Grayson makes early statement, defeats Parkview

By Todd Callahan

AJC Special

At the turn of the century, Parkview was the center of high school football in Gwinnett County.

Enlarge photo

Collin C. Chappelle Grayson's Brandon Jones (35) is stopped short by Parkview defenders Kamau Brown (1) and Raphel Kirby (22) during the second quarter.

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That power has shifted east, as No. 2 Grayson survived a third-quarter rally to hold on and defeat the Panthers 33-27 on Friday at the Big Orange Jungle. It was the fourth consecutive season that the Rams (5-0 overall, 3-0 in Region 8-AAAAA) have knocked off their region foe.

Grayson made a statement early, scoring touchdowns on two of its first three possessions and adding a pair of field goals to pave the way.

But the Rams had to survive a Parkview rally when quarterback Kalik Barnes threw three second-half touchdowns before Grayson could secure its 17th consecutive regular-season victory.

“They [the Panthers] did a good job in the first two series in the second half, and then we got it rolling,” Grayson coach Mickey Conn said. “We found out where we could hurt them, and the kids made plays. I’m proud of them.”

Keying the victory was the left side of the Grayson offensive line. The line paved the way for the Rams’ ground game, which tallied 244 of the team’s total 310 yards.

Behind the ground attack of senior quarterback Patrick Sentry, who had 40 yards and a touchdown, and running backs Ean Pemberton and Devin Gillespie, the Rams controlled the ball, keeping the Panthers’ spread offense on the bench for most of the night.

Pemberton paced the team with 103 yards on 23 carries. He also scored on a 25-yard gallop with 1:28 left in the first quarter and gave the Rams a 27-20 lead with a 15-yard sprint around left end with 7:35 left in the game.

Grayson appeared to ice the game less than two minutes later.

After an interception by Aaron Nichols, the Rams wasted little time, as Gillespie, behind some good blocking found room around the left side and streaked down the sideline for a 60-yard touchdown.

However, the Panthers, behind senior quarterback Kalik Barnes, who completed 22 of 42 pass attempts for 313 yards and three second-half touchdowns would not go down without a fight.