ATHENS — Gainesville generated the kind of start it wanted Friday night, but it was the start of the week that bothered head coach Bruce Miller.

As early as Monday, Miller got a sense that his team was taking its next opponent lightly, and his worst fears were ultimately realized in a 44-7 loss at Clarke Central on Friday.

“It’s the worst performance I’ve ever had by a team I’ve coached in seven or eight years,” Miller said. “I told them all week that you’re going to overlook this bunch. Nobody wanted to listen. They wanted to coach themselves. It was a terrible performance by a football team.”

The Red Elephants scored less than three minutes into the game but were outscored 44-0 the rest of the way in losing for the second straight week. Gainesville (4-3, 4-2 Region 8-AAAAA) hurt itself with five turnovers as it fell further behind in its quest for the region title.

Sophomore quarterback Jack Mangel passed for a career-high 343 yards and four touchdowns to lead Clarke Central (3-4, 3-3 Region 8-AAAAA) to its highest scoring output of the season. The Gladiators toted a 19-point scoring average into the game.

Mangel connected with four different receivers for touchdowns and added a score on the ground in a game that got away from Gainesville before halftime. Clarke Central led 37-7 at the break and ended all hopes of a Red Elephants’ comeback early in the third quarter with a 72-yard touchdown pass play from Mangel to Reggie Smothers. Smothers reached over two defenders to make the grab and ran the remaining 45 yards untouched.

“I had a good feeling,” Clarke Central coach Ahren Self said. “We had a good week of practice all week and we were due to put a whole game together.”

Gainesville came out strong on the opening drive as it marched 76 yards in seven plays. Quarterback Messiah Dorsey capped the drive with a 2-yard scoring run as the Red Elephants made it look easy for a 7-0 lead.

Clarke Central answered on its fourth snap of the game as Mangel dumped a screen pass to running back Jaqua Daniels, who took it the rest of the way for a 63-yard scoring play that proved to be a sign of things to come. Rayshawn McCall and Desmond Sorrells also hauled in first-half touchdown passes from Mangel, covering 12 and 58 yards, respectively.

The Gladiators defense also provided points in the form of a safety and a fumble return touchdown. The safety came early in the second quarter when Aaron Gresham sacked Dorsey in the end zone after a botched snap. An’zavion “Zay” Brown made one of the biggest plays of the game when the defensive back stripped the ball from a Gainesville receiver after a catch and darted down the sideline for about a 35-yard touchdown. That score made it 37-7 with 1:22 until halftime.

“It was just a very poor performance and I’ll take the blame for that,” Miller said.

Dorsey rushed for 136 yards and passed for 146 yards but was intercepted twice. Chris Byrd added 31 rushing yards for the Red Elephants.

Daniels was Clarke Central’s top receiver with three catches for 99 yards. He also rushed for 77 yards.

The win marked Clarke Central’s first over Gainesville since 1974, although this was only the fifth game since then.

Gainesville looks to bounce back next week at home against Cedar Shoals while Clarke Central also continues region action at Winder-Barrow.

Gladiators 44, Red Elephants 7

Difference maker: Clarke Central sophomore quarterback Jack Mangel regularly hit his receivers in stride on his way to a career-high 343 yards and four touchdowns.

Stat that matters: Gainesville had five turnovers (three fumbles and two interceptions) and two of them led to Clarke Central touchdowns.

Turning point: As Gainesville looked to minimize the damage by scoring just before halftime, Clarke Central’s An’Zavion “Zay” Brown had other plans. The junior defensive back plucked the ball from the grip of a Red Elephants receiver and streaked down the sideline about 35 yards for a 37-7 Gladiators lead 1:22 before the break.

Next up: Gainesville is home vs. Cedar Shoals on Friday; Clarke Central plays at Winder-Barrow