Wildcats fall to GAC

Kyle Scales was a factor for the Spartans, who despite the win against a larger school remained at No. 6 this week.

Scales rushed for 254 yards and four touchdowns on 31 carries. The GAC standout suffered an ACL injury last season, but showed no signs of it Friday night.

Eric Tanner had another strong night for AHS, rushing for 118 yards on 15 attempts. Tanner put the first points of the night on the scoreboard with a 24-yard run early. That touchdown was not indicative of how the rest of the night would go, however.

GAC would eventually lead 24-7 before Apalachee began to get things rolling. The Wildcats would get as close as 24-21 after scores by Kyle Jackson and Zay Henry. The Spartans would answer with the game-clinching score on a 20-yard run by Scales. That touchdown with approximately three minutes left, would ice the victory for GAC.

“We were right there in it after we pulled to within three points,” Davis said. “However, they just did a good job with another long drive. I hope we can learn from this game. We all know the region we are in and what we are getting ready to face. That’s taking nothing away from GAC, but they will not be the best team we play this season. Our staff knows we have to make our kids better. Our kids know they have to be better as well.”

Perhaps the turning point of the contest came on the opening play of the second half. The Wildcats were looking to put together a long drive of their own when a fumble on the first play gave possession back to the Spartans.

“I thought we were ready and focused coming out of halftime,” Davis said. “When you do those things, you really hurt your chances of winning the game.”
AHS will be off this Friday and will open Region 8-AAAAA play against Gainesville the following week.

After advancing to the semifinals in Class AAA last season, Gainesville moved up this fall, but has already made some noise with its victory against state power Buford last Friday. The region opener will be on the road for the Wildcats.