And a freshman shall lead them: Lance helps Falcons to opening win

GAINESVILLE -- Nick Lance didn't feel many butterflies prior to his first varsity action.<br /> <br /> He didn't have time to get them.<br /> <br /> The Flowery Branch freshman found out just two hours before gametime that he was to play in the Falcons' opener at Chestatee -- and he responded like a varsity veteran, throwing for two touchdowns to help the visitors to a 29-0 shutout of the War Eagles in Gainesville.<br /> <br /> "I was kind of worried about not knowing all the plays, but coach Griffin just told me stick to what I knew and I'd be fine," said Lance, who finished the night 10 of 21 for 169 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. "It just worked out for me."<br /> <br /> Indeed it did, as Lance relied on a veteran offensive line and running back Jeremiah Goss to help shoulder the load in the early going before showing his own impressive talents with a 29-yard scoring strike to Hayden Colee that helped Flowery Branch (1-0) to a 22-0 first half lead.<br /> <br /> "He's a competitor, and I was more than pleased with his performance out there," said Falcons coach Chris Griffin, who made the late move to insert Lance after an "internal issue" benched starter Jasen Johnson. "We threw a lot on his (Lance's) back, and he responded. It was a tough decision for us, but it really worked out, and I'm thrilled for him and the team."<br /> <br /> Thanks to the help of players like Goss -- who rushed for a touchdown in the first quarter and caught a short swing pass and turned that into a 60-yard score and a 15-0 second quarter lead en route to a 166 total yards in the night -- Lance found his comfort zone quickly.<br /> <br /> "The great thing about the touchdown pass to Jeremiah was that it was his third read on the play," Griffin said. "If you've got a freshman who can go through his progressions like that, that's pretty big."<br /> <br /> Cortez Davis also showed his big-time ability in all three phases of the game, scampering for a 66-yard touchdown in the third quarter

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