Bulldoggs fall to Flowery Branch

All football coaches in 8-AAAAA agree when it comes to toughness it’s hard to top this region.

The Winder-Barrow High School football team continued its journey down the region path last Friday with a 54-14 road loss to Flowery Branch. The Falcons, under the direction of former defensive coordinator and first-year head coach Chris Griffin, showed no signs of overlooking their opponent as they upped their 8-AAAAA mark to 5-0 (5-2 overall.)

“After we started the season 0-2, we learned not to focus on anyone but the next opponent,” Griffin said. “We even stress not looking past the next play.”

Flowery Branch scored on its first six possessions to erase any possibility of an upset. WBHS has shown improvement in their previous two outings, taking Salem to the wire and battling Heritage in a game which was closer than the final score indicated.

Jackson McDonald completed his first eight attempts for the Falcons Friday. He would throw touchdown passes of 23 and 66 yards to Justin Curry in the contest. McDonald was also a threat on the ground as he rushed for three scores. He finished the contest with 122 yards on the ground and 176 in the air.

Flowery Branch senior running back Darius Curry added an 87-yard scoring run as the Falcons simply had too many offensive weapons for the Bulldoggs.

Chad Platt put Winder-Barrow’s first points of the night on the board when he picked up a fumble on a kickoff return and raced the remainder of the way for the score.

Platt seemed to have another touchdown on an 84-yard kickoff return but the officials said an “inadvertent” whistle ruled the play over.

Chandon Sullivan led the Bulldoggs with 45 yards on 11 carries. Johnny Hester scored the final touchdown of the game for WBHS late in the second half.

Hester finished with 36 yards on 12 attempts. Christian Hodge was 2-of-5 through the air for 11 yards.