Game of the Week: Red Elephants battle South Forsyth to stay atop region

Gainesville knows it is the outsider from across the lake in Region 6-7A. 

After all, the Red Elephants are the only team outside of Forsyth County in the region, Lake Lanier separates the two counties and the region is known as the Forsyth County region. 

Gainesville coach Heath Webb has accepted the role of "the outsider" and said he's completely OK with it.

“The last couple of years we played Lambert and North Forsyth in non-region games,” Webb said. “So, we had a little bit of feel for that region and how they played. But because we had those two common opponents, we kind of had a pretty good idea of how the region would play and operate, but it’s different when you get on the field with them. We kind of feel like it’s Gainesville versus Forsyth, and we’re willing to take on all of them. We do feel like outsiders, but it’s fun. We kind of like being the outsider."

The Red Elephants, so far, have had two intense battles inside their new home. It took a Giovanni Martinez field goal to knock off Forsyth Central three weeks ago in Cumming as the final horn sounded, and a come-from-behind win at City Park against a much-improved Lambert squad in Week 7. 

Now Gainesville faces its stiffest test of the season when they travel to South Forsyth on Friday. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. and can be heard live on 94.5 FM The Lake. 

The War Eagles spread multiple attack with a mixture of old school ground and pound averages 46.4 points per game – second in Class 7A – and Webb has seen plenty of game field to know just how explosive South Forsyth can be. 

“They’ve got a great football team. When you’re going up against a team that leads the largest classification in the state, you know you’ve got a challenge on your hands,” Webb said. “They are super explosive on offense and can score from anywhere on the field. So, yeah, we’ve got our hands full with them. They’ve got a football team and do a lot of good things.”

Junior dual-threat quarterback Kyle Durham, who has 1,289 yards passing with 16 TDs and just 2 INTs and 296 yards rushing and two touchdowns on the season, is one of the reasons the War Eagles offense clicks. He has four receivers averaging over 21 yards a catch this season, three with more than 350 yards – Gavin Morris (368, 6TDS), Devin Mcglockston (346, 5 TDs) and is led by Mitch Thompson with 619 yards and 8 TDs. 

The War Eagles stats speak for themselves and prove how explosive they can be on offense. Last week, they opened the game against West Forsyth with an 80-yard touchdown pass. They also will keep the defense on its toes with reverses, reverse passes and double moves out of the receivers. 

“We got to protect against the explosive play,” Webb said. “They can throw the deep ball. We have to keep the ball in front of us and if we can do that and make them drive the football, then we’ve got a chance. It’s going to be a challenge because they can drive the ball as well. It’s going to be a challenge.” 

Along with Durham, Tre Green will be the main running back in the War Eagles backfield. He’s rushed 46 times for 284 yards and four touchdowns. 

The Red Elephants' defense has the stoppers in the secondary to slow the deep ball with Jahleel Rivas-Dicks, Charmario Bush, Sam Perry and Cameron Cantrell, and the second level, led by linebackers Yusif Ali, Stacy Hopkins and Quamaine Rucker to slow down the run game. Upfront, they’ll count on Khaliq Maddox, Lemuel Gayle, Clayton Louis and Qua Coley to blow up the misdirection plays. 

But Gainesville is a bit different than the War Eagles offensively. The Red Elephants like to run the ball and why not? With Ole Miss-commit Cedrick Nicely, Elijah Ruiz, Michael Gosa, Dorean Whitehead and Ignacio Olvera, the Red Elephants have plenty of meat to win battles in the trenches. 

“It’s just the way we’re built. You’ve got what you got walking the hallways and we just happened to have a really good group of linemen, and a really good running back and a quarterback that runs the ball really well, too,” Webb said. “So, it’s just kind of the way things worked out. That’s just kind of who we are right now, and we’re perfectly fine with that.”

The Gainesville offense is averaging just over 36 points per game on offense led by senior quarterback Gionni Williams and running back Naim Cheeks, and DJ Millers and JQ Drinkard are threats downfield at receiver. 

The Red Elephants, however, will have their hands full with an aggressive South Forsyth defense led by linebackers Julian Bolanos (47 tkls), Alec Stephens (35 tkls) and Bryce Connelly (21 tkls). Zachary Fischer leads a solid War Eagle secondary with 37 tackles on the season. 

“South Forsyth is super aggressive on defense,” Webb said. “They’ve got three linebackers that are really special that play hard and play the game like it should be played. I’ve got a lot of respect for them. On the backend, they’ve got some good cover guys, too. They’ve got a well-built defense. They’ve got a very versatile group within their back seven.”

It's set up to be another intense battle between two teams with one objective -- a Region 6-7A title.

“They know that the back end of our schedule is four playoff teams from a year ago and four really good teams," Webb said. "We knew this run was coming, that’s why it was good to have an off week. Our players know and understand what’s in front of them, and they’re excited about the challenge."