacker Xavier Griffin (USC commit). But the Red Elephants offer one of the state’s best front-7s with senior Brandon Bailey and junior Kadin Fossung along the line and senior Cash O’Callaghan and junior Roman Best joining Griffin at linebacker.
That group combined will have to put pressure on Lewis to give the secondary of Elijah Watson, Clyde Jones, Judah Knight, Jamarcus Sims, and Trent Jones some help against that talented receiving corp.
Something will have to give.
“Lewis is a great player, obviously, but he’s just one player. There are 10 other players out there,” Columbus said. “Our whole defense will have to take the mentality of just doing your job. Running to the ball, getting to the quarterback, and covering the receivers. (Lewis) can’t beat our entire defense by himself, and I have trust in our defense.”
King agreed with Columbus.
“Julian does a good job of distributing the ball. He understands what we are trying to do offensively and gets the ball where it needs to go on time,” King said. “But games are still won and lost in the trenches. None of the stuff on the backend happens if the front breaks down.”
The Gainesville offense will have to do its part by trying to find the cracks in a Carrollton unit that is giving up just 10.75 points/game. The Red Elephants are led by talented quarterback Kharim Hughley, who will face his toughest challenge yet.
The sophomore has been sensational in the early going. In his past two games, Hughley has thrown for 583 yards and 6 TDs in wins over Moody (Ala.) and Westlake. He also has a plethora of talent at his disposal in Taz Smith, Jeremiah Ware, and Shane King. That trio had 16 catches for 305 yards against Westlake two weeks ago.
Payne said playing in front of Hughley has been fun to this point.
“He’s got everything a good quarterback needs,” he said. “He can roll out, throw, run. He’s making good decisions. The way he leads the team. He wants everyone to get better.”
Columbus said pushing the Gainesville brand forward is definitely on their minds and they understood the opportunity in front of not just them, but the younger Big Red players coming up behind them.
“This is definitely a game for us to get our name out there and maybe get a little higher ranked nationally,” Columbus said. “Our community travels, and they're going to come over there to support us, so we're ready to go out there and show them what we can do.”
