Behind a well-balanced offense and a dominating defense, the Flowery Branch Falcons won their second straight Region 8-AAAAA game (3-2 overall, 2-2 in region play), defeating the Cedar Shoals Jaguars 25-13 Friday night at Falcons Stadium.

The Jaguars remain winless at 0-4, 0-3 in region play.

After rushing for 143 yards last week, Falcons running back Trey Wilcoxson continued punishing opponents as he added 198 yards on 37 carries against the Jaguars as the Falcons rushed for 246 yards (of their 342 total yards).

The Falcons controlled the line of scrimmage and they held the ball for over 40 minutes. The Jaguars had 223 total yards (122 rushing, 101 passing) but subtract three plays of over 20 yards each (accounting for 133 total yards) and they would have had less than 100 total for the game.

“That’s the strength of our team, the offensive line and defensive line and we have to center our game plan based on what these guys can do,” Flowery Branch coach Chris Griffin said of his team’s dominance up front. “I’ve been really pleased what they’ve been able to do the past few weeks. If we can’t run the ball, we’re not going to be able to win many games so I’m really pleased with that.”

The Falcons mostly dominated the first quarter, controlling the ball for over 10 minutes but had nothing to show for it as they outgained the Jaguars 68 yards (on 19 plays) to minus-1 (on only 5 plays). Their two drives ended on a stop of Jasen Johnson on a keeper inside the Cedar Shoals 5-yard line on a fourth-and-one after an 11-play, 45-yard drive; and a missed 35-yard field goal after an eight-play drive, mainly on handoffs to Wilcoxson.

The Jaguars took the lead early in the second quarter on a 1-yard score on fourth-and-one by fullback Jephari Colbert after a 10-play 80-yard drive. It was highlighted by 40 and 20 yard runs up the middle by Greg Smith and Colbert.

The Falcons continued playing “old man football” in the second quarter as they dominated the line of scrimmage against the smaller Jaguars defensive front, keeping the ball for another five minutes on a 13-play, 69-yard drive in which they ran the ball on each play. The drive was highlighted by an 18-yard keeper by receiver Cortez Davis, while Wilcoxson ran for 32 yards on 6 carries.

Jansen Johnson scored on a 2-yard plunge up the middle on a keeper. A 2-yard run by Malik Drayton on a fly sweep for the two point conversion gave the Falcons an 8-7 lead at the 2:42 mark of the first half.

Falcons linebacker Anthony Woodall then recovered a squib kick at the Cedar Shoals 42-yard line. Two plays later, Kory Graham hit Davis for a 35-yard touchdown pass off play-action. The extra kick gave the Falcons a 15-7 lead at the 2:10 mark.

The Jaguars again gave the ball away on a fumble off of a short kickoff on the next play, giving the ball to the Falcons at the Cedar Shoals 30. Johnson scored from the 3-yard line five plays later, giving the Falcons a 22-7 halftime lead.

Griffin said of his special teams unit: “Our special teams did real good. We had a couple turnovers and of course our punt team did a real nice job. We had two punts inside the 5-yard line (by Kyle King) and of course a field goal and a 2-point conversion. When your special teams are able to change field position then create extra points, that’s always nice.”

The third quarter started well enough for the Jaguars with a 9-play, 72-yard drive but was stopped on fourth-and-inches, taking nearly four minutes off the clock to give their defense some rest. The teams traded punts before the Jags seemed to get back into the game early in the fourth quarter with a 72-yard score on a deep post from Rodney Dillard to Smith. With the missed extra point the score was 22-13 but the Falcons ran out the clock over their last two possessions with Alvarado adding a 25-yard field goal after an 11-play, 45-yard drive for the final score.

Flowery Branch quarterback Kory Graham completed 9-of-13 passes for 96 yards. Five Falcons caught passes, with Davis earning a team high 67 yards on six catches, while five also ran the ball on an assortment of counters, toss sweeps and keepers in their two-back sets. Johnson only rushed for 21 yards but scored twice on keepers up the middle on Wildcat-type plays.

Three Falcons defenders had six tackles apiece behind linebackers Woodall, Michael Alibini and Ryan Broom. Woodall also added two sacks.

For the Jaguars, Dillard completed only 3-of-8 passes while Smith rushed for 83 yards on 9 carries with Colbert adding 39 on 13.

The Falcons are at Winder-Barrow next week.

“Well there are still things we obviously have to correct and do better,” Griffin said. “We’re going to enjoy this win for a day but come Sunday we’re going to start thinking about our next opponent. Winder-Barrow upset us last year and we hope to pay it back.”

Falcons 25, Jaguars 13

Stats that matter: Falcons running back Trey Wilcoxson rushed for 198 yards on 37 rushes.

Turning point: Two fumble recoveries on kickoffs would give the ball to Flowery Branch in Cedar Shoals territory in which they would convert into touchdowns giving them some breathing room as the score was pushed to 22-7 after the Jags took an early 7-0 lead.

Up next: The Falcons are at Winder-Barrow next week; Cedar Shoals is host to Heritage.