Click here to view more photos from the game.
By JOHANNA HALL – Print Sports Editor
By KEVIN MOBLEY – Editor-in-Chief
The Clarke Central varsity football team fell short in a fourth quarter comeback attempt against Flowery Branch.
In the second edition of a three-game home stretch, the Clarke Central varsity football team hosted Flowery Branch High School at Billy Henderson Stadium on Oct. 9.
After defeating Flowery Branch 32-12 in 2014, the Gladiators took the field with the expectation for a win. Instead, they left with the disappointment of a home loss.
“I was expecting to come out with a win,” senior CCHS cornerback Rayshawn McCall said. “Before this game, we were undefeated at home. Things didn’t turn out how I would have planned it to be turned out, but we’ll keep fighting and try to win the rest of these games for the rest of the season.”
The Falcons were the first to score as the snap flew past CCHS sophomore punter Victor Silva and was recovered by FBHS in the endzone with 3:09 left in the first quarter. The Gladiators soon responded with a drive of their own that ended with a four-yard touchdown by senior running back Jaqua Daniels to end the first quarter with the score tied at seven.
With 10:47 left in the second quarter, Falcon quarterback Jasen Johnson scored a two-yard touchdown to put FBHS ahead 14-7. A safety with five minutes left in the half increased the Flowery Branch lead to 16-7 before halftime.
Within the first minute of the third quarter, Daniels ran 71 yards into the endzone for Clarke Central’s second touchdown of the night.
Flowery Branch quickly recovered as Falcon quarterback Kory Graham found senior receiver Cortez Davis for a 60-yard touchdown to give the Falcons a 22-14 lead.
After a four-yard touchdown run from Davis made it 28-14 with 10:49 remaining, the Gladiators answered back with a 62-yard touchdown pass of their own coming from sophomore quarterback Jack Mangel to Smothers, making up for a 62-yard touchdown attempt from Daniels to Smothers that was called back in the second quarter.
“We were down and we were making it fast-paced and trying to score quick,” Daniels said.
A hail mary heave from Mangel with four seconds left in the game proved unsuccessful, and the game ended in a final score of 28-21, Falcons.
“Our guys fought back to have a chance to win, and we just didn’t follow through, didn’t execute at the end and also (had) a lot of stupid mistakes,” head football coach Ahren Self said.
The Gladiators season record now stands at 2-3, 2-2 in Region 8-AAAAA. With this loss, the team faces a tough road to the state playoffs.
“We have to win every single game from here on out,” junior CCHS outside linebacker Anthony Dunn said.
Clarke Central will host Gainesville High School (4-1) on Oct. 16 in the final installment of the Gladiators’ three-game home stretch. Flowery Branch (3-3) will host Apalachee High School (0-5) next week in hopes of securing another region win.
Click here for Steller by Emma Ramsay and Andrew Caldwell on the game.
