Mikey Gonzalez is no Deshaun Watson, but Gainesville is feeling pretty good about the replacement to its star quarterback who led the team to a state title in 2012 and now runs the offense at Clemson.
Gonzalez, a senior, threw for a career-high 457 yards and five touchdowns last week in a 61-26 victory over Cedar Shoals. For the season, Gonzalez is 172-of-239 passing for 2,044 yards and 23 touchdowns.
It's so real surprise at Gainesville. Gonzalez was 53-of-77 passing for 686 yards and 10 touchdowns as a reserve last season.
This season, he has thrown four touchdown passes in a game four times. Since the opening 39-0 loss to Grayson, Gainesville has averaged 42.7 points per game.
"Very intelligent and has got real good football instincts," Gainesville coach Bruce Miller said. "He sat in every meeting with Deshaun for the years and was like a sponge. Just soaked up the knowledge, and he is a very tough kid. Short - only 5-8 - but he's football wise and very accurate throwing. Great student and great person."
Here are some of the top performances from last week.
Top five
*Arabia Mountain QB Jakobi Meyers was 23-of-42 passing for 303 yards and six touchdowns and rushed for 147 yards on 13 carries in a 70-38 loss to St. Pius. Malick Mobdj (115) and Marcus Grey (149) each had three TD receptions and more than 100 yards receiving.
*Gilmer RB Russell Cochran rushed for a school-record 330 yards and five touchdowns on 22 carries in a 62-27 victory over LaFayette.
*Milton DE Mike Collins had 10 tackles, five for losses, 3.5 sacks and two QB hurries in a 30-13 victory over Woodstock, which finished with minus-8 yards rushing.
*North Gwinnett WR Joshua Imatorbhebhe had six catches for 206 yards and five touchdowns in a 71-24 victory over Duluth.
*Gainesville QB Mikey Gonzalez was 22-of-31 passing for 457 yards and five touchdowns - three to WR Messiah Dorsey, who had 10 catches for 234 yards and three touchdowns - in a 61-26 victory over Cedar Shoals.
Lines of distinction
*Lithonia's offensive line of C Natarius Cowan, G Temitayo Salem, G Martavious Hodnett, T Kenneth McCollum and T Rodney Lewis paved the way for 402 rushing yards and 192 passing yards in a 55-6 victory over Stone Mountain. They were the catalyst for Oral Varcciann's 164 yards rushing, 80 yards receiving and four touchdowns.
*Macon County's offensive line of RT Daniel Yanez, RG Raymond Smith, C Joseph Journey, LG Jose Yanez and LT Tre Hill - both tackles are freshmen - cleared the way for 480 yards in total offense (141 yards rushing by sophomore RB Jared Daniels), in a 37-0 victory over Northeast. Macon County has allowed only one sack this season (Fitzgerald).
*Mount Pisgah Christian's offensive line of RT Nick Bernier, RG Jack Geier, C Patrick Ainsworth, LG Wes Booth, LT Garrett Brasher and LT Chad Peden led an offense that put up 545 yards, 426 rushing, and never punted in a 64-22 victory over King's Ridge. Mount Pisgah was 8-for-9 on third-down conversions and 1-for-1 on fourth downs.
*Parkview's offensive line of T Trey Derouen, G Brooks Britt, C Josh West, G Shane Carroll, T Jake Cooper and G Jimmy Fisher opened the door for 604 yards of total offense - 342 rushing, 262 passing - in a 49-27 victory over Shiloh.
*St. Pius's offensive line of T Chad Nelson, G Luke Stokes, C Colm Boyer, G Chris McNulty, T Eric Long, G Ty Mascara and TE Cameron Fannon paved the way for 527 yards rushing in a 70-38 victory over Arabia Mountain. St. Pius did not attempt a pass.
*Tattnall Square's offensive line of LT Jacob Binner, LG Philip Dunn, C Davis Hardin, RG Spencer Boyd and RT Rex Damron led the way for 303 yards rushing in a in a 37-26 victory over Twiggs County. Tattnall has rushed for nearly 2,700 yards this season, averaging 330 yards per game during an 8-0 start.
*Woodward Academy's defensive line of DE Andre Newton, DE Tommy Bryan, DT Nate Guyton, DT Jack Carroll and DE Coston Barber led a defense that allowed only seven first downs and held Sandy Creek star RB Eric Swinney to 47 yards on 19 carries in a 24-7 victory over Sandy Creek.
Best of the rest
*Alpharetta DB Will Downing had 12.5 tackles, 2.5 for losses, and broke up a pass in a 24-14 victory over South Forsyth.
*Apalachee WR Kent Knowles had 11 receptions for 165 yards and two touchdowns in a 35-28 loss to Heritage of Conyers.
*Bremen RB Daulton Pope rushed for 266 yards and three touchdowns and returned an interception for a touchdown in a 34-12 victory over Manchester. Pope has rushed for at least 250 yards in three consecutive games.
*Brunswick sophomore ATH Shawn Smith had 80 yards receiving, 60 rushing and 23 passing and three touchdowns in a 39-33 victory over Richmond Hill.
*Calhoun QB Kaelan Riley was 18-of-22 passing for 219 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 51 yards and a touchdown on six carries - all in the first half - in a 56-3 victory over Murray County.
*Calvary Day RB Robert Heyward rushed for 318 yards and five touchdowns on 23 carries in a 49-21 victory over Claxton.
*Central of Carroll County RB Kyle Terrell rushed for 275 yards and four touchdowns on 13 carries in a 42-14 victory over Cedartown.
