The Region 7-5A picture will become much more in focus -- but then again maybe not -- when the sixth-ranked Gainesville Red Elephants play at the fifth-ranked Roswell Hornets tonight. The one thing we do know, the region championship won’t be settled this evening. No. 1 ranked Milton will have a big say and maybe the final say in that region championship race next Friday night. But after tonight we will know if it’s a two-team race or three.

FFIG10-25-24

Our GPB Sports Football Fridays in Georgia coverage kicks off from Ray Manus Stadium in Roswell at 7:30 p.m. statewide on GPB-TV Georgia Public Broadcasting.

A Roswell win turns it into a two-team race between the Hornets and the top-ranked Eagles and will be decided head-to-head at Milton next Friday night. A Gainesville victory in their regular season finale sets the stage for a potential three-way tie for the region championship and No. 1 seed in the state playoffs if Roswell were to rebound and win next week. Such a scenario would also send the seeding for the state playoffs into tiebreakers for these three teams meaning one of them would start on the road and maybe play their entire postseason on the road. Heavily favored to beat Johns Creek tonight, Milton controls their own destiny by “simply” winning out.

The Teams

Roswell (7-1, 4-0) has won five straight since its only loss of the season to 6A No. 2 Buford 52-17 in week four of the season. The Hornets carry an 18-game region winning streak into tonight’s game dating back to the 2021 season and have won back-to-back region championships.

Fifth-year Head Coach Chris Prewett has gone 48-11 since being promoted from defensive coordinator after the 2019 season. The last three seasons Prewett has led Roswell to two quarterfinal finishes and one semifinal finish, where they were beaten by the opponent they will face tonight. His .813 winning percentage is the best of any coach in the program’s 75-year history.

Gainesville (7-2, 4-1) has experienced some growing pains with a lot of new pieces on the offensive side of the ball this season under third-year Head Coach Josh Niblett, one of the most successful coaches in the country over the last 25 years. After losing only two games by a total of 10 points in his first two seasons with the Red Elephants, Gainesville’s two losses have come by a combined 37 points. But before you start throwing dirt on Coach Niblett’s team, those two losses were to two of the best teams in the state and both ranked Top 10 in the Max Preps National Rankings, 6A No. 1 Carrollton and 5A No. 1 Milton.

Niblett has done an extraordinary job of returning Gainesville to its rightful place as a state power that the program enjoyed for so many years under legendary coaches Bobby Gruhn and Bruce Miller. Niblett has gone 33-4 in his three seasons with two region titles with the Red Elephants after winning seeveen state championships in Alabama, six with the famed Hoover program.

This will be just the third all-time meeting between these two teams with the previous two coming in the playoffs. This is the first year these two teams have ever been in the same region. These two teams last played in the 2022 state semifinals with Gainesville posting a 35-28 win at Roswell finishing Niblett’s first season with the Red Elephants as state runners-up to champion Hughes.

The Match-Up

Trey Smith, Roswell

Trey Smith, Roswell

Credit: Hudl

Roswell Offense – Hornets are led by first-year starting QB Trey Smith who has thrown for 1,410 yards and 14 TD and is also the team’s leading rusher with 673 yards on the ground and 14 more TD. Smith is eighth in 6A, averaging 260 YPG in total offense. The Hornets have four pass-catchers with over 17 receptions led by senior Grant Cook (26-488 yards, 3 TD) and 3-Star James Madison TE commit Ethan Gurela (17-275 yards, 3 TD). In addition to Smith, Roswell’s ground game is led by 3-Star Pitt commit Synkwan Smith who’s rated as high as No. 14 athlete in the country for 2025. He averages 113.6 all-purpose YPG. The offensive line is led by four seniors including 6-3, 320 LT Daniel Davis who’s been offered by NCAA Division II Concord. The Hornets are averaging 231 rushing YPG, 41 PPG and scored eight TD in a 59-42 win last week at Lanier.

Roswell Defense – As you might tell from last week’s final score the Hornets defense has been hit hard by injury and South Carolina commit and 3-Star Edge Kobby Sakyi-Prah might not be able to play tonight. He’s eighth in the state with 10 QB sacks and also has 16 TFL. But the Hornets have gotten big contributions from the Duffy brothers at linebacker. Senior Ryder is committed to Elon and has 69 TT, 47 solo, 13 TFL, is fifth in 6A with 8 QBS and also has 6 FF. Junior Brody has 73 TT, 40 solo and 9 TFL. Both CB Nytrevain Davenport and Ian Foust have 3 INT with all three of Foust’s coming last week at Lanier and one going for a pick-six.

The Hornets also have one of the top kickers in the country in junior Balaint Vorosmarty who is a Kohl’s Kicking 5-Star and rated the No. 2 kicker in the country. Thirty-four of his 38 kickoffs have gone for touchbacks plus he’s 3-3 on FG with a long of 45 and 38-38 PAT.

Kharim Hughley, Gainsville

Kharim Hughley, Gainsville

Credit: Hudl

Gainesville Offense – Sophomore QB Kharim Hughley beat-out older challengers in the preseason and has set the stage for could be a great three-year career. The 10th-grader has thrown for close to 2,100 yards with 15 TD and perhaps the most extraordinary of his statistics, just 2 INT. Hughley has already picked up an offer from Georgia Southern. He’s got three big-time senior targets in Jeremiah Ware, Shane King, and Taz Smith. Ware (32-675 yards, 8 TD) is a 3-Star WR who is committed to Georgia Southern. King is a 3-Star TE/WR who is committed to Troy (32-426 yards, 2 TD) and the dynamic Smith is a Coach Niblett “Make That Kid an Offer” nominee (23-566 yards, 3 TD). The running game is led by a massive offensive line and converted linebacker Carmelo Byrd (117-748 yards, 16 TD) at RB who’s been offered by North Alabama. Four-Star North Carolina commit Alex Payne, who is rated as high as No. 13 OT in the country for 2025, anchors that OL from his LT position.

