North Gwinnett lashes Lassiter late for win

North Gwinnett quarterback Mike Tamburo threw four touchdown passes in the second half of the Bulldogs’ second-round matchup with Lassiter, leading them to a 43-21 victory against the Trojans at Tom Robinson Memorial Stadium in Suwanee.

Three of the touchdown passes went to sophomore C.J. Uzomah, who caught six passes for 110 yards.

North Gwinnett (10-2) set up a rematch with Newnan, a 42-0 winner over Tift County. North beat Newnan last season on its way to the Class AAAAA title game.

Uzomah had one catch for 9 yards before North Gwinnett struck from 45 yards out on the first possession of the third quarter. Tamburo hit Uzomah on a screen pass, and the sophomore ran 45 yards for the score to give the Bulldogs a 22-7 lead.

On the next possession Uzomah caught a 12-yard touchdown pass, and after Raahmil Brantley hauled in a touchdown pass from Tamburo, Uzomah caught a 10-yard jump ball to give North a 43-21 lead with 8:18 to play.

Tamburo finished the game 15-of-20 passing for 281 yards. He also rushed for 76 yards on 13 carries.

“Thank God for halftime adjustments,” North Gwinnett coach Bob Sphire said. “We had the chance to go in and make the proper adjustments to do what we did in the second half.”

Lassiter hung around behind quarterback Mason Hudson and athletic catches from receivers Philip Lutzenkirchen and Taylor Crowder. Crowder made an over-the-shoulder on fourth-and-9 from the 38 to set up a 3-yard touchdown run from Xavier Morgan, and his touchdown reception from Mason closed the gap to 36-21 at the start of the fourth quarter.

Hudson, a junior, finished the game 24-of-39 passing for 277 yards and two touchdowns.

Lassiter pulled to within 9-7 in the second quarter when quarterback Mason Hudson connected with Lutzenkirchen for a touchdown score that ended an 86-yard drive. Mason hit Lutzenkirchen for a 36-yard pass on the first play of the drive, and a personal foul penalty on Nelson put the Trojans in Bulldogs’ territory. Mason extended the drive with a fourth-down conversion to Jimmy Mayer.