*Charlton County freshman RB Eric Daniels rushed for 137 yards and three touchdowns in a 34-20 victory over Telfair County.
*Dacula DL Lawson Cook had 11 tackles, forced two fumbles, recovered two fumbles, returned an interception for a touchdown and broke up a pass in a 24-17 victory over Grayson.
*East Hall QB Devin Watson was 11-of-14 passing for 142 yards and a touchdown, rushed for 188 yards and four touchdowns and intercepted a pass in a 34-7 victory over Franklin County.
*Fitzgerald QB Gerald Morgan rushed for 111 yards and a touchdown on eight carries and was 9-of-9 passing for 151 yards and four touchdowns in a 42-0 victory over Pelham.
*Forsyth Central RB Shaun Diebel rushed for 202 yards and three touchdowns on 25 carries and surpassed 1,000 rushing yards on the season (1,137). Sophomore RB Sabrian Howard rushed for 141 yards, making it three times that each has gone over 100 in a game.
*Hart County QB Cameron Fouch was 16-of-21 passing for 366 yards and two touchdowns, rushed for 26 yards and a touchdown and was 4-for-4 on extra points in a 49-21 victory over Oconee County. Receivers Wrafi Rucker (109) and Anthony Turner (108) had more than 100 yards receiving and one touchdown and four receptions each.
*Irwin County RB Jakyron Young had 209 yards and three touchdowns on 17 carries in a 40-0 victory over Wilcox County.
*Jackson (Atlanta) RB Marquez Burdette rushed for 204 yards and one touchdown on 25 carries in a 30-22 victory over South Atlanta.
*Kell RB Ivan Walls rushed for 246 yards on 23 carries and scored four touchdowns, one on a 58-yard run, in a 35-7 victory over North Atlanta.
*Lanier LB Jeremy Taylor had 16 solo tackles, two for losses, in a 42-35 victory over Salem.
*Luella DT A.J. Reeves had 13 tackles, 1.5 sacks, a forced fumble and a recovery in a 19-0 victory over Ola.
*Mary Persons RB Dee High rushed for 200 yards on 29 carries in a 31-0 victory over Veterans.
*Mays LB Tobias Little had six tackles, two for losses, one sack and two QB hurries and returned an interception 28 yards in a 35-14 victory over Carver of Atlanta.
*Metter RB Chris Tarver rushed for 297 yards and four touchdowns on 13 carries in a 48-14 victory over East Laurens.
*Model RB Nakyle Watkins rushed for 257 yards and one touchdown on 29 carries and exceeded 1,000 yards rushing for the season (1,226) in a 23-0 victory over Chattooga.
*Mount Paran Christian LB Nick Sbravati had 25 tackles, four for losses, and a fumble return for a touchdown in a 42-0 victory over Trion.
*Mundy's Mill RB Khalid Hylton rushed for 187 yards and four touchdowns on 11 carries in a 33-16 victory over Starr's Mill. Hylton has 1,001 yards rushing on the season.
*North Gwinnett QB John Urzua was 18-of-27 passing for 399 yards and seven touchdowns in a 71-24 victory over Duluth. It was the second seven-TD passing game for Urzua, who did it previously in the opener against McEachern.
*North Paulding WR D.J. Owens caught eight passes for 112 yards and four touchdowns in a 42-41 victory over Marietta.
*Northgate RB Kyle Cater rushed for 213 yards and four touchdowns on 31 carries in a 43-30 victory over Drew.
*Northwest Whitfield QB Caleb Shiflett was 17-for-23 passing for 429 yards and five touchdowns in a 41-30 victory over Ridgeland.
*Parkview QB Jack Chambers was 17-of-24 passing for 262 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 103 yards and three touchdowns in a 49-27 victory over Shiloh.
*Pickens DL Jerry Nelson had 10 tackles, three sacks and one stop behind the line in a 23-0 victory over Heritage of Ringgold.
*Rabun County QB Collin Grant rushed for 160 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries and passed for 99 yards and a touchdown in a 22-7 victory over Washington-Wilkes. Rabun County is one victory from its first region title since 1998.
*Rockdale County RB T.J. Warren rushed for 181 yards and three touchdowns on six carries and caught four passes for 83 yards in a 37-14 victory over Lakeside of Atlanta.
*Shiloh WR Cameron Stewart had 12 catches for 243 yards and three touchdowns in a 49-27 loss to Parkview.
*Spalding sophomore LB Kelvin Johnson had four tackles, two for losses, recovered a fumble for a touchdown and returned an interception for a touchdown in a 47-20 victory over Riverdale.
*Tattnall Square RB/LB J.J. Battle rushed for 110 yards and three touchdowns on 10 carries and made seven tackles on defense in a 37-26 victory over Twiggs County.
*Wesleyan DL Ollie "Sax" Robinson had 15 tackles, two for losses, and blocked a field goal in a 30-24 loss to Lovett.
*West Hall WB Kwon Williams rushed for 194 yards and four touchdowns on seven carries and returned a kickoff 84 yards for a touchdown in a 49-0 victory over Fannin County.
*Westover QB Emory McKenzie rushed for 155 yards and two touchdowns and was 5-of-9 passing for 121 yards and one touchdown in a 27-8 victory over Dougherty.
*Whitewater RB Christian Wafford rushed for 286 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries in a 30-0 victory over Fayette County. It put him over 1,000 yards (1,115) on the season.
*Winder-Barrow RB CeCe Green rushed for 153 yards and four touchdowns on 27 carries in a 35-29 victory over Clarke Central. Winder-Barrow had been 0-12 against Clarke Central.
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