Drive for the GHSA State Title: Colquitt County travels to Grayson as Rams test 25-game winning streak

The No. 9-seed Colquitt County Packers are set to make the 200-mile trek up north in the Class 6A playoffs to face the defending state champion and top-seeded Grayson Rams on their home turf with a chance of snapping Grayson’s 25-game win-streak on Friday night.

Friday’s matchup will be broadcast live on Atlanta News First (Channel 46) and the Peachtree Sports Network (cable and YouTube TV), and streamed live on the Atlanta News First app. From your home, download the free ANF+ app anywhere you stream — FireTV, AppleTV, Roku and YouTubeTV — simply by searching for “Atlanta News First” on those platforms. If you are on the go, you can download Atlanta News First for free in the app store on your Apple or Android device. You can also watch live here on the WANF – Special Events channel.

It’s a long ride for the seventh meeting between the programs and Grayson wants its first victory against Colquitt since 2016 when the Rams beat the Rush Propst-led Packers 49-21 in the quarterfinals. Colquitt County beat Grayson 26-14 in 2018 and 31-7 in 2019, the last meeting between the teams.

Both head coaches have continued to impress and have been accomplished at their schools thus far into their careers as Colquitt’s Sean Calhoun has put together a 42-8 record at the helm while totaling three region championships and a semifinals appearance in his first season leading the school. Santavious Bryant and the Rams are coming off of the school's fourth state championship a season ago, their first since 2020. Bryant and Grayson are seeking to become the first school to repeat state championships at the highest classification since Colquitt County did in 2015 and 2016.

Grayson is 11-0 and coming off a 44-7 victory against Norcross in the first round while Colquitt County is 9-2 after outlasting Mill Creek 35-24 last week. The Packers lost to North Gwinnett 21-7 on August 29 and Lowndes 31-14 on September 26.

Junior quarterback Deuce Smith is 132-of-198 passing for 1,989 yards and 24 touchdowns to lead the Grayson offense. The junior quarterback has stepped up in a major way ever since senior quarterback and UNC-commit Travis Burgess was ruled out for the season in the first game of the season after a knee injury. Junior back Ashton Turner has 102 carries for 588 yards and nine touchdowns while senior Josh Thomas has 53 carries for 334 yards and six touchdowns.

Senior receiver Dawson Quarterman leads Grayson’s receivers with 44 receptions for 716 yards and eight touchdowns. Senior Jonathan Stafford has 35 receptions for 687 yards and six touchdowns. Eight other players combined for the Rams’ other 13 touchdown receptions. Seven other players combined for the team’s 16 other rushing touchdowns.

On the other side of the field, Colquitt’s sophomore quarterback Cohen Lawson is 132-of-22 passing for 1,887 yards and 18 touchdowns while rushing for two touchdowns. Senior running back and Georgia-commit, four-star Jae Lamar leads the ground game with 126 carries for 922 yards and 17 of the team’s 25 rushing touchdowns. Junior Antwan Lockett has 37 receptions for 77 yards and 10 of Colquitt’s 19 touchdowns. Five other players combine for the other nine passing scores.

While both offenses feature star-studded talent across the board, it’s hard to talk about both defenses without starting with Grayson five-star linebacker and Texas-commit Tyler Atkinson as he has been nothing short of sensational thus far. After missing two games this season, Atkinson still leads the Rams in total tackles, totalling 77 and 25 tackles for loss, making his presence felt all over the field. Atkinson is ranked as the No. 20 player in the country according to 247Sports.com and a top-three player in the state according to the recruiting site. The combination of Atkinson along with four-star linebacker Anthony Davis Jr. has been a terrifying pair in the second-level of the Rams defensive unit. Davis has 41 total tackles and 12 tackles for loss in eight games.

Colquitt County has a plethora of playmakers on the defensive side of the ball that are seeking to make things difficult for Smith and the offense. Senior linebacker Brayden Ruis plays all over the field for the Packers as he leads the team in total tackles with 114 total tackles and just over four tackles for loss and four sacks. Senior defensive back Alfonso McNeil has also played a huge role for the Packers defense, totaling 94 tackles and nine pass deflections this season.

This Friday, the action will start ahead of the Score Atlanta broadcast of the Colquitt County vs. Grayson matchup at 8 p.m. with the Georgia High School Countdown to Kickoff, beginning at 7:30 p.m. on Atlanta News First (Channel 46) and the Peachtree Sports Network (cable and YouTube TV) and will be streaming on the Atlanta News First website/app. The pregame show, which will feature on-air talent Rusty Mansell, Brandon Adams and Kaylee Mansell will preview the upcoming matchup with each person picking their winning team, along with interviews from each participating head coach. After the clock hits zero, stay tuned after the game for the Georgia High School Postgame Show, which will be broadcast live from the Score Atlanta Studio, with Score Atlanta’s Craig Sager II, Hayden Gilbert and Landon Knight featured on the program. The postgame show will run from game’s end till midnight every Friday night, with a full breakdown of each game, call-in guests chiming in to voice their opinions, and updates from other top-tier games around the state. The postgame show, like the pregame show, will be broadcast live on Atlanta News First and the Peachtree Sports Network and streamed on Atlanta News First and the NFHS Network.