Friday Night High School Football Roundup: Grayson upends Newton in Region 4-6A matchup

Class 6A No. 1 Grayson (6-0, 2-0 Region 4) celebrated its Homecoming by taking control early against Newton (3-3, 1-1 Region 4) and notching a 50-3 victory in the Drive for the GHSA State Title series broadcast on Atlanta News First. Grayson took a 22-0 lead near the end of the first quarter and held a 36-3 advantage at halftime in a matchup of teams nicknamed the Rams.

Junior quarterback Deuce Smith threw five touchdown passes to four different receivers. He found Dawson Quarterman for the game's first touchdown on a 6-yard slant just two minutes into the game and hit Quarterman again on a 39-yard deep ball midway through the third quarter to give Grayson a 43-3 lead. Smith also threw scoring passes of 24 yards to Ty'Jae Clark, 33 yards to Saif Bin-Wahad and 41 yards to Jonathan Stafford.  

Smith, the game's Robbie Hunter MVP, talked about how his offense sets the tone during the week.  

"Just our connection in practice, we work on spreading the ball and I make sure I'm not just looking at one person, make sure I'm going through my reads and not forcing anything," Smith said, while chiding himself for the two interceptions he threw in the game.

After taking over for senior starting quarterback and North Carolina commit Travis Burgess, who was injured in Grayson's win over Rabun Gap-Nacoochee in the second game of the season, Smith has led Grayson to four straight wins now as the starter.

"When I got the news that I was going to be the starter, at first I didn't know how to feel about it," Smith said. "But now I'm starting, I feel comfortable and the team has got my back. That's helped me grow a lot. Every game I'm getting better and better."  

Grayson's defensive, led by the Defensive Player of the Game Tyler Atkinson at linebacker, stymied Newton's offensive attack all game long. Newton managed a field goal by Sam Velasquez just before halftime to avoid the shutout. Grayson's special teams also stepped up, blocking a punt in the first quarter when Newton was backed up on its 3-yard line. Newton recovered in the end zone for a Grayson safety to make it an 8-0 Grayson lead at the 6:52 mark of the first quarter. Josh Thomas moved the pile for a 4-yard Grayson touchdown rush midway through the second quarter to give the home team a 29-0 lead.

Despite his team's undefeated record and slew of national top-five rankings, Grayson head coach Santavious Bryant is looking to keep his team humble and improving throughout the season.

"We grow by every week just striving to be better," Bryant said. "Every week we're perfecting our process. So again, next week will be another challenge for us."

Grayson is now tied atop Region 4 at 2-0 with South Gwinnett and travels to winless Heritage-Conyers next week, while Newton travels to Grovetown (0-2 in region play).

BENEDICTINE WITHSTANDS WARE COUNTY, SECURES 30-27 VICTORY

Class 4A No. 7 Benedictine (3-2, 1-0 Region 1) traveled to The Swamp at No. 4 Ware County (5-1, 0-1 Region 1) and outlasted the Gators, 30-27, in a back-and-forth game played in rainy conditions.

Ware County led 21-16 at halftime, and after a scoreless third quarter, the game broke wide open early in the fourth quarter with a flurry of scoring. Benedictine's Stanley Smart plunged in from 1 yard out early in the fourth to give the Cadets a one-point lead, 22-21, after a failed two-point attempt. On the ensuing kickoff, Ware County's Jamario Rice took it back 97 yards for his third touchdown of the game, giving the Gators a 27-22 lead after their two-point try was no good.

Benedictine responded immediately upon taking the ball at their 20-yard line after a touchback. Cadets quarterback Stephen Cannon hit Joshua Washington on a swing pass that went for 66 yards down to the Ware County 14. Several plays later, Smart found the end zone from 2 yards out. This time, Benedictine's two-point attempt succeeded when Cannon found tight end Bennett Conaway on a rollout, giving the Cadets the 30-27 lead with 9:42 remaining in the game. From there, Ware County turned the ball over on downs and later missed a potential game-tying 38-yard field goal with 3:14 remaining, allowing Benedictine to run out the clock.  

