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In high school football, there is little time to reflect on the past because a program must keep all eyes trained on the future.
“In my business you’re only as good as your next game,” said Gainesville coach Bruce Miller. “No one remembers what you did last week.”
Unless you had the type of performance that two-year starting quarterback Blake Sims had in the Red Elephants 49-17 win against Flowery Branch last Friday night.
Sims was 9-for-12 passing, rushed 10 times and had two receptions for a total of 295 yards of total offense and three touchdowns.
For his efforts, Sims is The Times Player of the Week.
With the win, the Red Elephants earned the right to play host to Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe (7-3) in the first round of Class AAA state playoffs at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Bobby Gruhn Field. Gainesville also added its second Region 7-AAA title in as many years and ended the regular season with a perfect 10-0 record.
“I played very well for my team,” said Sims of his performance. “I have been a good leader to my team.”
And Miller agrees: “He’s matured in the offense a lot,” he said of the senior. “He was a good leader last year, but he’s become even more of a leader this season.”
Sims ended the regular season completing 63 percent of his passes for 1,547 yards and 22 touchdowns. He’s also run for 583 yards on 69 carries for 10 touchdowns, and had four receptions for 164 yards and three scores.
“He sees things out on the field,” said Miller. “And our relationship is absolutely great. He trusts me and I trust him.”
Gainesville has continuously proven it deserves the top-spot in the state, but Sims remains unscathed by the pressure of being the quarterback of a No. 1-ranked team.
“We haven’t been looking at that at all,” Sims said. “We’ve just been coming out trying to prove we should be the best team in the state.”
The Red Elephants entered the playoffs last year with a 10-0 record, but were silenced by a 28-14 loss to Carver High on Dec. 5 in Columbus.
“It’s a sudden death situation,” said Miller of the postseason. “ When you hit the playoffs every opponent is good.”
When asked about the possibility of retribution against the Tigers, Miller smiled and said, “It’ll stick in the back of our minds. We would look forward to playing them again, but we’ve got to get through this week first.”
Regardless who the opponent is, Sims keeps it simple, saying of the future, “I’m going to lead my team to victory.”
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