Messiah Dorsey’s eyes were as wide as saucers when he spotted teammate Rodarius Timmons all alone in the flat with 12 seconds left on the clock Friday night.

Dorsey figured there was no way Timmons, a steady presence on the right sideline all night, could be just yards from a touchdown to not only beat bitter rival Flowery Branch, but secure a home playoff berth.

“My heart dropped,” said Dorsey. “I threw it to him, just hoping that he would make the catch.”

Timmons, a junior, hauled in the short pass and burst into the end zone with just 10.8 seconds left, securing a stunning revival that gave Gainesville a 29-26 win at City Park Stadium. (VIDEO INTERVIEW HERE)

Gainesville, who secured the No. 2 seed in the region with the win, will play host to the Alexander Cougars (7-2, 6-2) in the first round of the playoffs.

Flowery Branch (6-4, 5-4) scored three second-half touchdowns to overcome and overtake a 19-7 deficit. But Gainesville, just when it needed the miracle response, came up with a perfectly-timed answer.

Down 26-22, the Red Elephants took over on their own 31 before driving 69 yards in nine plays, including Timmons’ touchdown, capping an electric final regular season game.

Dorsey (8 of 21 passing, 83 yards, 2 passing TDs, 1 rushing TD, 1 interception) and fellow senior Chris Byrd combined for 337 rushing yards as Gainesville beat its cross-county rival for the third straight year. The Red Elephants have won six of the last seven times the two teams have met, dating back to 2008.

But to do it, Timmons still had to make his catch.

“I was thinking, ‘I have to score,’” he said. “I thought someone was right behind me. The ball was huge! I had to do what I had to do for us to win.”

Senior kicker Chandler Staton shook off last week’s shaky performance against Loganville to kick field goals from 48, 39 and 32 yards, including two that helped secure a 13-7 halftime lead.

Dorsey capped off a strong six-play, 55-yard drive to open the game when found Tyreke Watson in the flat from 9 yards to give the Red Elephants a 7-0 advantage.

Flowery Branch responded two drives later when Jasen Johnson burst into the end zone from 3 yards and tie the game at 7-7 late in the first quarter.

But Staton was solid in the first half, knocking home his two opening field goal tries. He previously missed two of his three chances against the Red Devils, but was back to his old self at home.

“Tonight was different,” said Staton, still shaking from the nerves. “It felt normal, it felt like it should be. This is the crazier game I’ve ever been in. I wasn’t ready for this to be my last game here. I’m not ready for it to be over.”

For the Falcons, it is over. Cortez Davis (4 receptions, 98 yards) caught two acrobatic fourth-quarter touchdowns to pull Flowery Branch within minutes of a thrilling upset. Senior running back Trey Wilcoxson ran for 108 yards on 19 rushes to pace the ground attack, while quarterback Kory Graham (4 of 14, 84 yards) only gave up one turnover.

Still, the visitors gave it their all. Johnson’s 4-yard burst into the end zone with 24.4 seconds to go in the third quarter cut the Gainesville lead to just six.

Graham then converted a second-and-21 on the next drive to find Davis streaking down the right sideline for a 31-yard score. Trailing by just two points, Flowery Branch forced a three-and-out from Gainesville before taking over in Red Elephant territory when Staton was unable to recover a low snap on his attempted punt.

Graham found Davis on the exact same plot of land that his last touchdown was on, this time on third-and-17. Davis leaped in the air with his teammates as the Falcons took a 26-22 lead with 2:30 remaining.

“It was exciting, exciting, exciting,” said Gainesville coach Bruce Miller. “We played hard, Flowery Branch played hard. That it would come down to the final drive, the last play, it shows that this team has a lot of character.”

Dorsey stepped up on that final drive to assure that this would not be his last game at City Park Stadium. His arm or his feet were responsible for four of Gainesville’s five first downs as the Red Elephants stampeded down the field.

He nearly linked up with receiver Martavious Davis at the 1-yard line, but the pass was broken up. Luckily, that led to Dorsey getting another bite at the apple — he wouldn’t miss with his pass to Timmons.

“It feels so good to do this on Senior Night,” he said. “We’re going to enjoy tonight. I just had to go with the flow of it, to roll with it, and we did it.”

Gainesville finished with 415 total yards, compared to Flowery Branch’s 293.