GHS wins first major Region 7-AAA battle

GAINESVILLE - The Johnson Knights football team has been looking for a breakout game. They were hoping a win over Gainesville Friday night would propel them into the upper echelon in Class AAA.

They'll have to wait at least two more weeks. Gainesville jumped out to a quick 21-0 lead and then held on for a 21-7 victory at Bobby Gruhn Field in a battle for first place in Region 7-AAA.

The Red Elephants (4-0, 4-0) are now tied with North Hall (4-0, 4-0) atop the region standings. The two teams meet next week at City Park in another first place battle.

It only took four plays for the potent Gainesville offense to flex its muscles against a highly-touted johnson defense.

After a long pass from Don Whitley to John Castleberry, Joseph Maheffey streaked 19 yards for a touchdown to give Gainesville the quick lead.

The Elephants struck again in the first quarter when Whitley hit Carlos Cobb for a 47-yard touchdown pass. The two hooked up again in the second quarter on an 18-yard scoring pass.

Gainesville coach Bruce Miller said he was pleased with how his offense executed against a Johnson defense that had yielded just 20 points all year.

"We knew Johnson had a good team and a very good defense. We were able to make a couple of big plays early that kind of got us going. But they made it tough the rest of the way," Miller said.

The Gainesville defense was equally dominating limiting Johnson to just 62 yards of offense. B.J. Jackson had 61 yards on 15 carries but numerous sacks by the Gainesville defense kept the rest of yardage down.

The Knights only score came on a 71-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown by Johnathan Stockwell early in the fourth quarter.

Two Johnson drives actually reached into Gainesville territory but the Knights could not muster much inside the 30.

The Elephants were held to their lowest point total and offensive output of the season. They had just 229 yards, 151 coming through the air. Cobb finished with three catches for 87 yards and two TDs. Maheffey had 73 yards on 15 carries.

Johnson (4-1, 4-1) will play host to Flowery Branch next week and then travel to North Hall.