High school football AAA championship preview: Gainesville vs. Peach County

Sandy Creek and Wilcox County are the others, and Savannah Christian is seeking its first in the Georgia High School Association.

But Gainesville is the only school that might breathe a sigh of relief amid the celebration of winning.

The Red Elephants have played in five finals. The most recent was 1982, when they scored a late touchdown in steady rain to pull within 7-6 of Bainbridge. But the snap on the extra-point attempt was misplayed, and Gainesville lost by a point.

“It would be a big deal, a very big deal to this community to win one,” Gainesville coach Bruce Miller said. “Peach County is a mighty good football team, and we’ve got to line up and play with them. But it would be big if we could make it happen.”

Gainesville has played football since 1905. Billy Lothridge, the 1963 Heisman Trophy runner-up from Georgia Tech, was a Red Elephant. But there’s never been a Gainesville team quite like this one.

The average score has been 44-9. Blake Sims has committed to Alabama, Tai-ler Jones to Notre Dame, Daunte Carr to Stanford and A.J. Johnson to Tennessee.

“We hope this is the one,” Miller said. “You always think that, but you just take each year at a time. This is a team that’s gelled great. But if we don’t win, we’ll want to win next year.’’

— Todd Holcomb

GAINESVILLE (14-0)

The skinny

Cairo coach Tom Fallaw, whose team lost to Gainesville 32-19 in the quarterfinals, breaks down the Red Elephants’ offense and defense:

• Offense: “Gainesville compares to Peach pretty closely. They have good running backs; they have a good quarterback; they have good receivers, and they’re good up front. There’s really no weakness. In high school football, when you put all of those qualities together, it’s difficult to stop.”

• Defense: “They run the 3-4, but they don’t do it with all the different looks that Peach gives you. What Gainesville does is play what they play and they do it fundamentally sound.”

AJC rating: 40

• Run [8]: (228 yards per game) Teryan Rucker is the leading rusher with 1,272 yards, but QB Blake Sims has 838 yards rushing. Both have 13 touchdowns.

• Pass [9]: (180 yards per game) Tai-ler Jones has 67 receptions for 1,240 yards and 17 touchdowns. QB Joel Ruiz (22-of-53, 336 yards) has had six touchdown passes with one interception.

• Vs. run [9]: (80 yards per game) Inside LB A.J. Johnson has committed to Tennessee as a junior.

• Vs. pass [7]: (90 yards per game) The starting linebackers have 16 sacks, led by Graham Simmons’ six.

• Special teams [7]: Gainesville has not attempted a field goal this season; Sims has returned a kickoff and two punts for touchdowns.

Need to know basis

• The history: Gainesville has won 25 region titles in the GHSA era (1948-present) and reached five state finals (1960, 1968, 1969, 1972, 1982).

• Last year: Lost to Carver-Columbus 28-14 in the quarterfinals.

Starting lineups

OFFENSE

QB – 2 *Blake Sims, 6-1, 190, Sr.

FB – 42 *Teryan Rucker, 5-9, 180, Sr.

HB – 4 Tyson Smith, 5-9, 165, Sr.

WR – 9 *Tai-ler Jones, 6-0, 185, Sr.

WR – 5 Michael Lorentz, 6-0, 180, Jr.

WR – 12 Desmund Hamilton, 5-8, 160, Jr.

LT – 62 Sloan Strickland, 6-0, 205, Sr.

LG – 63 Jacob Couch, 6-2, 245, Sr.

C – 68 Michael Waters, 6-0, 210, Sr.

RG – 75 David McConnell, 6-6, 265, Sr.

RT – 70 Greg Stenzel, 6-2, 215, Sr.

KO – 15 Chicano Perez, 5-11, 170, Sr.

PK - 37 Reid Almond, 6-2, 175, Jr.

DEFENSE

E – 56 Taylor Stowe, 5-10, 190, Sr.

NG – 69 Thomas Niles, 6-2, 250, Jr.

E – 54 Kevin Hall, 5-11, 20-5, Jr.

OLB – 44 Graham Simmons, 5-10, 180, Jr.

ILB – 34 *Thomas Sprague, 6-1, 215, Sr.

ILB – 45 *A.J. Johnson, 6-3, 220, Jr.

OLB – 47 Alberto Sanabria, 5-11, 185, Sr.

CB – 7 Justin Owens, 5-11, 195, Sr.

CB – 17 Kendrick Millsap, 5-9, 165, Jr.

S – 13 *Daunte Carr, 6-3, 190, Sr.

S – 19 Tevin Yarbrough, 5-7, 160, Sr.

P – 2 *Blake Sims, 6-1, 190, Sr.