Benedictine got on the board first with a 49-yard Parker Lewis field goal in the first quarter. Ware County responded with two Isaiah White touchdown passes, the first one a 48-yarder to Rice and the second an 11-yarder to Jalondi O'Hara to give the Gators a 14-3 lead early in the second quarter. Benedictine answered with a 96-yard kickoff return touchdown from Eron Mallard to pull within 14-10. The teams traded touchdowns again before the end of the first half, with Ware County's White finding Rice for their second touchdown connection, this time on a 34-yard jump ball, and Benedictine's Cannon hitting Bubba Frazier for a 6-yard score to make it 21-16 Ware County.

Follow the link to see the FRIDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL SCORES

Check out the Class-by-class look at Friday Night below

CLASS 6A: No. 8 Valdosta (6-0, 1-0 Region 1) ran past host Camden County (5-1, 0-1 Region 1) 63-19. The Wildcats led 49-13 at halftime. ... Host Tift County (3-3, 0-1 Region 1) scored first but Richmond Hill (5-1, 1-0 Region 1) answered with 21 straight points in the first half to take control of the game, eventually winning 35-10. ... Host Etowah (3-3, 1-1 Region 5) took down county rival Cherokee (1-5, 0-2 Region 5) 40-27. Etowah's Zeke Douglass rushed for two touchdowns and the Eagles also got interception returns for touchdowns from Phoenix Caesar and Walker Hughes. ... The Battle of Five Forks-Trickum went to Brookwood (4-2, 2-1 Region 7) over host Parkview (2-4, 1-2 Region 7) 32-20. Brookwood scored on a long pass play late in the first half to go up 15-6, and Parkview did not pull to within less than two scores the rest of the game. ... Host Central Gwinnett (2-3, 0-2 Region 8) fell to Mill Creek (4-2, 2-0 Region 8) 45-6. Jayde Beasley rushed for three scores and C.J. Cardona rushed for two touchdowns for the Hawks.  

CLASS 5A: No. 1 Thomas County Central (6-0, 1-0 Region 2) took out Lee County (4-2, 0-1 Region 2) as TCC's Christian Lawrence scored twice and teammate Jaylen Johnson passed for a score and ran for a score. ... No. 2 Langston Hughes (6-0, 3-0 Region 3) shut out Newnan (4-2, 1-2 Region 3) at home, 33-0, as the Panthers' Quantavius Wiggins rushed for three touchdowns. ... No. 3 Houston County (6-0, 1-0 Region 2) defeated Veterans (2-4, 0-1 Region 2) at home 49-10. ... No. 9 Northgate (6-0, 3-0 Region 3) got three rushing touchdowns from Woody Schettini on its way to a 35-14 win over McIntosh (2-4, 1-2 Region 3). ... Decatur (2-4, 2-1 Region 4) notched a 27-10 home win over Dunwoody (3-3, 2-1 Region 4) as Sadur Salahuddin rushed for two touchdowns for the Bulldogs.

CLASS 4A: No. 5 Blessed Trinity (4-2) edged Savannah Christian (3-3) of Class A - Div. 1 in overtime at Georgia Southern's Paulson Stadium, 35-32, as Ty Page scored the game-winning touchdown in the first OT after Savannah Christian managed a field goal. ... No. 6 Marist (4-1, 3-0 Region 5) handled Southwest DeKalb (4-2, 3-1 Region 5) 31-7 at Buck Godfrey Stadium. Parks Kaiser scored twice on the ground for Marist. ... No. 9 Cambridge (5-1) sprinted away from Class 6A East Coweta (1-5) at home, 45-21. The Bears got out to a 28-0 lead in the second quarter. ... Jones County (4-2, 3-2 Region 2) rushed for the winning score with under a minute to play to down Stockbridge (4-2, 3-2 Region 2) at home. ... Myles Mims rushed for two touchdowns as Eastside (3-3, 1-1 Region 8) defeated Madison County (3-2, 0-1 Region 8) 30-14 at Sharp Stadium.

