Game of the Week: Habersham Central vs Flowery Branch

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BLITZ Sports
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The Habersham Central Raiders, seen here in action during Week One against Stephens, take to the field on Aug. 22, 2025, against Flowery Branch. It's another home game for the Raiders. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. (Riley Moody/NowHabersham.com)

The Week Two Game of the Week takes us to Mt. Airy to catch the high-flying Raiders and the new-look Flowery Branch Falcons.

Habersham Central

The Raiders came away with a gigantic win over Stephens County, delivering on all the hype leading up. Habersham not only won, but it was convincing and then some with a 27-3 blasting of the rivals. They protected the ball, came away with multiple takeaways, got to the ball behind the line, and played a near perfect game. That’s a great sign, as it’s fair to believe this team won’t even be playing its best ball until later in the season.

Flowery Branch

Flowery Branch proved to be one-dimensional though not for lack of trying in Michael Perry’s Falcons debut. A new transfer QB was straight up slinging the ball around for over 250 yards, but the run game just couldn’t get much more than a yard at a time. The defense had its own struggle. There’s a lot to look forward to if you’re a Falcons fan with Perry’s offensive scheme, but it might take a bit to get where they want to be.

BY THE NUMBERS (2025)

Habersham Central

  • 1-0 (0-0 IN 8AAAAA)
  • Region Standings: T-1st
  • 27.0 OFFENSE AVG
  • 3.0 DEFENSE AVG
  • N/A State Ranking

Flowery Branch

  • 0-1 (0-0 IN 8-AAAA)
  • Region Standings: T-4th
  • 13.0 OFFENSE AVG
  • 36.0 DEFENSE AVG
  • N/A State Ranking

How the teams stack up

Let’s begin with the Raiders. Habersham had a great balance on offense, as Paris Wilbanks used his arm and legs for three total TDs, and Donnie Warren was a man among boys in the ground game with nearly 200 yards rushing. There’s a lot of ways this team can beat you, and having a stingy defense that had nine tackles behind the line and two picks shows that side has arrived. If they play remotely close to how they did in the opener, this game is in the bag. Flowery Branch MUST get more out of the run game. They slung the ball 30 times last game, utilizing their RBs in the passing game for nine of those completions. Those two RBs and the QB (West Hall transfer Brett Strum) combined for 19 yards rushing (that’s not a typo) on 16 carries (1.2 YPC). That has to be the focal point if they want a chance to win this game.

Raider win column

In 53 all-time games we’ve seen for the Raiders, Habersham has gone 18-35, but that record is a lot better as of late (3 wins in a row and 5 of the last 7).

Details of the Matchup

TIME: 7:30 PM Kickoff
PLACE: John Larry Black Field at Raider Stadium / Mt. Airy, GA
LAST MEETING: 2024: Flowery Branch 23, Habersham Central 13
ALL-TIME RECORD: Flowery Branch leads series 3-0
RECORDS: Habersham Central Raiders (1-0) vs Flowery Branch Falcons (0-1)
HEAD COACHES: Benji Harrison (52-86; 14 Seasons); Michael Perry (44-43; 9 Seasons)

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING

This series doesn’t have a lot to pull from, mostly because Flowery Branch is still relatively young in its history (2002). I guess that’s getting up there in years, but these teams have only squared off three times prior to this meeting. They were region foes in 2010 and 2011, and Lee Shaw’s Falcons rolled to wins of 42-7 and 56-31. The 2011 version at FB was intense as Kevin Ellison put on a clinic, but so did Jackson McDonald and company for the Branch. In 2010 at JLB Field, former Raider QB Austin Brown had transferred to the Falcons and led them to a win in Mt. Airy. Fast forward to 2024, last year Flowery Branch won 23-13. These two head coaches have never squared off.

TEAM LEADERS (2025 Stats)

*Stats accumulated by team-published data on Ga MaxPreps

Habersham Central

PASSING
Paris Wilbanks – 126 yds, 1 TD, 53% completion

RUSHING
Donovan Warren – 193 yds, 1 TD, 7.4 YPC
Paris Wilbanks – 55 yds, 2 TD, 6.1 YPC

RECEIVING
Jay Feltus – 59 yds, 1 TD, 4 rec
Drake Roland – 33 yds, 0 TD, 1 rec
Mason Witt – 20 yds, 0 TD, 1 rec
Tylon Davis – 7 yds, 0 TD, 2 rec
Tay Spencer – 7 yds, 0 TD, 1 rec

DEFENSIVE LEADERS
CJ Davis – 11 TKL, 2.5 TFL, 1 Sack
Jackson Adams – 9 TKL, 2 TFL
Griffin Cunningham – 8 TKL, 1 TFL, 1 FF
Parks York – 7 TKL, 2.5 TFL, 1 INT
Sutton Porter – 5 TKL, 1 INT, 1 FR
Leo Tomas – 5 TKL, 1 TFL

Flowery Branch

PASSING
Brett Strum – 251 yds, 2 TD, 0 INT, 87% completion

RUSHING
Dartavious Bledson – 10 yds, 0 TD, 3.3 YPC
Griffin Harper – 9 yds, 0 TD, 1.8 YPC

RECEIVING
Tre Shields – 102 yds, 1 TD, 4 rec
Jake Bursinger – 40 yds, 0 TD, 5 rec
Brooks Recinella – 34 yds, 0 TD, 2 rec
Tyler Robinson – 31 yds, 0 TD, 5 rec
Dartavious Bledson – 23 yds, 0 TD, 3 rec
Griffin Harper – 21 yds, 1 TD, 6 rec

DEFENSIVE LEADERS
No published defensive stats

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