Habersham Central made the most of its opportunity when traveling to Douglas County on Friday night.
The Raiders, playing in their first playoff game since 2011, weren’t just happy to be there. They wanted to win — and they did so handily.
The Raiders (7-4) did just that, taking down Douglas 35-0 in the school’s first playoff shutout since 1984 under coach John Larry Black.
Coach Benji Harrison finally got his signature win, which also marked his first playoff victory.
Habersham Central held a 21-0 halftime lead that it wouldn’t relinquish. The offense has averaged 29.5 points per contest, so while it went above that in the win, it wasn’t a total surprise.
The Raiders’ defense on the other hand, hadn’t pitched a shutout since 2010, so holding a Douglas County team to nothing was a nice surprise.
“We had a great week of preparation. These guys believed they could do it and they came out here and played the best game of the season defensively. What a night for those guys shutting the team out like that,” Harrison said after the game.
Habersham now moves on to the second round against #1-seed Creekview, who beat Pope 38-14 Friday night.
