A defensive masterclass combined with a cleaner offensive attack in the second half proved to be the potent mixture for Habersham Central as the Raiders improved to 3-0 in region play with a 43-22 victory over Clarke Central Friday night in Athens.
Habersham Central (5-2, 3-0 8-AAAAA) found itself in a dogfight, coming out of the halftime break with a 21-15 lead.
The Raiders kicked the ball away to the Gladiators (2-5, 1-2) to start the third quarter and it looked like things were going to go Habersham Central’s way from the top. The kickoff – a squib kick to the right side of the field – landed on the ground in front of a Clarke Central player, bounced away from him and a Raider player dove on the ball.
With the Habersham Central sideline celebrating and pointing in their direction of play, expecting to send out the offensive unit after recovering the kick, the referees got together and deemed the ball dead and in the possession of the Gladiators.
Little to no explanation was given as to why the ball wasn’t a live ball and able to be recovered by the Raiders.
But the defense took matters into their own hands and forced a turnover on downs on Clarke Central’s first possession after the call with less than a minute off the clock.
Thirty-four seconds later, junior running back Donnie Warren was crossing the goal line on a 40-yard touchdown run.
Warren (28 carries, 216 yards, 4 TD) took the handoff and went right through a hole provided by the offensive line. He was met with defender after defender, breaking tackles the whole way before, ultimately, diving in the end zone for an emphatic start to the second half.
The Gladiators put on a tough drive coming back down the field and, inside the 10-yard line, threw a ball that found its way into the hands of junior defensive back Sutton Porter in the end zone.
With the Raiders taking over on the only turnover of the game, they went to work on a seven-play, 2-minute-36-second drive that ended with a 7-yard touchdown scamper for Warren.
On the ensuing point-after-try, the Gladiators jumped offsides. Just like the week before in the same scenario against Winder-Barrow, Head Coach Benji Harrison decided to go for a two-point conversion.
The Raiders lined up for the try and appeared to make an adjustment at the line of scrimmage with quarterback Paris Wilbanks (8-of-13 passing, 135 yards) leaving the backfield. As Wilbanks got his feet set on the right side of the formation, the ball was snapped directly to Warren, who promptly tucked it and pushed his way across the goal line for the successful attempt.
Habersham Central forced another turnover on downs at the 50-yard line on the following possession for Clarke Central before melting another 5 minutes, 55 seconds off the clock.
The 12-play, 50-yard possession was capped by a short, 4-yard rush for Warren. The run marked his fourth and final touchdown of the night and a 43-15 lead for his team.
“[Warren] had a bunch (of yards) in the second half,” Harrison said. “He just doesn’t get tired. He just gets better with the more carries he gets.”
The offensive line certainly showed improvement after the halftime break. Where they were struggling to push the Gladiators around early, they were opening up space for the running game and protecting Wilbanks well behind the line of scrimmage.
“I think, for us, if we continue to be patient with our running game, we can wear people down,” Harrison said. “I think that’s what happened. I think our offensive line gets stronger as the game goes on, I think Donnie gets stronger as the game goes on.”
Speaking of getting stronger as the game goes on, the defense was an incredibly bright spot in the second half for Habersham Central.
Along with the lone turnover coming in third quarter and two forced turnovers on downs, the Raiders held Clarke Central scoreless for 23 minutes, 50 seconds of the 24-minutes in the second half.
With 10 seconds left in the game, Gladiator quarterback Hudson Welter (16-of-26, 213 yards, 2 TD) found Troy Rucker for his longest catch of the game – a 3-yard touchdown reception.
“Kids feed off each other,” Harrison said of his defense shutting down Clarke Central in the second half. “When the offense starts picking it up and going, it gives the defense a little bit more ability to play free and relax because you’re getting some more points. Offensively, same thing.”
The Raiders opened up the game with fireworks as junior Jay Feltus took the kickoff 90 yards to the house after bobbling the ball and recovering it.
He first touched the ball on the left side as the Gladiators were intent on not kicking the ball to Warren.
Feltus knocked the ball down to his right and scooped it before continuing toward the right sideline. He slipped through and past the whole Gladiator coverage team.
Feltus had a big game, finishing with the kick off return touchdown and four catches for 88 yards. He had the highlight of the game to start, but, if there was an award for a standout offensive play of the game that didn’t score, he certainly would get it for his third-quarter catch with three defenders around him.
On the drive that resulted in Warren’s 7-yard touchdown, Feltus made his way just outside the right hash and Wilbanks let it fly. The result, a 39-yard snag that saw the junior leap to highpoint the ball and come down with the pass with a trio of defenders wondering how he did it.
