CUMMING – Gainesville’s path to victory was run the ball, control the clock and keep the No. 2 scoring offense on the sidelines.
That path was a well-beaten one after the Red Elephants finished the job on Friday.
The Red Elephants (5-2, 3-0 Region 6-7A) held Class 7A’s second-best offense to just 14 points and forced four turnovers en route to a 28-14 victory over the preseason region title favorite South Forsyth (4-2, 1-2 Region 6-7A) at War Eagle Stadium.
Gainesville coach Heath Webb was all smiles after the game.
“The game plan came together,” Webb said after the game. “That is run the ball, run the clock and keep their offense on the sideline. I thought we did a pretty good job of that. We wanted to create turnovers and play great special teams and it was one of those situations where we sit down on Sundays and put together a game plan and talk about the path to victory. That was the path to victory. I’m just proud of our guys.”
The win lifts the Red Elephants into a tie for the top spot with Denmark, also 3-0, in Region 8-6A.
“It means a lot,” Webb said. “First and foremost, we are undefeated in a Class 7A football region, which is a big deal. Everybody told us that we can’t play 7A football. We used it as fuel and came out here and showed that we belonged and that we can play at this level. It’s exciting to look forward.”
Gainesville’s defense set the tone early on, holding the War Eagles to just 277 total yards of offense – 40 on the ground, 237 through the air.
“So many guys just stepped up tonight,” Webb said. “I’m proud of our defensive staff for making some changes that we thought would be beneficial for us. Excellent job out of those guys but really just proud of our kids for making plays.”
Their biggest test was 6-foot-7 receiver Devin McGlockton. He finished with 10 catches for 202 yards and a touchdown.
“You can see how dangerous the 6-foot-7 kid is,” Webb said. “We got two guys on him several times and he steps up and still makes the catch. But several times we got a hand on the ball and batted it up and got a pick just because we were playing relentless football.”
The batted ball in the air and picked by Jahleel Rivas-Dicks late in the third quarter that Webb mentioned, officially took the wind out of the War Eagles’ sails. The Red Elephants marched down the field and scored to go up two touchdowns.
Senior quarterback Gionni Williams was instrumental in the back-to-back scores, scoring on a 50-yard run the series before and capping the 80-yard drive on the next with a six-yard run.
Williams ran for 111 yards and two touchdowns. He also was 7 of 10 passing for 62 yards and a touchdown. Naim Cheeks 23 carries for 64 yards. JQ Drinkard had one carry, a 42-yard touchdown run in the first quarter.
