Gainesville and Flowery Branch gear up for ‘playoff atmosphere'

By Michael Carvell

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Gainesville, ranked No. 1 in Class AAA, and Flowery Branch square off in one of the state's biggest games of the regular season Friday.

Each team features one of the nation's top quarterbacks, with Gainesville's Blake Sims (committed to Alabama) and Flowery Branch's Connor Shaw (South Carolina), along with host of other elite prospects, including Gainesville wide receiver Tai-Ler Jones (Notre Dame) and linebacker A.J. Johnson (Tennessee). The two teams are undefeated in the region.

"[The atmosphere] ... will be almost like a playoff game in itself," Gainesville linebacker Thomas Sprague told the Gainesville Times after Friday's 63-0 win over Johnson. "We’ve been looking forward to this game all season."

Upset specials

*Northside-Warner Robins (8-1), ranked No. 2 in Class AAAAA, suffered a 21-20 upset loss to archrival Warner Robins.

Warner Robins (6-3) rallied from a 20-0 deficit in the fourth quarter, tying the score when Maurice Dudley launched a 47-yard touchdown pass to Jonathan Jackson on fourth-and-long with less than two minutes remaining. Warner Robins was whistled for a celebration penalty after the score, but Kyle Floyd kicked a 35-yard extra point for the win.

"It has been too long," Warner Robins coach Bryan Way told the Macon Telegraph after his team's first win against its rival since 2004.

*Westside-Macon, ranked No. 2 in Class AAAA, was upset 27-18 by No. 10 Thomas County Central. Westside was held to 67 yards, forced to punt four times, and sacked six times. “We just didn’t execute, and they whipped us,” Westside coach Sheddrick Risper told the Telegraph. “They flat-out whipped us ..."

Big-time player

*Evans junior lineman DeVante England is one of the state's largest players at 6-foot-1 and 370 pounds, and he says he is down from 420 a year ago. England wears XXXXXL pants and size-17 shoes. Despite the hefty frame, England shows signs of above-average athleticism. He has quick feet, and with a quick flick of the wrist can throw a spiral 60 yards in the air or display near-perfect form when shooting a basketball. "He's agile and has great hand-eye coordination," Evans coach Marty Jackson told the Augusta Chronicle. "For a big guy, he moves pretty doggone good."

Around the state

*Carver-Columbus, ranked No. 4 in Class AAA, didn't do much celebrating after a 27-7 win over No. 7 LaGrange. Carver has won 23 consecutive region games since 2007.

“That’s not our thing,” Carver coach Dell McGee told the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer. “We care about it, but that’s not the ultimate goal. We break on ‘Week 15’ [the state-championship round] every day, every week. That’s what we want to get to. You’ll see a celebration if we get there.”

*Thomson's Luther Welsh, who is the state's oldest head coach at 77 years old, will not take the Bulldogs to the playoffs for the first time in his heralded career after a 28-7 loss to Burke County. Welsh has coached Thomson since 1999, along with another stint from 1984-90. "Anytime you lose, it's disappointing," Welsh told the Chronicle. "It probably hurts a little more because this is the first time it's ever happened to me at Thomson."