GAINESVILLE, Ga. — A short week against an always-tough opponent on the road following an emotional upset win is not how you typically like to build momentum on a season.
But Flowery Branch did not let that stop them from taking a sloppy-at-times 38-19 win over East Forsyth on Thursday in a huge Region 8-4A game for both teams.
The win kept the Falcons (5-1, 2-0, Region 8-4A) unbeaten atop the region standings. The loss dropped the Broncos (3-3, 0-2 Region 8-4A) into an almost must-win scenario the rest of the way in perhaps the toughest region in Class 4A.
“It feels great to be 2-0 in this region. It's a tough, tough region, as we all know,” Flowery Branch coach Michael Perry said. “We did not play our best brand of football tonight at all. Very sloppy there, especially on defense there at the end. But we did enough to win. Proud of our guys.”
It didn’t take long, unless you count a 14-play, 7:47 drive to open the game, for the Falcons to take control. Brett Sturm, who accounted for 78 yards on the drive, trotted in from 9-yards out to give Branch a 7-0 lead.
“I think that set a great tone,” Perry said. “I give a lot of credit to our offensive line. They’ve played great all year.”
Branch punted just once in its first four drives, with the other two finishing with a 29-yard field goal from Brooks Recinella and a 29-yard scamper for a touchdown by Griffin Harper for an eventual 17-0 lead at halftime.
Meanwhile, the Falcons defense never let the Broncos get going. East Forsyth’s four first half possessions ended in a punt, an interception by Tripp Morris, a fumble recovery by Harper, and a turnover on downs in the final minute of the half.
Branch held East Forsyth to just 62 total yards in the first half. Sturm accounted for 76 yards by himself (16 yards rushing, 61 yards passing) in the opening 24 minutes for the Falcons.
Harper had 46 yards rushing and 2 catches for 18 yards while Tre Shields had 3 catches for 35 yards in the first half for Branch.
“Brett ran the ball really well. Griffin Harper is a warrior, like always. Tre made some incredible plays tonight,” Perry said.
The Falcons did not let up in the second half. They forced an East Forsyth punt and stopped them on downs in their first two drives. Then Shields turned in the play of the game when he took a short Sturm pass inside the Broncos 15, fumbled it, then picked it up and ran it in for a 13-yard score to push the lead to 24-0 late in the third quarter.
“That was a miracle, man!” Shields said. “God gave me some talent and I’m just working hard trying to catch passes and help the team win.”
East Forsyth finally cracked the Branch defense early in the fourth quarter when Chase Rhoads connected with Jace Forrest on a 25-yard TD pass to cut the lead to 24-6 after a failed 2-point pass. Rhoads later added a 3-yard scoring run two plays after a 52-yard sprint down the sidelines to the Branch 7.
The teams traded scores over the final 8 minutes. Sturm added a 3-yard TD run and East Forsyth's Brooks Smallwood scored on a 7-yard touchdown. The Falcons final points came on a Tyler Robinson 20-yard pick-6 late in the game, his third interception of the season.
Now, the Falcons will have two weeks to rest and heal before heading to Madison County on Oct. 10. Typically coaches would rather continue playing while playing as well as the Falcons have during a five-game win streak.
But Perry said the break couldn’t come at a better time.
“We got some guys banged up that we need to work on,” he said. “It also means we’ve got two weeks to prepare for Madison County's offense, which is hard to defend,” he said. “You don't see that hardly ever. So just glad we have two weeks to prepare for that.”
For the Broncos, it was their third straight loss. They will travel to winless Cedar Shoals next week as they try to get back in the playoff race. They will have little margin for error, however.
No team advanced out of 8-4A in 2024 with more than three losses. East Forsyth still has to play defending state champion North Oconee (5-0, 1-0 Region 8-4A), Walnut Grove (5-0, 1-0 Region 8-4A), 2024 quarterfinalist Eastside (2-3, 0-1 Region 8-4A), and Madison County (3-1, 1-0 Region 8-4A). The Broncos went 2-2 against those four teams in 2024.
