Elephants, Dragons complete perfect regular seasons

FLOWERY BRANCH – Gainesville and Jefferson - two teams looking to finish off unbeaten regular seasons and win region titles - did not leave disappointed Friday on the final night of the prep football regular season.

Class AAA No. 1 Gainesville still had some unfinished business against last year’s Class AAA state runner-up and rival Flowery Branch and wasted little time in proving it may be the team to beat for the state title.

The Red Elephants scored on four of their first five possessions and used its dominating defense to stifle what had been a potent Falcons offense in a 49-17 win to claim their second straight Region 7-AAA title.

Flowery Branch came into the contest averaging more than 47 points a game behind Connor Shaw but the Gainesville defense smothered Shaw and the Falcons under a barrage of blitzes as they built a quick 28-0 lead in the first half.

Class AA No. 4 Jefferson also started fast but had to hold off a furious second half rally to beat East Jackson 35-21 to win the Region 8-AA title for a second consecutive season. The Dragons took a 7-0 lead on a long drive but East Jackson answered with a 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. It was all Jefferson the rest of the first half as the Dragons led 21-7 at halftime and led by as many as 21 late in the third quarter.

Class AAAAA No. 3 North Gwinnett avenged a loss to No. 9 Peachtree Ridge last season with a tough 21-7 win over the Lions to win Region 7-AAAAA.

Riverside Military Academy completed an improbable run to the Class AA playoffs with a 27-0 win over Dawson County on the road. The Eagles (5-5) won three of their final four games to win tiebreakers over Fannin County and Union County in Region 8-AA.

Check additional stories on accessnorthga.com for a complete rundown on the final night of the prep football regular season.