Hall County football has been in a slump in recent years, with many of the county’s schools struggling to compete for playoff berths. This year was a bit different, with five schools making the GHSA playoffs and two just missing out.
Cherokee Bluff had a rebound season after two straight losing seasons. The Bears went 9-1 in the regular season, finishing tied for the top spot in the region with Jefferson and Oconee County. The offense has seen a major shift this season, with Brooks Brien leading an explosive passing attack. Cherokee Bluff will look to win the school’s third-ever playoff game when they face off with region foe Monroe Area in the first round. The Bears are also looking to make it past the second round for the first time in school history.
Chestatee is the Hall County school that exceeded expectations the most, going 5-5 and making the playoffs for the first time since 2016. The War Eagles went 0-10 a season ago in coach Stuart Cunningham’s first year. The team started the season out slowly; after winning their first game, Chestatee lost four straight games to fall to 1-4. The War Eagles proceeded to win four of their final five games to secure the fourth seed in the region, guaranteeing them a playoff spot. Chestatee will head south for round one and face off with Peach County in the first round as the team looks for its first playoff win since 2013.
North Hall had a historic season, going 8-2, finishing the regular season with eight straight wins, and claiming its first region title since 2012. Under third-year head coach Sean Pender, the Trojans have done what all Pender programs have done. Under his leadership, the Trojans have revolutionized their offense from a traditional wing-T offense to a modern spread offense. The offense has helped them score 31.4 PPG, while the defense has been strong, only giving up 18.9 PPG. Sophomore wideout Cole Cable has had a breakout season this year, leading the team in receiving with 625 yards and making multiple game-changing plays that helped North Hall win the region title. The Trojans will start the playoffs with a game against former region foe and 28th seed Gilmer.
Flowery Branch turned their season around after entering region play, making the playoffs for the second straight year and the 16th time in the last 20 seasons. The Falcons started the season off 1-5, the worst start to a season for the program since 2004, the team’s third season. In the second half of the season. Flowery Branch began to show growth in the team’s sixth game, though a loss, the Falcons played a tough game against East Forsyth, a game they led late, 10-7, before a late Broncos touchdown gave East Forsyth the game 14-10. The rest of the season was positive for the Falcons, winning three of their final four games. Flowery Branch running back and linebacker Griffin Harper was the team’s most important player, having multiple major games, nearly all of them in the team’s wins. Flowery Branch will next play 10-0 Ola in the first round of the playoffs.
Gainesville showed how far the program has come in three short years while having a “disappointing” 7-3 season, losing to three top-10 teams and two teams ranked in the top 25 national rankings. The Red Elephants started the season as good as possible, beating their first three opponents with a combined score of 113-17. The team’s first regular-season loss in the Niblett Era came the next week in a 45-16 loss to 7A number 1 Carrollton in a game that was closer than the score shows. They returned to form the next three weeks, beating three region opponents by an average of 41.6 points. Another loss came in game eight, in a battle with top-five nationally ranked Milton. Finally, in the tenth game of the season, Gainesville lost a shootout to Roswell. The surprise of the team was sophomore quarterback Kharim Hughley, who threw for over 2,500 yards in the regular season, a number that was good for fourth in 5A. The Red Elephants will open their playoffs against Sequoyah in a section of the 5A bracket that avoids Hughes, Lee County, and Milton until the semifinals, making a semifinal or better appearance a very likely outcome for the season.
Johnson Gainesville played its first region schedule in three seasons, and the results were what should be expected from a rebuilding program. The Knights had their best season since 2019, going 4-6. The 2024 season was rough but what was expected. One of the bright spots of the season was junior running back Montyrious Young. Young had 446 of the team’s 549 rushing yards, 201 of the team’s 309 receiving yards, and all six of the team’s offensive touchdowns.
East Hall is one of the teams that failed to make the playoffs, but the Vikings were in contention for one of the at-large bids, hoping to make the playoffs for the first time since 2017. The Vikings started the season hot, winning their first three games by a total score of 111-21. The final seven games of the season proved to be brutal for East Hall, with five playoff teams and four teams that either won or finished tied for a region title. The team’s first region game proved to be pivotal a 48-42 shootout loss to Monroe Area, a loss that kept the Vikings out of the playoffs. Quarterback Jamarcus Harrison proved to be one of the surprises of the season, with 1,709 passing yards and 1,137 yards rushing, both in the top 10 in 3A.
West Hall had a strong start to the season, heading into region play with a 4-1 record. However, two close losses to end the season, a seven-point loss to East Hall and a ten-point loss to Monroe Area ended the Spartans’ hopes for a playoff appearance. The Spartans’ junior QB Bret Sturm and running back Elijah Hayes were the highlights of the team. Sturm had 1,606 passing yards, good for 14th in 4A, while Hayes had 1,359 rushing yards, a number good for fourth in 4A.
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