Dacula may have struck first, but Central Gwinnett had the game’s final say, as the Black Knights won 25-6 on Friday in front of the home crowd at Tally Johnson Field.
With the Region 8-AAAAAA win, the Black Knights move to 4-1 and 3-0 in region play, while the Falcons fall to 4-2 and 3-1.
The Black Knights were led on offense by quarterback Micah Maxey, who completed 20 of his 35 passes for 220 yards and two touchdowns. On defense and special teams, Tim Gary led the way with two key sacks, a blocked punt and a handful of tackles for loss.
Black Knights coach Todd Wofford described the game as a grind.
“We wanted to come out and play physical,” Wofford said. “We came out and kept grinding. This region is so tough, you’re going to have to grind one out every week and that was our game plan.”
Dacula opened the game’s scoring with Wesley Whitehead completing an 18-yard pass to Kenny Rainey with 2:35 remaining in the first quarter to give the Falcons a 6-0 lead. But they wouldn’t score again.
The Knights responed with two second quarter touchdowns – a 16-yard Maxey pass to Azaviar Kufor and a 1-yard Nigel Adams run – to take a 12-6 lead into halftime.
Major Bellamy hauled in a 3-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter and Adams’ 2-yard run with 2:27 remaining iced the game.
The Falcons could never gain momentum offensively, and Gary was a big reason why. Midway through the third quarter, he collected a sack for a 6-yard loss that put Dacula at third-and-16. Two plays later, he blocked a punt that put Central Gwinnett on the Falcons’ 19.
Early in the fourth quarter, he earned his second sack of the game to put Dacula in a fourth-and-long situation. The Black Knights would take over and orchestrated a nearly seven-minute drive that resulted in the game’s final score.
“Tim Gary is Mr. Motor,” Wofford said. “He flies around, gets tackles, gets sacks – he’s the heartbeat on the defense that gets everyone going. He’s electric.”
With the win, the Black Knights are inching closer to their first region title since 2005.
“It’s great to be 3-0,” Wofford said. “There’s only two undefeated teams left in the region – us and Grayson. It’s been awhile since we’ve been in this position. We’re excited.
“We’ve been talking about this since spring, and our goal was to be right where we are right now.”
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Dacula 6 0 0 0 – 6
Central Gwinnett 0 12 6 7 – 25
D – Kenny Rainey 18 pass from Wesley Whitehead (kick failed)
C – Azaviar Kufour 16 pass from Micah Maxey (kick failed)
C – Nigel Adams 1 run (pass failed)
C – Major Bellamy 3 pass from Maxey (run failed)
C- Nigel Adams 2 run (Luis Agluiar kick)
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