GAINESVILLE, Ga. — Update: Gainesville dominates with a 35-12 win against Blessed Trinity.
Original story:
As the second round of the GHSA Playoffs is upon us, the pressure continues to mount for two top teams in the 6A classification.
No. 1 Gainesville is one of the more dominant teams in Georgia high school football this season. They're a perfect 11-0 this season, and they've only lost once in the past two seasons -- a loss just before the championship in 2022.
In their perfect region record this year, Gainesville beat their opponents by an average of nearly 42 points per game. In the first round of the playoffs, they took care of South Paulding 46-27.
After two midseason losses to Marist and Roswell, Blessed Trinity has been hot to end the season. The Titans have won five games in a row, with all but one of them coming by double digits. They knocked off Creekview 24-10 in the first round of the playoffs last Friday.
The two teams shared one thing in common during the course of the regular season -- a shutdown defense. Gainesville has allowed just 130 points on the season, while the Titans have allowed only 125 -- both among the lowest in Georgia high school football.
However, Blessed Trinity struggles to move the ball on offense, an area where Gainesville excels in. The Titans haven't been able to establish much of a ground game this season -- just averaging 3.8 yards per carry. Their quarterback, junior Brooks Goodman, has only completed 63% of his passes and has thrown seven interceptions compared to 12 touchdowns.
The Titans average 262 yards per game on offense.
For the Red Elephants of Gainesville, they are led by quarterback Baxter Wright and running back Gavin Hall, both seniors. Hall has been a major key to the offensive success for Gainesville this season. He has tallied 1,490 yards on the ground, averaging over eight yards per carry -- not to mention he's scored 21 rushing touchdowns.
Wright has been highly effective through the air. He has thrown for 1,902 yards, 22 touchdowns and six interceptions. Blessed Trinity's defense, however, has been scary good. They have sacked the quarterback 22 times this season and have forced 19 turnovers -- seven interceptions and 12 fumble recoveries.
This will be the first time Gainesville and Blessed Trinity have played each other in program history, according to the Georgia High School Football Historian's Association.
The winner goes on to face whoever wins the other 6A second-round matchup between Houston County and Woodward Academy.
The two teams will battle it out at Gainesville High School Friday night at 7:30 p.m.