This Habersham Central team will go down in history as being far better than its record indicates, evidenced by all five losses coming by a COMBINED 14 points.
That being said, the Raiders (1-5; 0-1 8-AAAAAA) must win two games from here on out to have a legitimate shot at the state playoffs. Lanier (3-3; 0-1) represents a golden opportunity to get back on the winning track.
There’s no need to go over the past five games of bad luck for Habersham, as the stories have been told. Instead, coach Benji Harrison, QB AJ Curry and company need to take advantage of Friday night’s home game against the Longhorns, who beat the Raiders 31-9 last season at their place.
READ Unlucky Raiders still hold own destiny
Here’s all you need to know about this Week 8 matchup:
WEEK 0 – Chestatee vs North Hall
WEEK 1 – #5 Rabun vs #9 Mt. Pisgah
WEEK 2 – Habersham Central vs White
WEEK 3 – White vs #3 Rabun
WEEK 4 – Habersham vs Stephens
WEEK 5 – Habersham vs Chestatee
WEEK 6 – Dawson vs North Hall
WEEK 7 – Gainesville vs Habersham
TIME: 7:30 pm kickoff
PLACE: John Larry Black Field at Raider Stadium (Mt. Airy, GA)
LAST MEETING: Longhorns won 31-9 at Habersham in 2016
ALL-TIME RECORD: Lanier 1, Habersham Central 0
RECORDS: Habersham Central (1-5; 0-1); Lanier (3-3; 0-1)
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
This marks only the second meeting between these two programs, as the only previous meeting was last year’s 31-9 Lanier victory after the teams joined in region 8-AAAAAA.
HABERSHAM CENTRAL LEADERS
PASSING
AJ Curry: 1,694 yds, 14 TD; 106/204 passing (52%), 4 INT
RUSHING
Baylor Hinshaw: 646 yds, 7 TD
AJ Curry: 530 yds, 9 TD
Daniel Matkovic: 273 yds, 6 TD
RECEIVING
Jim Barnett: 41 rec, 609 yds, 4 TD
Donovan Curry: 21 rec, 467 yds, 8 TD
Bryce Tanner: 26 rec, 376 yds, 2 TD
Trey Wetherton: 10 rec, 154 yds
TACKLES
Carson Taylor: 56 tackles, 5.5 TFL, INT, forced fumble, fumble recovery, blocked kick
Karl Fail: 42 tackles, 6 TFL, forced fumble
Luke Wilson: 37 tackles, 6.5 TFL, 1 sack, blocked kick
SACKS
Garrett Kinsey, Andrew Lovell, Luke Wilson & Caleb Hodges: 1
INTERCEPTIONS
Donovan Curry & Carson Taylor: 1
LOCAL GAMES – WEEK 8
Habersham Central vs Lanier
#3 Rabun @ Social Circle
#6 Commerce vs Riverside
Union @ North Hall *BLITZ Game of the Week
Dawson vs Fannin
Stephens @ Madison
Banks @ Oglethorpe
Towns vs Athens Christian
Lumpkin vs #2 GAC
—
Gainesville @ Dacula
#9 Flowery Branch @ Loganville
#2 Buford vs Cedar Shoals
Johnson @ Clarke Central
Chestatee vs #4 Blessed Trinity
West Hall @ #3 Marist
#5 Jefferson vs North Oconee
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