Quarterfinals: Red Elephants gunning for defending champs

Here's a look at Gainesville's quarterfinal match-up tonight at home and what the Red Elephants face against Cairo...


-- CAIRO at GAINESVILLE

WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Friday
WHERE: City Park, Gainesville
RADIO: ESPN 1240 AM
CAIRO: (9-3, No. 2 seed from Region 1-AAA) Defeated Baldwin 9-7 in the second round.
GAINESVILLE: (12-0, No. 1 seed from Region 7-AAA) Defeated Dunwoody 41-10 in the second round.
LAST MEETING: First meeting between the two teams.
PREVIEW: If Gainesville wants to be No. 1 on more than paper, it will have to knock off the defending No. 1 in Cairo, which claimed the 2008 Class AAA title.

And while the Syrupmakers graduated 19 players from last season’s championship team, you won’t hear Red Elephants coach Bruce Miller giving Cairo anything but respect.

“They’ll be the biggest challenge we’ve faced all year, and when you get to the last eight, that’s what it should be,” Miller said.

The Syrupmakers should certainly provide a challenge for Gainesville’s offense. Cairo is allowing just 8.4 points per game and has given up more than seven points in just three contests this season – all losses. Second-ranked Peach County put up the most points on Cairo, scoring 24 in a victory on Oct. 9. The Syrupmakers base out of a 4-4 and are led by nose tackle Ronnie Black and free safety Jermyrin Bodiford.

The group will be matching up against the highest-scoring offense in Class AAA, as Gainesville enters averaging 46.3 points per game. Quarterback Blake Sims, an Alabama commit, has passed for 1,892 yards and 26 touchdowns against five interceptions so far this season, though he has thrown two of those in the postseason against four touchdowns. Sims also has 668 yards rushing and 12 touchdowns, while Teryan Rucker leads Gainesville’s rushing attack with 1,011 yards and 12 scores. Receiver Tai-ler Jones, a Notre Dame commit, also has 1,163 yards receiving and 16 scores.

“I don’t know if we’re ready for what Gainesville has right now,” Cairo coach Tom Fallaw said. “Sims is one of the best athletes we’ve seen in recent years, and so is Jones. You can’t game plan to stop them, because they’re just going to make plays anyway.”

On offense, the Syrupmakers base out of a multiple-I and are led by quarterback Brian Walker, running back Laquinton Williams and Bodiford at receiver. Williams rushed for 115 yards on 23 attempts in a second-round win over Baldwin (his third straight 100-yard rushing performance), while Walker threw for 119 yards on 7-of-14 passing. Cairo is averaging 17.3 points per game -- the lowest of any team left in Class AAA.

“They take the ball and keep it for long periods,” Miller said. “We’ve got to stop them from doing that and make them play our style.”

The Red Elephants defense is the top scoring unit in Class AAA, giving up 6.6 points per contest (and 5 per game through two playoff contests). The 3-4 unit is led by a strong corps of linebackers, including A.J. Johnson, a Tennessee commit (135 tackles), Thomas Sprague (team-high 148 tackles), Graham Simmons (106 tackles, 17 for loss) and Alberto Sanabria (88 tackles, five forced fumbles).

Cairo also has a strong kicking game, led by Trevor Moncrief.

Gainesville at least knows how it will handle trailing a game now after falling behind Dunwoody 3-0 after the first quarter last week – the first time the Red Elephants have trailed all season. Gainesville responded with 41 straight points.

“I haven’t seen our kids flustered all year,” Miller said. “And they kept working.”

Miller says the biggest difference in this year’s team and last year’s quarterfinal squad, which fell to Carver, Columbus in the elite eight, is experience.

“Last year, we were wondering if we were supposed to be there. This year we expect to be here, and we’re ready to go,” Miller said.

The Syrupmakers have won four straight road games in the playoffs... This marks the fourth time in Miller’s eight years in charge that Gainesville has reached the quarterfinals (2002, 05, 08, 09), though the Red Elephants are 1-2 so far at this point.

KEY MATCH-UP: Gainesville’s offensive line versus Cairo’s eight-man front. If the Red Elephants can open plays for Sims, Jones, Rucker and company, the Red Elephants should make it back to the Class AAA semifinals for the first time since 2002.
WINNER PLAYS: Winner of Carver, Columbus versus Flowery Branch game.