In the football world, there is a saying that is often used at the end of a game, “the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat”. The Glory For Christ Championship Game between the North Georgia Falcons and the Christian Heritage Lions was played in a beautiful stadium on a absolutely beautiful day and both teams had shining moments throughout the game. It was something special to behold as both teams played their hearts out and it is really unfortunate that one team came out on the short end of the score. In a game of this magnitude, the championship game, there will be the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.

North Georgia took the opening kickoff at the 22 yard line. Eleven plays later the Lions defense held on 4th down at the 32 yard line, taking over for the first time after the Falcons had the ball for almost 8 minutes. It only took Christian Heritage 3 plays to go 68 yards and a touchdown as QB Daniel Pierce connected with Mason Sikes who had gotten behind the Falcons defense. The extra point kick by Pierce was good and at 3:55 left in the first quarter Christian Heritage led 7-0.

The Falcons went 3 and out on their next possession and kick to the Lions. The Lions took over at the 19 yard line. Five plays later they punted and the Falcons took over at their own 35. Using a combination of passes and runs the Falcons moved to the Lions 35, then Tim Howard found his favorite receiver, Riley Davis, with a pass and Davis took it to the house (end zone) for a 35 yard TD. The extra point kick was blocked, leaving the Lions in the lead, 7 to 6, with 6:31 left in the 2nd quarter.

Christian Heritage went 3 plays and then punted to the Falcons 47. Howard went to work again as he connected on 5 passes, the last going 8 yards to Elijah Hiers for the score with 56 seconds left in the first half. Kicker Brett Snyder was good on the extra point kick and the Falcons had the lead at 13-7.

With less than a minute left in the half, the Lions moved the ball from the 27 all the way to the 7 yard line, however, the clock ran out before the Lions could get off another play. Halftime score: North Georgia 12 Christian Heritage 7.

The Lions took the second half kickoff, but could not get anything going and had to punt. The Falcons then ran 3 plays and had to punt which only went about 15 yards giving the Lions good field position at the 32 yard line. On the second play, Drew Lee of the Falcons recovered a Lions fumble at the 30 yard line. The Falcons marched down the field on 9 plays with a mixture of passes and runs, however, they stalled at the 30 yard line and on 4th down the Falcons lined up for a field goal. Kicker Brett Snyder then booted a 46 yard field goal to give the Falcons a 16 to 7 lead with 49 seconds left in the 3rd quarter.

Both teams then traded possessions with neither team able to do much. Then the Lions took over at the 8 yard line and using the passing arm of Daniel Pierce connected on six passes, finding Ethan Turnmire for the TD of 29 yards. Daniel Pierce kick was good and the Lions were back in the game but still behind 16-14 with 3:36 left in the game.

After kicking off to the Falcons, the Lions defense bowed up and stopped the Falcons on 3 plays. The Falcons lined up to punt, but attempted a fake punt which the Lions were able to stop the Falcons short of a first down at the 43. The Lions took over and on first down, Pierce found Mason Sikes at the Falcons 11 yard line for a first down. The Falcons stopped RB Terrell Wison after a 3 yard gain, then Pierce tried a QB sneak that took it down to the 2 yard line, however, time was running down. The Lions decided to go for the win with a field goal, however, a bad snap was recovered by the Drew Lee of the Falcons, giving them the victory and the Glory For Christ Championship 16-14 over the Christian Heritage Lions.

The Falcons celebrated the thrill of being victorius while the Lions dealt with the agony of defeat after coming so close to the victory. It’s been a great season for both teams and nothing should take that joy away from either of these two team!

TO GOD BE THE GLORY!

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GFC Semifinal: North Georgia beats Force 7-0 (2 OT) to reach GFC Championship game

In a great defensive battle between two of the top teams, the North Georgia Falcons beat the Georgia Force in 2 overtimes by the score of 7-0. The Force played most of the game without starting quarterback Matt Hardin, who was injured in the second quarter. Neither team seemed to be able to get untracked offensively because of the tough defense that was being played. The Falcons came up with an interception by Riley Davis near the goal line to stop the best Force drive of the day. Christian Jones had another interception to stop another drive. It was also Jones who intercepted a pass in the first overtime to stop the Force.

The Force defense kept the Falcons offense in check all day as well. In the first overtime, the Falcons tried a field goal which was wide right. However, in the second overtime, on 3rd and 6 from the 14, Tim Howard connected with Riley Davis for the Falcons touchdown. Brett Snyder added the extra point to make it 7-0. The Force took over and drove down the field, however, on 4th on 5 from the 7 yard line they came up short by about a foot so the Falcons won the game and moved into the Championship where they will play the Christian Heritage Lions on Saturday, Nov 14th at 2:00 at Riverwood High Stadium in Sandy Springs.

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East Atlanta Mustangs (Burgundy) vs North Georgia (White)

