About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 4, 2020)
SPORTS Bill Murphy Sports Editor | 770-718-3415 | sports@gainesvilletimes.com Unties gainesvilletimes.com Saturday, January 4, 2020 NFL JASON BEHNKEN I The Associated Press Houston Texans quarterback and Gainesville High graduate Deshaun Watson (4) runs against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the second half of the game Dec. 21 in Tampa Bay, Fla. Watson and Watt hope Texans can start hot Associated Press J.J. Watt was a rookie in the 2011 playoffs when his spectacular performance against the Cincinnati Bengals led the Houston Texans to the first postseason win in franchise history. The spotlight will be on Watt again on Satur day, when he’ll return to the field a little more than two months after surgery to repair a torn pectoral muscle when the Texans host the Buf falo Bills in the first round of the playoffs. Watt had a good first season in the NFL but was relatively unknown nationally when he made his playoff debut against Cincinnati. The game was tied at 10-all in the second quar ter when Watt tipped a pass from Andy Dal ton and grabbed it for an interception, which he returned 29 yards for a touchdown to put Houston on top for good. The defensive end also had four tackles, a sack and a quarter back hit in the 31-10 victory. Watt recalled that game this week and said the energy and atmosphere in the stadium that day was incredible. “As a guy who’s been here for nine years, that feeling is what I want to capture and mag nify,” he said. “I feel like, not that we haven’t had that (since), but there was something magical about that and I want to create that magic again. The only way to do that is by win ning. There’s no special sauce. You just have to win.” After sitting out since October, it’s unclear how much impact Watt will have on the game. But coach Bill O’Brien said Thursday that Watt would play “quite a bit,” which should help a pass rush that ranked 26th in the NFL with just 31 sacks. Watt and the Texans will face an offense led by Josh Allen, who will make his playoff debut after finishing the regular season with 3,089 yards passing with 20 touchdowns and 510 yards rushing and nine more scores. “(It’s) still the game of football, the dimen sions are the same, we have the same plays that we’ve had in all year,” Allen said. “We’re not trying to do anything different.. we got to go out there and execute.” 24 YEARS AND WAITING: The Bills have lost five straight playoff games since a 37-22 win over Miami in a wild-card game on Dec. 30, 1995. The Jim Kelly-led team followed with a 40-21 loss at Pittsburgh the next week. Buffalo’s playoff-victory drought is the third longest active streak in the NFL. The Cincinnati Bengals haven’t won a play off game since January 1991. The Detroit Lions have the second-longest streak, with their last win coming in January 1992. Members of Buffalo’s 1990 teams, who made and lost four consecutive Super Bowl appearances, are rooting for the Bills to finally break the streak. “We’re all about these guys. We love them. We think they’re great,” former Bills receiver and special teams star Steve Tasker said, not ing he was speaking for numerous teammates. “The culture and feel around the building reminds us of us.” WATSON’S OPPORTUNITY: Houston quarterback Deshaun Watson is looking for his first playoff win after struggling in his play off debut last season, a 21-7 loss to the Colts. “We earned this opportunity and it’s real dope,” he said. “No one in our locker room wants it to end and we’ll continue to keep working and keep fighting forward to try to improve and get to the next week.” Though Watson is only in his third season, he’s the undisputed leader of the offense and has worked this week to make sure his team mates are focused. Running back Carlos Hyde said Watson sent a group text to the players on offense with the simple message of “let’s be great.” HELLO AGAIN, HOUSTON: Bills corner- back Kevin Johnson and rookie defensive tackle Ed Oliver have ties to Houston. John son spent his first four seasons with the Tex ans after being selected with the 16th pick in the 2015 draft. Oliver, Buffalo’s first-round pick, grew up and spent his three-year college career at Houston. Oliver shrugged off ques tions about his homecoming, saying, “The most exciting part besides playing Houston is (it’s) my