* Division I-A recruit

Results

8/28 Chestatee W 34-0

9/4 Franklin County W 41-0

9/11 White County 42-20

9/18 North Hall W 55-12

9/25 West Hall W 56-13

10/2 West Forsyth W 34-0

10/9 East Hall W 63-0

10/23 Gilmer W 36-7

10/30 Johnson W 63-0

11/6 Flowery Branch 49-17

11/13 Lakeview-Ft. Oglethorpe 42-0

11/20 Dunwoody W 41-10

11/27 Cairo W 32-19

12/4 Flowery Branch W 29-21

PEACH COUNTY (14-0)

The skinny

Cairo coach Tom Fallaw, whose team lost to Peach County 24-13 on Oct. 9, breaks down the Trojans’ offense and defense:

● Offense: “Peach’s offense has a good quarterback, a couple of good running backs and a couple of receivers who are pretty athletic. Their offensive line is probably their strong point, though. They’re fundamentally sound up front, and they do a real good job.”

● Defense: “Peach’s defense is good up front. They have a nose and a tackle who are real athletic and create a lot of disruptions. Their linebackers are the same way. Scheme-wise, what Peach does makes it even more difficult because they run a 3-4 defense where they give you a lot of different looks and give you a lot of different blitzes. They present matchup problems for you everywhere.”

AJC rating: 39

● Run [8]: (174 yards per game) The Trojans’ offense is almost perfectly balanced, gaining 5 more yards per game rushing than passing. Travis Richmond leads the running game with 998 yards on 131 carries, a 7.6-yard average.

● Pass [7]: (169 yards per game) Patrick Taylor has thrown for 2,368 yards and 19 touchdowns and completes 65 percent of his passes. His top target is Lamar Zanders with 41 catches for 883 yards and eight touchdowns.

● Vs. run [8]: (101 yards per game) Defensive end Kelsey Lewis has 48 tackles, 48 assists, 10 tackles for loss and two sacks. Middle linebacker Ryan Bowman leads in tackles with 67.

● Vs. pass [9]: (55 yards per game) Jontavious Davis leads with eight interceptions, and opponents have completed only 41 percent of their pass attempts.

● Special teams [7]: Rustin Evatt has made 41-of-48 extra points and averages 35.6 yards per punt. The Trojans don’t kick field goals often; Evatt has made 4-of-10 attempts this season.

Need to know basis

● ●The history: Peach County High is located in Fort Valley, about 100 miles south of Atlanta near Macon. Peach County was created in 1924 from parts of Macon and Houston counties because of the area’s close association with the fruit. Fort Valley also is known for being the home of the Blue Bird school bus company. Peach County High won Class AAA football championship in 2005 and 2006, and its predecessor, Fort Valley High, won states titles in 1948 and 1961.

● ●Last year: Lost to Shaw 22-7 in the first round of the Class AAA playoffs.

Starting lineups

OFFENSE

QB - 9 Patrick Taylor, 6-0, 170, Sr.

RB - 4 Travis Richmond, 5-5, 160, Jr.

RB - 28 Luke Crowell, 5-8, 185, Sr.

WR - 8 Isaiah Miller, 5-10, 170, Jr.

WR - 13 *Lamar Zanders, 6-2, 195, Sr.

TE - 3 Courtney Mathis, 6-0, 210, Sr.

RT - 55 Renard Williams, 6-2, 210, Jr.

RG – 67 Tervarus Ages, 5-9, 190, Sr.

C – 75 Telvin Zanders, 5-10, 250, Sr.

LG – 78 Jacolbi Fields, 6-2, 240, Sr.

LT – 64 Brandon Wiggins, 5-11, 195, So.

PK - 40 Rustin Evatt, 6-0, 185, Sr.

DEFENSE

DE – 29 *Kelcey Lewis, 6-2, 200, Sr.

NG – 56 Randolph Williams, 5-11, 245, Jr.

DE – 55 Renard Williams, 6-2, 210, Jr.

WLB - 24 Octavius Hall, 5-11, 180, Jr.

MLB - 25 Ryan Bowman, 5-9, 190, So.

SLB - 28 Luke Crowell, 5-8, 185, Sr.

Rov. – 34 Danney Griggs, 5-9, 180, Sr.

CB – 7 LaBrandon Johnson, 5-10, 180, Sr.

CB – 12 Darion Howard, 5-6, 160, So.

Bandit – 20 Chris Holt, 6-1, 175, Jr.

FS – 31 Jontavious Davis, 5-11, 150, Jr.

P - 40 Rustin Evatt, 6-0, 185, Sr.

* Division I-A recruit

Results

8/28##Macon County##W 41-20

9/4##Rutland##W 31-13

9/11##Baldwin##W 17-7

9/25##Perry##W 40-0

10/2##Monroe##W 31-6

10/9##Cairo##W 24-13

10/16##Westover##W 42-6

10/23##Worth County##W 36-13

10/30##Dougherty##W 41-13

11/6##Crisp County##W 35-7

11/13##Spalding##W 45-7

11/20##Washington County##W 29-6

11/27##St. Pius##W 21-14 (OT)

12/4##Eastside##W 21-14

— Chip Saye