The Drive to the GHSA State Title will continue this Friday night in the 7A semifinal round of the playoffs when the Grayson Rams face the Norcross Blue Devils on the gridiron. This game will be highly anticipated amongst high school football fans throughout the state of Georgia and may even be spectated by some college scouts for the next recruiting cycle. Both of these two programs have been the standard for success for high school football on a state and national level. They have split their previous six games and will prepare for the seventh meeting tomorrow. Powerhouse teams like what we will witness on Friday night are the same type of programs that get their elite players to the Division 1 college level and then straight to the NFL. Players that will take the field on tomorrow night are the same players we could see on Saturday and Sunday afternoons.
The Grayson Rams finished the year 12-0 and had a 4-0 region record. The Rams were also ranked as the number four team in country and the number one team in the state of Georgia. A team like this just seems unstoppable and will dominate every team in its path. There is no doubt that the Rams are an elite program in the state of Georgia winning 11 region titles and two state championships. This year it very well seems like they are favored to win the state again this year, but the Blue Devils of Norcross will be the team that looks to end the Rams season to better their opportunity of being crowned the state champ. The Blue Devils historically have also proved that their one of the best programs withnin the Peach State winning two state championships and seven regional titles.
Its only inevitable that one of these teams will lose this game and have their season ended with just one loss all year, but this game will prove to all of us which undefeated team is truly better than the other and the premiere program of the 7A Class. There will be so much talent on the field on both sides of the ball and what really stands out are both quarterbacks and defenses of both teams. Rams Quarterback Jake Garcia who has recently committed to Miami has played well although tranferring to Grayson from California. He’s passed for 10 touchdowns and 3 interceptions and has thrown for over 900 yards this year. Meanwhile, Blue Devils Quarterback Mason Kaplan has shown off his skillset by passing for 26 touchdowns and 4 interceptions for over 2,000 yards this season.
Kaplan’s play at quarterback has helped lead the Blue Devils to a 13-0 record and 6-0 region record and also the accolades of being ranked number 16 in the nation and the number two team in the state right behind Grayson. Having the top two teams in the state play in the playoffs in the semifinal game is a dream for any football fan. It will be up to the play of both quarterbacks to put their teams in the best position to advance to the championship game to face either Lowndes or Collins Hill which would make for a great state title game regardless.
Defensively both teams are great as well having sacked the quarterback over 30 times, but the Rams have the most with 41 sacks and the most interceptions with 15, to the Blue Devils eight. Running the ball has not been a problem for either team as they have been able to operate that part of their offense pretty effectively. It might be hard for anyone to choose a clear winner in this game when you have two team who are extremely well coached by Head Coaches Adam Carter of Grayson and Keith Maloof of Norcross.
A heavyweight fight type of game is what we should all expect to see from both of these teams who are used to being in these type of moments. The average person would believe that teams with this type of hype and spotlight would put pressure on the players but when you are used to winning and success it’s something you get used to. The moment never gets too big for teams like this and it’s very interesting to watch the composure of the players in coaches in the moment. In a game where so much is on the line both teams will play for a full 60 minutes and the team that makes the most adjustments and keeps their focus will win. This game might even come down to who has the ball last, but once kickoff begins people will witness why these two teams are so competitive year in and year out.
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