CLASS 3A: No. 6 North Hall (6-0, 3-0 Region 6) shut out Pickens (5-1, 2-1 Region 6) 38-0 on the road. ... Upson-Lee (4-2, 2-2 Region 2) beat Mary Persons (3-2, 1-2 Region 2) in overtime, 17-14. ... Oconee County (4-2, 1-0 Region 8) took down No. 7 Cherokee Bluff (4-2, 0-1 Region 8) 28-24 on the road, as Brody Hannah rushed for a score and threw for two, including the go-ahead touchdown pass with under a minute to play. ... Monroe Area (5-1, 1-0 Region 8) traveled to East Hall (2-4, 0-1 Region 8) and got the 38-28 win. Ezra Harrison rushed and passed for scores and Jitt Carr had three rushing touchdowns for the Purple Hurricanes.

CLASS 2A: No. 4 Carver-Atlanta (6-0, 2-0 Region 5) was victorious over No. 10 Hapeville Charter (1-4, 0-1 Region 5) 14-7 at home. ... No. 5 Rockmart (5-1, 4-0 Region 7) handled Sonoraville (4-2, 3-1 Region 7) 50-28 on the road. ... Holy Innocents' (No. 5 Class A-3A Private) eked out a win over Lovett (No. 9 Class A-3A Private), 14-7. The Bears improved to 5-1, 2-0 in Region 5 while Lovett fell to 4-2, 1-1 in Region 5. Ryan Woods threw two touchdowns to Brayden Bailey for Holy Innocents'. ... Hebron Christian (No. 2 Class A-3A Private) defeated East Jackson (5-1, 0-1 Region 8) 55-10 at home. Hebron Christian improved to 4-1, 1-0 Region 8 and led 38-3 at halftime. ... Stephens County (3-3, 1-0 Region 8) took down Franklin County (5-1, 0-1 Region 8) at home thanks to a 2-yard touchdown rush with eight seconds remaining by Dallas Hague.

CLASS A – DIV. 1: No. 1 Worth County (6-0, 2-0 Region 1) handled Brantley County (0-6, 0-2 Region 1) on the road, 49-0. Kaden Chester rushed for two scores and Lyndon Worthy threw two touchdown passes. ... No. 2 Thomasville (5-0, 2-0 Region 1) defeated Jeff Davis (4-1, 1-1 Region 1) 56-21 thanks to three rushing scores and one passing touchdown from Cam Hill. ... Elbert County (2-4, 2-0 Region 8) scored 13 points off of turnovers including an interception return for a touchdown to defeat Commerce (0-6, 0-2 Region 8) 16-6 on the road. ... No. 4 Rabun County (6-0, 2-0 Region 8) dispatched Providence Christian (1-4, 0-1 Region 8) on the road. Ty Truelove threw three touchdown passes for the Wildcats and rushed for a score.  

CLASS A – DIV. 2: No. 10 Early County (4-2, 3-0 Region 1) defeated No. 6 Seminole County (4-1, 1-1 Region 1) at home, 18-7. Devonis Lee rushed for two touchdowns for Early County. ... No. 1 Lincoln County (6-0) took down Strom Thurmond of South Carolina 45-20 at home. Mekhi Wade rushed for two scores and threw a touchdown pass for Lincoln County. ... No. 2 Clinch County (6-0, 1-0 Region 2) routed rival Irwin County (1-5, 0-1 Region 2) 61-14 at home. The Panthers led 41-0 at halftime. ... No. 5 Metter (3-2, 2-1 Region 3) was knocked off by Emanuel County Institute (4-2, 4-0 Region 3) 34-6 at ECI.  

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