For the first time this season, the Habersham Central High School football team went on the road and got back on the buses to head home after a dominant performance.
The Raiders (2-3, 1-0 Region 8-AAAAA) took a commanding 35-0 lead in the first half and never relinquished control against Loganville High School Friday night.
It marks not only the first road win of the year, but the first region win. As HCHS Head Coach Benji Harrison said to his team after the final horn sounded, “We’re 1-0, baby!”
Currently, the Raiders are the only team in the region with a win as two other teams were on a bye week and Apalachee High School has suspended all school activities after the school shooting that took place there on September 4.
Getting the win puts HCHS ahead of the eight ball, but with plenty of work ahead.
“It’s huge. We haven’t had any success on the road so far this year, so to come on the road – long ride – it’s huge if you’re going to compete for the region (title),” Harrison said. “That’s the goal. Anything less than that is not what we’re shooting for. We want to compete for the region championship and, if you’re going to have a shot at that, you’ve got to win on the road.”
On the night, sophomore quarterback Paris Wilbanks threw for three touchdowns and rushed for another.
Junior receiver Tylon Davis caught the first of those passing touchdowns, opening scoring less than three minutes into the game. Senior wide receiver Zeke Whittington caught the other two, one in the second quarter and one in the third.
Junior running back Donnie Warren found the end zone on two big run plays in the first half. His senior counterpart Antonio Cantrell made his way across the goal line twice as well.
The Red Devils (0-5, 0-1 8-5A) scored three times in the second half. They received the opening kick following the break and capped off a 3-minute, 25-second drive with a short 1-yard rushing touchdown.
The Raiders answered in less than four minutes for Whittington’s first touchdown catch. Then Loganville came back in less than three minutes for junior quarterback Brody Hannah to find Tyler Breedlove for a score.
The Hannah to Breedlove connection resulted in the Red Devils’ final score of the game as well, coming with 5:10 left in the game on a running clock in the final period of play.
HCHS was the beneficiary of continually improving offensive line play that was able to bully the Loganville defensive line all night.
“To be a complete offense, you can have good receivers, you can have good quarterback play, you can have good running back play. But all that is going to be up and down if your offensive line play is not consistent. We’re trying to get more consistent,” Harrison said. “You can talk about all the skill stuff you want to, but the heart and soul of the football team is the offensive line. If your offensive line is a tough group, you’ve got a good chance to win football games.”
The O-line gaining confidence week over week has allowed Wilbanks time to throw the ball and the running backs time to use their blocking and break runs. While that has been evident in the last few weeks against White County and Cherokee Bluff high schools, it was on display Friday night as the Raiders put up 56 points for the first time since 2020.
Harrison credits the scoring frenzy to simply finishing drives. Last week against Cherokee Bluff, the Raiders were stopped inside the 5-yard line on fourth down, delivering a blow to some offensive confidence and, as Harrison put it earlier this week, “prevented us from winning the game.”
On the first offensive drive Friday, there was a 3rd-and-6 play inside the 10 that had Harrison blocking out flashbacks to that fateful drive last week.
“If we had to kick a field goal there, we’d have thought, ‘Oh, gah. Here we go. We haven’t fixed (our offense inside the 10),’” Harrison said. “To get it in the end zone there gave us the confidence we needed because that can become a mental block if you’re not careful.”
Ultimately, the offense was so efficient Friday night, the Raiders didn’t have to send out the punt unit at all.
Up next
Now, HCHS slides into one of its two bye weeks.
Harrison said he and his staff will remind the team that there’s no time to sit back and get complacent.
“As coaches, we have to do a really good job managing this off week,” Harrison said. “Not losing that momentum that we gained from tonight. Not letting our kids relax. Human nature is to relax, especially when you have some success.”
This bye week could be important for the Raiders as it comes after a tough first five weeks of the season and it breaks up a month away from the friendly confines of Raider Stadium.
“I think we need some rest mentally. It’s been a long five weeks. I think we need (the off week),” Harrison said. “We need to have a good plan as coaches to make sure our kids keep their focus.”
The Raiders will be back on the field on Sept. 27 at Winder-Barrow High School before coming back to Mt. Airy on Oct. 4 to host Clarke Central High School.