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North Georgia Falcons 35 East Atlanta Mustangs 6
In a battle of unbeaten teams, the score of this game does not indicate how good a football game it was! East Atlanta and North Georgia were scoreless through the first quarter. The Falcons were able to drive the ball on their first possession, but fumbled the ball on the 7 yard line. After holding the Mustangs to 3 plays, the Falcons fumbled the punt and the Mustangs took over in good field position. The Mustangs were unable to capitalize and had a TD pass called back because of a holding call. At the start of the second quarter the Falcons drove the ball down to the 19, but were stopped when they fumbled the ball and East Atlanta recovered. With 5:21 left in the half the Falcons were finally able to score on a 9 yard run by Michael Jefferson. Brett Snyder added the extra point and the Falcons led 7-0. Then with 1:14 left in the half, North Georgia fullback Ben Keeling scored on a 38 yard run. Snyder was perfect on the extra point kick. Falcons 14 Mustangs 0.
The Mustangs took the kickoff and on the first play scored on a 48 yard pass from QB Reid Hawkins to Reg Spears. The Falcons defender almost intercepted the ball, but the deflected ball was caught by Spears who ran it in for the score. The Mustangs two point attempt was stopped short of the goal. Halftime score: Falcons 14 Mustangs 6
The third quarter went back and forth with neither team able to put the ball in the end zone, then with 1:07 left in the 3rd quarter, Michael Jefferson intercepted a pass and returned it 45 yards for a score. Snyder was good on the attempt. Falcons led 21-6.
The Falcons scored with 10:17 left in the 4th quarter on a 20 yard run by Michael Jefferson and the extra point kick by Snyder to go up 28-6. With 3:52 left in the game, Falcons’ cornerback Elijah Heirs intercepted a pass and returned it to the 5 yard line. Two plays later, Gabe Jefferson scored on a 2 yard run and after Brett Snyder added the extra point kick, the final score was 35-6.

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North Georgia Falcons 38 Holy Ground Academy Stallions 0
The Falcons scored three times in the first quarter on touchdown runs of 3 yards by Ben Keeling, 2 yards by QB Tim Howard and on a 31 yard Howard to Riley Davis pass. Kicker Brett Snyder was good on all 3 extra point attempts. In the second and third quarter, the Falcons scored on passes of 49 and 38 yards from Howard to Davis. Snyder was good on the 2 extra point kicks. Snyder finished the scoring when he booted a 25 yard field goal. The Falcons rolled up 344 yards of offense (170 passing and 174 rushing).

North Georgia Falcons 34 Cumberland Christian Patriots 6
The Falcons kicked off to start the game and held CCA on three downs. The CCA punt was returned to the 4 yard line by Riley Davis and Brian Ross scored a touchdown on a 4 yard run. Brett Snyder added the extra point. The Patriots almost scored on the next possession, when QB Mitchell Bumgarner connected with Arthur Parker for a touchdown, however, a holding penalty negated the score. After the Falcons took over, QB Tim Howard was able to connect with Ryan Rivers on a 15 yard touchdown pass and Brett Snyder was good again on the extra point kick. Falcons 14-0. In the 2nd quarter, Michael Jefferson finished off a Falcon drive with a 6 yard touchdown. Snyder was successful on the kick. NG 21-0. Cumberland then got on the board as QB Mitchell Bumgarner lofted a pass to Parker who took it 50 yard for the score. NG 21 CCA 6 The Falcons returned the kickoff to the 40 and in three plays were able to score when Riley Davis caught a slant pass from Tim Howard and scooted 30 yards to the end zone. Brett Snyder was successful on the extra point attempts and the Falcons led 28-6 at the half. The only score in the second half came when Riley Davis took a pitch and ran 46 yards for a touchdown. Final score: North Georgia 34 Cumberland Christian 6.

North Georgia 41 Kings Ridge 0

The Falcons kicked off their season beating the Kings Ridge Christian Academy Tigers 41-0 on the Tiger’s turf field in Alpharetta. QB Tim Howard led the way with two touchdown passes of 20 yards to Riley Davis and 13 yards to Ryan Rivers. Howard also had 95 yards running. RB Brian Ross had two touchdown runs and Gabe Jefferson added a 2 yard touchdown run. Riley Davis returned a punt 55 yards for a score. Kicker Brett Snyder was successful on five extra point kicks.

Gabe Jefferson led the defense with 8 tackles (1 sack). Kris Setser recovered a fumble and had a sack, while Brian Ross had an interception.

This was a non-league game for the Falcons, who open their GFC schedule with a home game against Cumberland Christian Academy on Friday, September 4th.

North Georgia Falcons roster
Players………….Offense….Defense
Adam Bieber………..OL………DL
Alec Beaty…………..OL………DL
Andrew Ramirez…..OL………LB
Ben Keeling………..TE/FB…..LB
Brett Snyder……….K/P
Brian Ross………….RB……….CB
Christian Jones…….WR……..CB
Dan Lutz……………OL………LB
David Stone…………OL……..DL
Devin Griffin…….TE/OL…..DL
Drew Lee…………….OL………DE
Elijah Hiers………….WR……..DB
Estebon Cortes…….WR……..DB
Gabe Jefferson…..TE/OL…..LB
Gordon Thigpen……WR……..DB
Hunter Brumfield….OL………DE
Jared Stephens……WR……..DB
Jesse Rodgers……..WR……..DB
Kris Setser………….OL………DL
Micah Nels…………..OL………DL
Mike Jefferson…….RB……….LB
Riley Davis………WR/QB…….S
Ryan Rivers………..WR………LB
Tim Howard………..QB……….S
Zach Howard……….OL………DL
Zane McDaniel….TE/QB…….LB

Directions to SCRA (South Cherokee Recreation Association):

1. Take 75 to 575 and go north on 575
2. Take exit 11 (Sixes Road) and turn right off of exit ramp
3. Turn right onto Holly Springs Parkway (old Highway 5) and go approx 1.9 miles
4. SCRA will be on the left.

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Head Coach: Roger McDaniel 678-313-6034

Email: healthnut03@juno.com

Location: Cherokee, Forsyth, Jasper and North Fulton counties

Teams: High School and Middle School

North Georgia returns alot of players from last years second place team, but most of their skill position players were backups last year. The Falcons play their home games at SCRA in Woodstock/Holly Springs.

RB Michael Jefferson

QB Tim Howard

Kicker Brett Snyder

FB Ben Keeling

Falcon offense scrimmages Christian Heritage and Georgia Force

Falcons offense

Ready for football!

Falcons Nest with builders Rick Keeling (left) & John Jefferson (right)