GAINESVILLE, Ga. — Gainesville opened Region 7-5A play and christened the renovated City Park Stadium with a 50-14 win over Lanier on Friday.
Coming off their first loss of the season to Class 6A No. 1 Carrollton, the Red Elephants (4-1, 1-0 Region 7-5A) responded with a strong effort on offense and defense.
“This week was a big week for us,” Gainesville coach Josh Niblett said. “This week was about us. It was about us coming out playing to our standards and playing at the speed we wanted to play at. I knew our kids would press a little bit early coming off last week because you want to come out and prove yourself. We pressed early, but once we started to relax, we started making some plays.”
Gainesville rolled up 556 yards of offense and held the Longhorns to 223 total yards, 144 of which came on two long runs. Linebacker Cash O’Callaghan and defensive back Judah Knight had interceptions. Linebacker Xavier Griffin, defensive ends Julius Columbus, and Kadin Fossung kept pressure on Lanier quarterback Ben Vanden Bos and helped stifle the Longhorns’ running game.
“They did a really good job on first down,” Niblett said. “They took the run away on first down and made them have to throw the football on third down.”
After four road games to open the season while renovations were completed at Bobby Gruhn Field, Gainesville finally got to play at home.
“We came out great, especially after the loss last week,” Gainesville running back Carmelo Byrd said. “Sometimes you can take winning for granted. We had a great week of prep, and we came out and played.”
City Park Stadium has been an iconic setting for high school football since the early 1900s. The renovation brought the total seating capacity to approximately 5,500, and it was full on the home side.
The crowd saw Gainesville race out to a 37-7 lead with its defense dominating in the first quarter until the offense settled in in the second quarter. The GHS defense and special teams helped the Red Elephants take a 17-0 lead in the first quarter.
The Lanier punter’s knee touched the ground as he fielded a low snap, and Gainesville took over at the Lanier 11-yard line. A penalty negated a touchdown run, but Franciso Johnson kicked a 35-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead.
Two series later, O’Callaghan intercepted a pass at the Lanier 24. Quarterback Kharim Hughley scored on a 1-yard run for a 10-0 lead. On the next Lanier series, Roman Best blocked a punt, leading to Byrd’s 2-yard dive to put the Red Elephants up 17-0.
The Red Elephants’ offense found a rhythm in the second quarter as the defense kept giving it the ball back. Hughley’s 50-yard pass to Jeremiah Ware set up Byrd’s 3-yard scoring run. The next Gainesville drive covered 69 yards in six plays, with Ware scoring on a leaping 14-yard TD pass.
Hughley completed 19-of-27 passes for 273 yards. Ware caught eight passes for 118 yards, Taz Smith had 83 yards receiving on five receptions, and Shane King had five catches for 46 yards.
Byrd continued Gainesville's scoring frenzy when he scored his third touchdown of the half on a 13-yard run for a 37-7 lead. A Hughley 36-yard pass to Smith set up the score. Byrd rushed for 96 yards on 14 carries.
“In the first quarter, the coaches said I was hitting the outside zone a little too fast,” Byrd said. “I needed to slow down and get behind my pulling guard. I slowed down and was patient.”
Gainesville added two touchdowns in the second half. Ware caught a 9-yard scoring pass to cap a 9-play, 64-yard drive. Dacien Cohen, who rushed for 93 yards on 4 carries, scored the Red Elephants’ last touchdown on a 1-yard run. His 62-yard run put them in scoring position.
“Once the O got going, we started playing complimentary football,” Niblett said.
Friday’s win over Lanier begins a stretch of six straight region games. The Red Elephants bounced back from their loss to Carrollton last week, and that effort made their coach proud.
“I’m proud of these kids,” Niblett said. “They were resilient this week. They played with heart, they played with composure, and they played with emotion but were not emotional. I can’t tell you how proud of them for doing that.”
