North Gwinnett has now won four in a row against Grayson since 2012. The Bulldogs scored the game’s first 37 points behind quarterback
Elam Rahman, who completed 8 of 9 passes for 148 yards and three touchdowns.
Christian Jackson had three catches for 67 yards and two scores.
On the first play from scrimmage, Rahman connected with
Evan Hawkins
on a 54-yard flea flicker. That initial drive ended with a 6-yard
touchdown pass from Rahman to Jackson for a 7-0 lead
North Gwinnett tight end Max Patterson looks for a big gain during Friday’s 37-22 upset win over Grayson. (PHOTO: Luke Hamilton)
North Gwinnett increased the lead to 15-0 on its second drive when Hawkins ran in a 7-yard rushing score followed by a two-point conversion.
Rahman found Jackson again for a 40-yard touchdown strike midway through the second quarter to give the Bulldogs a 22-0 lead that would hold until halftime.
North Gwinnett continued to clamp down defensively to start the second half as Godfree, a North Carolina State commit, came away with a 55-yard pick-six that made it 29-0 at the 9:41 mark of the third. Rahman then picked up his third touchdown pass of the night with a 14-yard strike to Hawkins midway through the third to make it 37-0.
Grayson finally got on the board at the end of the third quarter as
Deuce Smith hit
JoJo Watts for a 63-yard touchdown connection to make it 37-7. Smith added TD tosses to
Saif Bin-Wahad and
Cam Hurst late in the fourth to cap the scoring at 37-22.
Smith finished with 288 yards and three touchdowns on 16 of 25 passing while Bin-Wahad totaled 134 receiving yards for Grayson.
Under new head coach Greg Carswell, Grayson still looks to regain championship form after falling to
Carrollton in last year’s 6A quarterfinals. The Rams have won state championships in 2011, 2016, 2020 and 2024.
