DRIVE FOR THE GHSA STATE TITLE: Newton, Grayson battle for first place in Region 4-6A at Britt-Moody Field

Region rivals square off in a bout for an early lead in the region standings as the Newton Rams (3-2) are tasked with the daunting challenge of traveling to the newly-minted top-team in the Massey Ratings, the Grayson Rams (5-0) for a Region 4-6A showdown.

May the best Ram win.

Friday’s matchup will be broadcast live on 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.

Grayson is coming off of the program's fourth state championship a season ago and its first under third-year head coach Santavious Bryant as the Rams are seeking back-to-back titles, looking to become the first Class 6A team to do so since Colquitt County in 2014 and 2015.

Bryant holds a 30-4 record in the midst of his third season leading the Rams, making a semifinals appearance in 2023 and winning a Class 6A state championship in 2024.

Grayson is back in 2025 with another loaded roster that has aspirations resembling that of last year's squad: winning another state title.

The team currently has 11 players committed to play college football and has plenty more talented athletes waiting to commit with offers from all over the country.

The Rams' season suffered a setback in the second game of the season as senior 4-star quarterback and UNC-commit Travis Burgess suffered a torn ACL, sidelining him for the season. Junior quarterback Deuce Smith has now filled the roll and has been performing at a high-level for the defending champions.

Smith has thrown for 533 yards and four touchdowns on a 68% completion percentage since taking over for Burgess as the Rams have remained undefeated even with their senior quarterback injured.

The Grayson offense is led by the dynamic rushing attack of Ashton Turner and Brandon Gray as they have combined for 500 rushing yards, five touchdowns and three games where at least one of them has rushed for over 100 yards. Through the air, Smith utilizes a three-headed attack between Dawson Quarterman, Jonathan Stafford and Saif Bin-Wahad who are all more than capable of changing a game. Quarterman leads the Rams in receiving with 322 yards on 21 receptions and two touchdowns on the season.

The foundation of this year's Grayson team lies on the defensive side of the ball with a plethora of talent that will be playing on Saturdays in the near future.

Everything starts with the linebacking core for the Rams as one of the top players in the nation, Texas-commit and 5-star linebacker Tyler Atkinson, leads a stout defense after missing the first two games due to injury. Atkinson hasn’t missed a beat since stepping back out onto the field totaling 26 total tackles and recording seven tackles for loss including two sacks. Atkinson is an absolute problem for opposing offenses as his ability to get from sideline to sideline with his explosiveness and combination of size and speed make him stand out from the rest.

Along with Atkinson is 4-star Ole Miss-commit, linebacker Anthony Davis, who was being pursued by some of the top programs in the country before committing to the Rebels. Davis has accounted for five tackles for loss on the season thus far, living in opposing backfields.

Junior linebacker Eli Harris leads the team in total tackles this season with 32 and eight tackles for loss thus far.

For Newton, like his opposing coach, Josh Skelton is in the middle of his third season leading the Newton football program as they are coming off a 7-5 season a year ago when they made a second round appearance.

Newton finished 5-1 in the region last season, with its only loss coming at the hands of Grayson as they look to avenge that loss on Friday night on the road.

The Newton offense is led by a balanced rushing attack between Kevin Hartsfield, Darius White, Kaden Hambright and Tabian Thomas who have combined for over 1,200 yards rushing and 11 touchdowns through their first few games this season. Hartsfield, the lead back for Newton, is a game-time decision to play against Grayson on Friday according to Skelton in his appearance on Georgia High School Sports Daily.

Newton quarterback, second-year starter Deron Benson, has been excellent for the Rams thus far this season, leading an offense that has already scored 178 points this season through five games. Benson has recorded 938 yards through the air and nine passing touchdowns on a 61% completion percentage in his senior season.

Derrick Miller leads the Rams in receiving yards with 510 yards and six touchdowns on the young season. Senior wideout Jaqwan Carr leads the program in receptions with 23 on the season and is second in receiving yards, totaling 335 yards so far.

One of the most interesting storylines of the night will be how Newton’s offense will be able to put points on the board up against one of the best high school defenses in not only the state but the country.  

The defense for the Newton Rams is mostly upperclassmen led and is looking to make a statement on Friday night against one of the top high school programs in the country.

Senior middle linebacker Zacari Lawrence leads the team in total tackles, already recording 56, 18 more than the next highest on the roster. Senior linebacker George Bell leads the team in tackles for loss with eight already on the season, including four sacks as well. Junior defensive back Martel Jones has recorded two interceptions already, leading his team in the category.

This Friday, the action will start ahead of the Score Atlanta broadcast of the Newton vs. Grayson matchup at 8 p.m. with the Georgia High School Countdown to Kickoff, beginning at 7:30 PM on the Peachtree Sports Network (cable and YouTube TV) and 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, Max Wolborsky, 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 the Peachtree Sports Network and streamed on Atlanta News First.