Habersham Central entered their matchup against Cherokee Bluff on Friday without any home losses, but there's a first time for everything. The Habersham Central Raiders took a 31-24 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Cherokee Bluff Bears. While losing is never fun, the Raiders can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Georgia football rankings (they are ranked 211th, while the Bears are ranked 98th).
Despite the defeat, Habersham Central saw an underclassman step up: Paris Wilbanks rushed for 115 yards and a touchdown, and also threw for 293 yards and two touchdowns. Those 293 passing yards set a new season-high mark for him. Zeke Whittington was Wilbanks' top target, picking up 131 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Habersham Central wouldn't let Cherokee Bluff keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Habersham Central can thank Anthony Garrido and Aaron Hitchcock for forcing both of them.
A big part of the victory came down to the chemistry between Brooks Brien and his top target Dylan Haley. Brien threw for 385 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 16.7 yards per attempt while Haley picked up 157 receiving yards and two touchdowns. A healthy portion of that aerial production (81 yards to be exact) also went to Landon Kemp, who also brought in a receiving touchdown.
Habersham Central's loss dropped their record down to 1-3. As for Cherokee Bluff, the win for them keeps them at an undefeated 4-0.
Habersham Central will square off against Loganville at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Habersham Central is facing Loganville at the right time seeing as Loganville is stuck on a four-game losing streak. As for Cherokee Bluff, they will welcome Banks County at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Cherokee Bluff knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 31 point or more in their past four contests -- so hopefully Banks County likes a good challenge.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
