The GHSA Drive to the State Championship makes its final stop this Friday night with Gwinnett County powerhouses Norcross and Grayson battling in the semifinals for a spot in this year’s Class 7A state championship. The game kicks off at 8 ET and will be broadcasted live on PeachtreeTV. The teams have split their previous six matchups 3-3 and this will be the seventh all-time meeting between the programs.
Norcross Blue Devils Region 7 (13-0)
Head Coach: Keith Maloof
Norcross has compiled a 13-0 record for just the second time in program history this season. The last time the Blue Devils were in this position was 2012—when they closed out a flawless 15-0 campaign and won the school’s first-ever state crown. This year’s success has been fueled by an offensive resurgence that has seen Norcross average a whopping 7.74 yards per play this season and 39.8 ppg. Defensively, Norcross has also been stout with a 14.46 average points per game surrendered average—resulting in a 25.3 average margin of victory. This postseason, The No. 3 ranked Blue Devils have tallied three impressive victories—including last week’s 17-7 win over the No. 2 ranked Colquitt County Packers. This victory was noticed in the national rankings and Norcross climbed all the way to No. 16 in the Maxpreps National Poll. Norcross’ success this season has been driven by an experienced cast of playmakers and senior leadership—including Class of 2021 quarterback Mason Kaplan. The 6-foot-2 passer opened up this postseason with a 13-of-15 passing performance for 303 yards and five touchdowns to lead Norcross past South Forsyth. In last week’s win over Colquitt County, Kaplan added his 27th passing touchdown of the season and his fifth rushing score. As a team, Norcross averages more than 220 rushing yards per game. On the defensive side, the Blue Devils’ speed and athleticism has produced more than 180 tackles for loss this season. Junior outside linebacker Zakye Barker is a major disrupter and posted a career-high seven tackles for loss in Norcross’ 23-20 win over Mill Creek on Oct. 23.
Grayson Rams Region 4 (12-0)
Head Coach: Adam Carter
Grayson has been the No. 1 ranked team in the state for the entire season in most polls and its 31-point average margin of victory has validated this recognition. The Rams’ 12-0 record this season results in the program’s 13th double-digit win season since 2007 and their seventh-straight. Offensively, Grayson has the firepower to match Norcross’ explosive offense with a 39.2 ppg average and the defense is also playing at a championship pace with its 8.17 ppg average. Second-year head coach Adam Carter has gone 23-2 in his first 25 games at the school, but even that impressive winning percentage fails to recognize just how dominant this year’s team has been. The first three rounds of this year’s playoffs have put Grayson’s immense talent on full display and they have outscored Tift County (43-0), Harrison (30-6) and West Forsyth (33-0) by a combined 106-6—begging the question as to whether or not there is a team capable of thwarting their sheer dominance. Under center is four-star transfer quarterback Jacob Garcia—who joined the team in late October after getting ruled ineligible following his journey from California to Valdosta earlier in the year. Garcia is one of the nation’s highest rated passers and contributed a rushing and passing score while running backs Sean Downer and Joe Taylor each found the end zone once on the ground in last week’s 33-0 win over West Forsyth. The defense especially shone in the quarterfinals. When halftime arrived, West Forsyth had less than 10 yards of total offense and by the third quarter, the Wolverines had negative yardage on offense. Grady Bryant led the way with several tackles for loss while Derrell Farrar had two interceptions and a touchdown return.
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