Hall County is home to some of North Georgia’s fiercest rivalries. From the Battle of Oakwood to the Flowery Branch-Gainesville rivalry, the county routinely produces some of the biggest and most fun games of the year.
One of the newest rivalries in the state is North Hall and Cherokee Bluff. With the hiatus of the Flowery Branch-Gainesville, Gainesville-North Hall, and Flowery Branch-North Hall rivalries due to region realignment, the Cherokee Bluff-North Hall rivalry has become the most impactful in the county.
The team’s first meeting was in 2018 when Cherokee Bluff first opened the program. Since then, they’ve played six times, with North Hall leading the series 4-2. While the first three games of the series were all lopsided, with no game decided by less than 17 points, the last three have come down to the wire, being decided by a total of 14 points. North Hall is currently on a two-game winning streak that Cherokee Bluff wants to break.
Cherokee Bluff is having a resurgent season after down years in 2022 and 2023.
Under first-year starter Brooks Brien, the team has been throwing the ball like never before. Throughout the school’s history, the Bears have been a ground-based offense; however, this season, the offense has seen the most dominant passing attack in school history. Brien has thrown for 455 yards and five touchdowns while completing 62 percent of his passes in the first two games of the season. Behind him in the backfield are Jackson Pirkle and Connor Griffin, who have both shown the ability to complement the passing game as rushers and receivers out of the backfield.
Across the field, North Hall has seen an offensive revolution under third-year head coach Sean Pender. Pender modernized the Trojan offense when he arrived in 2021, moving away from the trusted wing-T to a modern spread offense. Behind the pair of Smith McGarvey and Alex Schlieman, who combined to go 21-of-31 for 248 yards in their first game against Wesleyan, the team has thrived. In that game, sophomore wide receiver Cole Cable had his breakout performance, catching six passes for 111 yards and two touchdowns. Along with Luke Jenkins, who had 100 yards, they will be a pair hard for any secondary to stop.
The Cherokee Bluff defense has consistently been one of the best in the state over the past few years. Over the past four years, the Bears have allowed less than 20 points per game three times in the last four years and less than 18 PPG overall during that time. The team will be led by fourth-year starting linebacker Connor Griffin, who has made the all-region team in back-to-back years. Along with him, Ryan Ackerman, Landon Kemp, and KT Thompson anchor the team’s linebacker and defensive back units, which will look to make it hard for the dominant Trojan passing attack to succeed.
North Hall is led on the defensive side of the ball by junior safety Walker Davis. Davis is coming off a season with 61 tackles and five PBUs. The defensive line is led by senior Charlie House. In the first game, House had three tackles while constantly putting pressure on the quarterback, recording three quarterback hurries. The secondary and defensive line will be critical to making Brooks Brien uncomfortable and for North Hall to come out of the game with a win.
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