Class AAA’s No. 8 Gainesville now stands alone as the only unbeaten team in Hall County after a 27-0 win against North Hall on Friday night at The Brickyard. The Red Elephants (4-0) have absolutely dominated to this point, allowing only 14 points this season.

Gainesville has already shown this season that it is strong in all three phases of the game, but the defense is clearly its strength. The defense stopped North Hall on four trips inside its 20-yard line to preserve the victory in the annual rivalry game.

Gainesville quarterback Blake Sims threw for two touchdowns and scored on two touchdown runs to pace the Red Elephants. Teryan Rucker also had a big game with 179 yards of total offense.

Riverside Military (3-1) and West Hall (3-1) both fell from the ranks of the unbeaten with losses Friday night. The Eagles lost to North Oconee 23-21 in Bogart. West Hall lost to White County 24-21 in Cleveland.

Jefferson (4-0, 3-0 Region 8-AA) stayed unbeaten with a 48-20 win over Oglethorpe County at Jefferson Memorial. Virgil Appleby led the Dragons with four touchdowns and quarterback Darius Minor added three touchdowns.

Class AA’s No. 1 ranked Buford (3-0) was off last week.

How ‘bout that ‘D’

White County’s defensive line lived up to its billing as one of the best in Region 7-AAA with a staggering performance against West Hall on Friday night. Tyler Hamilton led the Warriors defense with four sacks. C.J. McDonald added two sacks and Tasi Suaava had one.

White County coach Gregg Segraves says that the key for his defensive front is that most of them have started together for the past three seasons.

"The key against West Hall is we had to put pressure on the quarterback early," Segraves said.

Two-way starter Blake Limbaugh also had a big game with 170 yards and two touchdowns.

Winless no more

Johnson and East Hall picked up its first wins on the season Friday. Johnson (1-3) picked up a 33-14 victory over Pickens on Friday at Billy Ellis Memorial. Knights quarterback Anthony Prophet rushed for three touchdowns and passed for a touchdown in the win over the Dragons.

East Hall (1-3) knocked off Gilmer 33-26 in double overtime. Vikings quarterback Desmon Gardner scored on a quarterback sneak from the 1 to clinch the victory over the Bobcats for the second consecutive season. Kiante Young had an 80-yard touchdown reception from Gardner for the Vikings.

Black Swarm

Flowery Branch’s defense made big plays all night in a win against Chestatee on Friday night. David DeLeon and Cory Sanderson both scored touchdowns for the Falcons (3-1) to hold off the War Eagles. Flowery Branch’s defense only allowed 97 passing yards and 273 total yards of offense.

Big Arm

West Hall’s Shunquez Stephens extended his gap as the area’s leading passer with 250 yards and a touchdown in a loss to White County. Stephens now has 997 passing yards and 10 touchdowns in the four games this season.

Against White County, Stephens added two touchdowns on the ground.

Ground Warrior

Banks County tailback Justin Beasley continued his assault on opposing defenses with 177 yards and three touchdowns in a 35-6 win over Rabun County on Friday in Tiger. The Times Elite 11 selection still leads the area in rushing with 791 yards and nine touchdowns. The Leopards (2-2, 2-1 Region 8-AA) play host to North Oconee this week.