"I think we have a shot to win this one," Shaw said. "We match up with them pretty well and we made some progress last week. I like our chances."
The Falcons (0-1, 0-1) lost to North Hall 44-14 last week while the Dragons lost to Fannin County last week 15-0. Gilmer beat Flowery Branch 27-7 last year.
Last week was kind of a good news-bad news thing for Shaw.
His young Falcons controlled the clock and piled up more than 300 yards of offense against North Hall - just what the gameplan called for.
A victim of too much North Hall speed and inexperience on the defense, however, eventually did in the Falcons.
"I thought the offense really did a great job. The wishbone is a tough offense to master and (quarterback) Matt (Jones) made some good decisions," Shaw said. "But we just weren't able to stay with (North Hall) on defense. They were just too fast. It's hard to duplicate game speed like that when you don't have it."
Fullback Andy Espinosa had a big game for Flowery Branch gaining nearly 140 yards on the ground.
"He's stronger and running with a lot more confidence and he's a threat this year," Shaw said.
Ball control again will be a key for the Falcons. Gilmer runs a traditional I-set and Shaw said they match up better with that type of offense.
"They do some different things out of it but it's not the Wing-T we've been seeing and I think we match up better against that," he said. "But they're a big physical team and it's going to be a challenge for us.
"But again. If we can correct a few things on defense and take care of the ball, I think we have a chance at this one."
That's all fans are looking for - a chance.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2003/9/173102