“Paris trusts him. We talk about it all the time, if you’ll put air under the ball and let those guys go make plays, they’ll make plays for you,” Harrison said. “I think you could see [Feltus’] emotions when he made that play. He was feeling good about it, he was fired up about it, and, at that point in the game, it was a big play for us because the game was not over at that point.”
After the opening kickoff return, Clarke Central got theirs. They retaliated by taking 5 minutes, 47 seconds off the clock, sustaining a long drive.
Running back Nuhsi Valenti punched across a short 1-yard run for the Gladiators’ first score of the night. An offsides on the ensuing extra point set up the Gladiators with a short two-point conversion attempt, which Valenti also pushed across, for an 8-7 lead with 5:58 left in the first quarter.
It would be the first of only two leads the hosts would have in the contest.
The Raiders next possession would melt another 5 minutes, 5 seconds off the clock as they covered 72 yards on an 11-play push to the end zone.
Warren punched the ball across, running around the right side for the score and taking the lead back from the Gladiators.
Clarke Central’s second lead of the game would come with 9:58 left in the second quarter as Welter would find Lagracion Little for a 52-yard bomb down the right side of the field. The speedy receiver caught the ball on the fly and outstripped the Raider defense for a 15-14 lead.
Habersham Central went on another 11-play drive, this time covering 63 yards on its ensuing possession.
With 4 minutes, 23 seconds coming off the clock, Wilbanks rushed for his lone score of the game on a 5-yard carry.
House call for steak
The kickoff return for Feltus wasn’t just a great way to start a Friday night football game. It was making good on a wager weeks in the making.
“That cost me money, too. Let me tell you why,” Harrison said with a slight smile. “I made the deal the first three weeks and then got mad at them and told them I wasn’t doing it anymore, but I told them if we return one to the house, I’m taking them all to Longhorn.
“So we’re going to Longhorn sometime because I told them, if we can return one for a touchdown, we’ll do it. We’ll see if they remember, I have a feeling they will,” he continued.
Fast starts are still a trend for the Raiders. All five wins this season have that in common. The two losses on the schedule can’t say that. And, as Harrison said after last week’s contest, “I just think it shows how you need to start. Starting is so important.”
There’s not much of a faster start than a 17-second, 90-yard sprint to the house.
“There’s no better way to start the game than that,” Harrison said. “It sets the tone and we needed it. Especially when it looked like, in that first half, it was going to go back and forth. Jay is a really good player and he had a really good night, not only on special teams, but on offense as well.”
Crystal ball
As the season progresses, there are just three region games and a bye week left on the calendar. The ultimate goal for the regular season is to win a region championship. If you can’t win a region championship, the next best prize is being the No. 2 seed to host a region playoff game in Round 1.
Habersham Central’s region was matched up with Region 1 in the playoff bracket this season. The longest ride from Mt. Airy would be 330 miles for 5 hours, 29 minutes to Glynn Academy. The shortest ride would be to Greenbrier at 120 miles or 2 hours, 17 minutes.
With wins over Alcovy and Apalachee, the Raiders will guarantee themselves a home game in the first round. That would lead to a region championship game against Jackson County on Oct. 31 in Hoschton.
The Panthers, who are also 3-0 in region play after 64-14, 59-6, and 67-0 wins over Clarke Central, Alcovy, and Apalachee, respectively, still have Winder-Barrow and Loganville on the schedule ahead of facing Habersham Central on Halloween.
They’ll have a bye week next week before traveling to Winder on Oct. 17. The Bulldoggs seem to be the only candidate left with a chance of beating the Panthers before they reach that Halloween matchup with the Raiders.
With the Raiders off on Oct. 17, that matchup will be a score to look out for.
For now, Harrison and his squad will turn their attention to Alcovy at home next week for the final home game of the season.
Alcovy is winless this season, sitting at 0-6 overall and 0-2 in region play. After Habersham Central, the Tigers will have a pair of games at home against Apalachee and Clarke Central before finishing on the road at Loganville.
At any level, but especially in high school, it’s common to see teams play down to competition. With a lot riding on the result of this game, and the next, it’s important that the Raiders not fall into that trap with Alcovy.
Harrison hopes to avoid that pitfall by focusing inward.
“At this point in the year, it’s not who you play, what you play, when you play, where you play. It’s us playing the standard we want to be playing in Game 8,” Harrison said. “That’s, to me, what it is. Forget who you’re playing, what their record is. For us it’s all about, ‘Do we want to be playing our best ball at the end of the season?’ In order for us to do that, we can’t have a week where we let up or let down. We’ve got to play.”
The Raiders and Tigers will kick off at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Raider Stadium in Mt. Airy.