Gainesville Defense – Like Roswell the Red Elephants could be without their top defensive player tonight because of injury. That would be 4-Star Xavier Griffin who is rated as high as the No. 1 LB in the country for 2026 with 6 QB Sacks and 13 TFL. But that doesn’t mean Gainesville lacks playmakers on that side of the ball. Three-Star Duke DL commit Julius Columbus is a force at the nose with 8 TFL and three-year starter and junior 3-Star DL Kadin Fossung has seven offers. Middle LB Cash O’Callaghan is a three-year starter moving from safety and a young man Coach Nibblett calls his proverbial “Swiss-army knife. Sophomore LB Darryn Williams has a team-leading 50 TT, 42 solo with 8 TFL.

Recruiting Game Guide

Roswell Prospects

Seniors

Ethan Gurela, Roswell

Ethan Gurela, Roswell

Credit: 247 Sports

#2 Synkwan Smith – 5-9, 170, Senior – Committed to Pitt June 23rd over 7 other offers including Kansas and Kansas State – Consensus 3-Star and rated as high as Rivals No. 14 Athlete in the country 2025

#11 Kobby Sakyi-Prah – 6-4, 220, Senior – Committed to South Carolina June 10th over 15 other offers including Mississippi State and Minnesota – Consensus 3-Star Edge

#6 Ethan Gurela – 6-3, 220, Senior – Committed to James Madison June 27th over 8 other offers – Rated as high as On3 Recruiting 3-Star TE

#7 Ryder Duffy – 6-0, 205, Senior – Committed to Elon over 3 other offers including Navy and North Alabama

#72 Andrew Ryan – 6-3, 290, Senior OL – Offered by Shorter College (NCAA Division II in Rome, GA), and Keiser University (2023 NAIA National Champs out of West Palm Beach, FL)

#74 Daniel Davis – 6-4, 310, Senior OL – Offered by Concord University (NCAA Division II in Athens, WV)

#4 Grant Cook – 5-10, 180, Senior WR – Offered by Berry College (NCAA Division III in Mount Berry, GA), Hampden-Sydney (DIII in Hampden-Sydney, VA), and Point University (NAIA West Point, GA)

#3 Tyler Harrison – 6-2, 220, Senior LB – Offered by Berry College, Hampden-Sydney, University of Rochester (DIII in Rochester, NY)

#76 Nathan Stubblefield – 6-4, 280, Senior OL – Offered by Keiser University

Juniors

#26 Balint Vorosmarty – 5-7, 170, Junior – Kohl’s Kicking 5-Star and #2 Ranked Kicker in the country in 2026

Gainesville Prospects

Alex Payne, Gainesville

Alex Payne, Gainesville

Credit: 247 Sports

Seniors

#71 Alex Payne – 6-6, 265, Senior – Committed to North Carolina January 17th over 14 other offers including Florida State and Duke – Consensus 4-Star and rated as high as No. 13 OT in the country in 2025 in On3 Industry Ranking

#99 Julius Columbus – 6-2, 275, Senior – Committed to Duke April 1st over 20 other offers including Georgia State and Jacksonville State – Consensus 3-Star DL

#3 Shane King – 6-3, 210, Senior – Committed to Troy July 7th – Rated as high as 247 Sports 3-Star TE

#1 Jeremiah Ware – 6-1, 190, Senior – Committed to Georgia Southern August 5th over 5 other offers including Georgia Tech – Rated as high as On3 Recruiting 3-Star WR

#51 Wil Turner – 6-3, 275, Senior OL – Committed to Samford July 9th over 3 other offers

#5 Carmelo Byrd – 5-11, 185, Senior RB – Offered by North Alabama

Juniors

#8 Xavier Griffin – 6-4, 215, Junior – Committed to USC July 27th over 36 other offers – Consensus 4-Star and rated as high as 247 Sports No. 1 LB in 2026

#92 Kadin Fossung – 6-3, 205, Junior – On3 Recruiting 3-Star Edge – 7 offers including Georgia State, UAB and Duke

#76 Krew Moledor – 6-3, 290, Junior OL – Offered by ETSU

#14 Phillip Williams – 5-8, 140, Junior WR – Offered by Murray State

Sophomores

#77 Tyler Ford – 6-5, 320, Sophomore OT – 7 offers including Georgia, Kentucky, and Florida State

#9 Kharim Hughley – 5-11, 180, Sophomore QB – Offered by Georgia Southern

So, join Wayne Gandy, Jon Nelson, Hannah Goodin and me for our Emmy Award-winning Football Fridays in Georgia Game of the Week as the No. 6 Gainesville Red Elephants play at the No. 5 Roswell Hornets. Remember at halftime we’ll highlight this week’s Make That Kid an Offer nominees from around the state.

You can watch Football Fridays in Georgia so many ways. You have traditional TV (GPB), online at GPB.org, GPB Sports app, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Twitch.

Now if you miss the game live or just want to watch it again, don’t worry, we replay the entire Football Fridays in Georgia Game of the Week at 11:15 p.m. or you can watch it on demand anytime at GPB.org. 

Enjoy your October 25, 2024, Football Friday in Georgia!