Grayson pulls away from Brookwood in the second half
LOGANVILLE, GEORGIA — Joe Taylor’s 78 rushing yards were far from flashy, but it didn’t stop him from pounding the ball into the end zone on four separate occasions Friday night.
With Grayson clinging to a 7-point lead over Brookwood midway through the third quarter, Taylor scored his third and fourth touchdowns to give the host Rams some much-needed breathing room en route to an impressive 41-14 win at home over the Broncos.
Grayson's Joe Taylor (1), who rushed for four touchdowns,rambles into some open space in Friday's win over Brookwood.
Photo by Jamie Spaar
The Rams finished the game with 249 rushing yards and managed to hold the Broncos to minus-3 yards on the ground.
With the win, the Rams (7-1, 3-0) are the only remaining undefeated team in Region 4-AAAAAAA with two games to play.
"That was a big win right there," Grayson head coach Adam Carter said. "We wanted to come in and stop the run after they hit big runs on us last year. Their defensive line is the real deal and we challenged our kids this week."
The Grayson defense complete eliminated the Brookwood running game, holding the Broncos to -3 rushing yards.
Photo by Jamie Spaar
The score was lopsided by the end of the game, but it was a battle for first two and a half quarters between the Rams and Broncos.
The two Gwinnett powers played to a scoreless tie in the first quarter before Taylor and the Rams broke the tie with a 10-yard touchdown 40 seconds into the second quarter.
Leading 7–0, Grayson went marching on offense again, this time with quarterback J.D. Davis leading the way. Davis completed several big passes on the drive and finished it off with a 9-yard passing score to John Cineas.
The score gave the Rams a 14-0 lead at the break.
Struggling to move the ball in the first half, Brookwood’s Bryce Dopson took matters into his own hands to start the third quarter.
Brookwood running back Cameron French cuts of the block of wide receiver Bryce Dopson, during the Broncos Friday night loss at the hands of Grayson. Dopson later returned a third quarter kickoff for a touchdown, and went 55-yards with a TD throw from Dylan Lonergan to account for the Broncos only two touchdowns.
Photo by Jamie Spaar
The senior returned the third quarter kickoff 83 yards for a touchdown and cut Grayson’s lead in half, 14-7.
Grayson’s offense responded, though and used a 13-play, 80-yard drive capped off by another Taylor rushing touchdown to go back up by 14 points with 6:51 left in the third quarter.
For the first time all night, Brookwood’s offense came to life. Alabama commit Dylan Lonergan fed Dopson the ball, this time on offense, and the senior raced 55 yards for a touchdown to trim Grayson’s lead to 21-14.
From there, however, it was all Rams.
Taylor went onto score twice in the final 2:11 of the third quarter and the Rams tightened up on defense to pull away.
Amari Alston put the game on ice for the Rams after taking a handoff 80 yards for a touchdown midway through the fourth quarter.
While Taylor led the way with four touchdowns, it was Alston who led the way on the ground with 168 yards on just 12 carries.
Davis also turned in an efficient night at quarterback, throwing for 190 yards and a touchdown on 18 of 28 passing.
A win next week for Grayson against Archer would secure a home playoff game in the first round. The Broncos will battle next week with rival Parkview, who was upset at home Friday night by Newton.
A Parkview win and a Grayson win next Friday would set up a region championship matchup in the final week of the regular season.
All photos by Jamie Spaar
Photo by Jamie Spaar