first playoff game.” I Today’s games ■ Texans vs. Bills, 4:30 p.m., ABC ■ Patriots vs. Titans, 8 p.m., CBS HIGH SCHOOL BASKCTBALL Strong finish for Big Red Photos by NATHAN BERG I The Times Gainesville’s Walt Dixon goes up for a basketball against Habersham Central during Friday’s game in Gainesville. Both Gainesville teams rally from slow start in region opener BY NATHAN BERG nberg@gainesvilletimes.com The Gainesville boys basket ball team bounced back from a slow start against Haber sham Central and fought off a late Raiders surge to secure a 62-54 win to start off the region schedule. The victory pushes the Red Elephants win streak to four games following an 0-10 start to the year. “Our guys found a way to win the game,” Gainesville coach Chuck Graham said. “We did a lot of good things. Any time you can get a region win is huge, especially when you get one at home.” Walt Dixon scored 16 for Gainesville, and nine different players made appearances on the scoresheet to supplement the full team effort. The Red Elephants started the game off a bit slow on offense, managing just 9 points in the opening quarter, but holding Habersham Central to only 5 to stay ahead early. But Gainesville started to knock down shots in the second quarter and managed to pull away a little bit right before halftime. Eli Pitts and Robert Reis- man combined to connect on a trio of 3s in the period, and the defense held strong to help the Red Elephants jump out in front. Reisman’s deep-range shot right at the buzzer put Gainesville on top 27-17 at the halftime break. The Raiders managed to hold the deficit there for much of the third quarter as the teams exchanged baskets back-and-forth, but a putback layup from Dixon and a pair of corner 3s from Lake Shel ton in the last two minutes of the frame helped Gainesville to jump out in front by 14 going into the last eight minutes of the contest. Habersham Central started the fourth quarter with a pair ■ Please see RED, 2B Gainesville Kyah Cantey dribbles down court during Friday’s game against Habersham Central in Gainesville. SCOREBOARD Howell leads North Hall boys in win Clark Howell scored a game- high 26 points as the North Hall boys topped Lumpkin County 60-40 on Friday. Also in double figures for the Trojans (11-5,3-2 Region 7-3A) was Luke Voile with 15 points. Up next, North Hall visits White County at 7:30 tonight in Cleveland. CHESTATEE GIRLS 61, BLESSED TRINITY 49: Emma Easterwood and Mag gie McNair each had 19 points on Friday, while Danielle Bull scored 8 for the Lady War Eagles (8-8,3-3 Region 7-4A). BLESSED TRINITY BOYS 59, CHESTATEE 45: Jonah Bull scored a team-high 21 for the War Eagles and Brenton Nicholson finished with 12 on Friday. Up next, Chestatee faces Cherokee Bluff at 5:30 p.m. tonight in Gainesville. BUFORD GIRLS 66, WAL NUT GROVE 11: Tamori Plan- tin finished with a game-high 10 points for the Lady Wolves (13- 0,1-0 Region 8-5A) on Friday in Walnut Grove. Up next, Buford hosts John son at 1 p.m. Saturday at Buford City Arena. DAWSON COUNTY GIRLS 61, CHEROKEE BLUFF 44: Mariah Benson had a game- high 22 points and Maddie Anglin chipped in 18 for the Lady Tigers (10-6, 4-1 Region 7-3A) on Friday. Up next, Dawson County hosts East Hall at 6 p.m. Tues day in Dawsonville. DAWSON COUNTY BOYS 64, CHEROKEE BLUFF 61: Palmer Weaver scored a game- high 15 points and Cade Sim mons added 10 for the Bears (9-7) on Friday in Dawsonville. Up next, Cherokee Bluff visits Chestatee at 7:30 p.m. tonight. RIVERSIDE MILITARY BOYS 70, PRINCE AVENUE CHRISTIAN 61: Shad Dabney scored a game-high 32 points, while Bryce Klycznski scored 17 for the Eagles (6-5). Up next, Riverside Military hosts Tal lulah Falls at 2 p.m. today in Gainesville. BANKS COUNTY BOYS 71, ELBERT COUNTY 31: Carl Cleveland had a triple-double for the Leopards, scoring 27 points with 14 rebounds and 10 assists on Friday. Pierce Mar tin scored 15 for Banks County, while Sawyer Pace had 11 points. LANIER CHRISTIAN ACADEMY GIRLS 65, FIDELES CHRISTIAN 23: Faith Wasden scored 21 points and Ashley Avery had 20 for the Lightning. Leading 16-9 after the first quarter, Lanier Christian pushed its lead to 29-13 at halftime. LANIER CHRISTIAN BOYS 78, FIDELES CHRISTIAN 56: Trevin Last had a team-high 19 points and 18 rebounds for the Lightning on Friday. Bo Souther scored 17 for Lanier Christian, while Thomas Avery scored 12.
