Today’s interviewee is Gainesville Times sports editor Bill Murphy, a Hall County native who has covered high school sports for The Times since 2005. Murphy will be covering tonight’s Cherokee Bluff-North Hall game that could decide the Region 7-3A championship.
Bill Murphy, Gainesville Times sports editor
1. What’s the buzz surrounding the North Hall-Cherokee Bluff game? Why is it interesting to you? “First of all, this game could definitely go either way tonight. Both are 4-0 in Region 7-3A. I don’t think anyone circled this game as one that could potentially determine the 7-3A championship when the season started. Cherokee Bluff has been absolutely lights out, while North Hall has probably made the biggest improvement since early in the season in northeast Georgia. Cherokee Bluff has a very deep defensive unit. The most notable name is Shad Dabney in the Bears' secondary, who is committed to the University of Kansas. Dabney enrolled from Riverside Military Academy when Riverside canceled all of its fall sports because of COVID concerns. Cherokee Bluff has so much depth on defense, and only a few of those guys are seniors. I can’t say enough good things about what head coach Tommy Jones has done with the football program at Cherokee Bluff. He had a lot of success at Dacula prior to taking the job. The Bears also have a tremendous junior running back, Jayquan Smith, who topped 300 yards in the win against Dawson County and had all four scores in a 28-27 decision. I would not be surprised if Smith is one of the top running backs in the state next year.”
''As for North Hall, it’s doing what they do best: Run the ball very well and win lots of football games. The Trojans have been a really drastic turnaround in 2020. When the season started, coach David Bishop only had one player with starting experience at the line of scrimmage. When North Hall lost three straight non-region games to open the season, I think a lot of people wrote the Trojans off as a region championship contender. However, North Hall’s football tradition is so strong that anyone who follows football in this area knew it would certainly be in the running for the playoffs. North Hall will likely need to win out to take the region championship. Next week, North Hall has Dawson County [3-1 in region play] to wrap up the regular season. North Hall has made the playoffs six of seven seasons under Bishop. The Trojans last won a region championship in 2012."
2. Did you expect Cherokee Bluff to become one of the county’s better teams so soon? Why do you feel they’ve become a good program? “Personally, I did not expect Cherokee Bluff to become so dominant so soon. It’s all a testament to the work Tommy Jones and his staff have done with the Bears. When he took over the job in 2018, Jones said his first meeting with players had about 15 or 16 kids in the room. In year one, he had no other choice but to play a ton of freshmen, more than any coach would normally feel comfortable doing. However, it’s paid off big time. Next year, Cherokee Bluff will probably have 10 or so four-year starters, which is almost unheard of in high school football. Naturally, success breeds interest in the program. Cherokee Bluff is located in a pocket with so many dominant high school football programs – Flowery Branch, Buford and Mill Creek all just a few miles away – but I think the Bears are going to be a force for a very long time in Hall County.”
3. Gainesville, a city school and alma mater of Deshaun Watson, is the best-known football program in the county. What’s the state of Gainesville football right now? "Gainesville is in tremendous shape with coach Heath Webb. The Red Elephants have jumped right into Region 6-7A and have a real chance of winning that region against six schools, all in Forsyth County. Gainesville has a lot of exciting things going on with facilities, including a new football field house and an indoor football facility coming in 2021. Gainesville is pushing 100 players in the program, which is huge in the state’s highest classification. Gainesville got off to a great start this season with a big win against Stockbridge on the road, which really set the tone for the season. Coach Webb said that the region was going to be tremendously close for playoff seeding for the top four teams, which has been the case. If Gainesville wins its last two regular-season games, then the Red Elephants are a lock to open the postseason at City Park Stadium. Gainesville has a playoff streak that goes back to 2000 but hasn’t posted a winning season since 2015. At 5-3 overall, the Red Elephants [3-1 in Region 6-7A] have a good chance to finish with more wins than losses. Their future looks extremely bright with a ton of talent in the sophomore and junior classes, one of which is sophomore running back Naim Cheeks, who will become a name people hear a lot of across the state in 2021 and 2022. [Cheeks is on GHSF Daily’s yardage Leaderboard with 863 rushing.]
4. Which program in the county has the best chance to advance multiple rounds in the playoffs, and why? “Flowery Branch. The Falcons have continued to get better since dropping the region opener to Jefferson 40-10 back on Oct. 9. Flowery Branch needs to beat Chestatee tonight and East Hall next week to lock up the No. 2 spot to state in Class 4A. Senior running back Jaizen Ellingham [a GHSF Daily preseason all-state pick] has dealt with injury issues this season, but if he’s healthy Flowery Branch will be a tough out in state. Junior quarterback David Renard has been very good this season, throwing for close to 2,000 yards. The Falcons have so much talent across the board, I don’t think losing to Jefferson will hurt them in the long run. I would not be surprised at all to see the Dragons win the state championship. Flowery Branch has the benefit of playing a tough schedule and having to grind to win a double-overtime region game against North Oconee. The Falcons looked to put it all together with a 49-7 win against Madison County last week.”
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