The Falcons of Flowery Branch appear to be on their way to a Region 8 QuadA title in 2011. Head Coach Lee Shaw and company swooped into Conyers last Friday and flew away with a hard fought 21-13 victory over the Heritage Patriots. With the victory, Flowery Branch remains unbeaten at 7-0.

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They also benefited by jumping 6 spots in the weekly Max Preps Georgia High School Football Daily Poll. The Birds are now 3rd and they host Loganville this week, while Heritage-Conyers suffered with its first loss of the year; they are now getting ready to face maybe the most athletic QB in the state in Kevin Ellison and Habersham Central. Back to the Falcons: they raced off to a 21-0 nothing lead only to see the Pats go on a frantic rally for Head Coach Chad Frazier. Flowery Branch would win thanks in part to the stellar play of defensive back Noel Padmore, who heads a much heralded all underclassmen secondary for Coach Shaw. It was Padmore's tackle on Heritage running back Dominic Craft that saved the game for Flowery Branch. The Falcons stars of the game included Padmore, quarterback Kanlen Coker (the North Hall transfer passed 274 yards (15-25)), wide receiver CJ Curry (already committed to Oklahoma State) caught 6 passes for 152 yards and 1TD, and senior running back Jeremy Haley, who accounted for 2TDS for Flowery Branch (6 and 32 yards). It was Haley who put in the GPB Sports Blog this week. He chatted with yours truly about the victory over Heritage-Conyers.

This week, Football Fridays travels to Hallford Stadium in DeKalb County for a key Region 2 5A showdown between Number 3 Stephenson and East Coweta. It is a BIG game for East Coweta, whose postseason hopes hinge on a victory. Our live and exclusive coverage of Football Fridays on the GREAT GPB starts at 8PM/Eastern/5PM/Pacific. Join Mark Harmon, Jackie Brittain, Chrissy Warrilow, Jon Nelson, Trey McDaniel, Lindsey Thiry, and yours truly. We will be without a key member of our crew Friday and for good reason. Legendary Coach Dave Hunter will be celebrating with 1996 championship Brookwood High School team, their 15th anniversary. Coach Hunter, you da man! All the best to you and the Broncos during festivities this Friday night.