FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Flowery Branch has never played Ware County in football. Michael Parry, however, is no stranger to the Gators. And he knows what his Flowery Branch Falcons will be facing.
The first-year Falcons coach was part of the staff at Gainesville that beat the Gators 49-13 in the 2012 Class 5A state championship behind Deshaun Watson and crew at the old Georgia Dome. That Ware County group was in the midst of a seven-year run in which they reached the quarterfinals or better six times.
In fact, the Gators have made the quarterfinals 10 times this century, winning the 2022 Class 5A state title and playing for two others, including in 2012. The Falcons, meanwhile, have not advanced past the second round since 2011.
“That’s a great program historically. But we beat them in the state championship game back in 2012,” Perry said. “Ware County is always talented as all get out. It’s a very difficult first-round matchup. It is what it is, you know.”
The Falcons (7-3) will play host to Ware County (8-2) on Friday in the opening round of the Class 4A playoffs at Falcon Field. Branch is 4-1 at home this season, with its only loss coming to No. 3 North Oconee (21-14) in a game that came down to the final possession.
The Gators, who have been ranked in the top 10 of the AccessWDUN/Friday Game Night composite poll most of the season, were a pair of late scores each by Benedictine and Warner Robins that kept them from winning the 1-4A title and going undefeated in the regular season. They’ve won 18 straight 1st-round games since 2007 and are easily the toughest 3-seed in the 4A bracket. There are even more numbers to scare any coach.
Meanwhile, Branch has not won a 1st round game since 2021 and is just 3-6 in the opening round since 2011.
And there’s more. Ware County is averaging 39.1 points/game on offense. And in their two losses, they scored 71 points. Junior QB Isaiah White (1,610 yards, 11 TD, 0 INT passing; 29-72 yards, 7 TD rushing) leads the attack. They have a pair of senior running backs in Tayshaun Franklin (114-889 yards, 16 TD, 4 100-yard games) and Jamir Boyd (98-649 yards, 7 TD, 3 100-yard games). Senior Jamario Rice (51-844, 7 TD) and junior Jalondi O’Hara (23-396, 4 TD) lead the receiving corps and have all 11 of White’s TD passes.
Defensively, the Gators are giving up 17.5 ppg. Take away the two losses where they surrendered 78 points (Benedictine and Warner Robins), and they have allowed just 97 points (12.1 ppg) to everyone else.
“They’re always going to be good. To beat a team like that, it’s going to take all three phases,” Perry said.
But for Perry and his current staff, there are some similarities to the 2025 Falcons and that Gainesville team. The Red Elephants had the dynamic Watson running the offense. Branch has Brett Sturm.
That Big Red defense gave up some points (21.0 ppg) but was tenacious when it needed to be, allowing just 40 points (13.3 ppg) in the final three rounds of the playoffs. The Falcons have surrendered 22.4 ppg on the season, but at home, they have allowed just 15.6 ppg.
Branch has shown it can score on anyone, and Sturm would certainly be a candidate for any Player of the Year honors in Region 8-4A. The senior has thrown for 2,046 yards with a 16-4 TD-to-INT ratio and rushed for another 512 yards and 6 TDs. Senior Tre Shields (44 catches, 835 yards, 8 TD) leads a receiving room that has four players with 28 or more catches, and Sturm has thrown TD passes to 8 different receivers.
Fellow senior Griffin Harper, however, may be the ultimate glue on both sides of the ball.
Despite playing with an MCL injury for half the season, Harper has rushed for 832 yards and 10 TDs and added 256 yards and 2 TDs on 28 catches in the passing game. He’s the quarterback on defense (33 tkl, 6 TFL, 2 FR, 2 FF). Junior Tyler Robinson (3 INT) and seniors Parker Bourrie (2 INT) and Tripp Morris (2 INT) lead a hawkish pass defense that has picked off 9 passes on the season as part of 17 total forced turnovers for the Falcons defense.
Sophomore LB Ryland Garrison (114 tkl, 13 TFL, 5 sacks, 2 FR), senior LB James Hendry (62 tkl, 7.5 TFL, 1 INT), and defensive linemen junior Eli Poole (73 tkl, 10 TFL, 5 sacks) and senior Prince Rose (57 tkl, 4.5 TFL) will need to play prominent roles.
But something will have to give. The Gators, according to their official stats on MaxPreps, have not had a single turnover all season. Can the Falcons steal a possession or two?
“I know our defensive coaches have emphasized how great a job (Ware County) takes care of the football,” Perry said. “They’ve got a really good running back. They’ve got a really tall receiver whom they like to throw it up to. The quarterback is good, too, so we’ve got our hands full.
“But I like our guys on defense. They’ve played well all season, really. Ryland is a very special football player, and he’s made big plays for us all year. I look for him and James and Eli and Prince to have a big night for us.”
Perry said he will not shy away from his aggressive nature, even in the coin flip. Typically, most teams in this era of football elect to defer, hoping it will lead to an extra second-half possession. Perry likes a different approach.
“I think all year, every single game, we’ve taken the ball first. That’s just something I always like to do. I want the ball first,” he said. “Momentum is a real thing, especially with high school kids. You want to be on the good side of that all you can, because that matters greatly.
“I like being aggressive. I understand the middle eight (minutes) and everybody playing for that and everything. But I want to set the tone from the opening kickoff return.”
Perry said a season like 2025 is what makes things fun, especially when you can generate a total 180 for a once-proud program.
“I think it’s been monumental. And I think all the credit goes to the senior class,” he said. “We’ve got 20 kids who have totally bought in. They’re a pretty talented group, also. And our assistant coaches have done a great job this year getting these kids ready to play.
So I think all the credit goes to those two groups, and it’s just been a lot of fun. It really has been a very enjoyable year.”
But he also said he’s not ready for it to end.
“Again, (Ware County) is a very, very good team. But we can play with these guys,” he said. “We can beat these guys, too, if we play well in all three phases.”
We’ll know more around 10 p.m. on Friday.
Ware County (Region 1, Seed 3) at Flowery Branch (Region 8, Seed 2)
Records: Gators (8-2); Falcons (7-3)
Radio: WDUN AM 550
Time: 7:30 p.m., Falcon Field, Flowery Branch
Statisticals: This is the first-ever meeting between the two teams.
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