The Grayson d
Credit: Stan Awtrey
Credit: Stan Awtrey
efense proved Friday why the Rams are one of the prime contenders to win the Class AAAAAAA championship.
The quick and athletic collection of Rams limited rival Archer to 98 total yards and rolled to a 38-0 win at Grayson Community Stadium.
The Grayson offense was led by quarterback Chase Brice, a Clemson commitment. The senior completed 8 of 12 passes for 175 yards and three touchdowns.
No. 2 Grayson (6-1, 2-0 Region 8) ran off to a 24-0 halftime lead against Archer (2-5, 1-1), who had lost to four ranked teams.
“I thought (the defense) played great,” Grayson coach Jeff Herron said. “We felt like Archer had improved offensively and getting their quarterback back we were very concerned. Other than a play or two here and there, they played very well. The defensive coaches had a really good game plan and set the tone for the whole game early.”
The first score came when Brice threw a strike to Deangelo Gibbs for a 54-yard touchdown.
The Rams made it 14-0 when Breon Dixon intercepted a pass from Archer’s Dillon Waye and returned it for a 65-yard touchdown.
“Having that first offensive score, the pick-six was a momentum builder and that what dragged us through the rest of the game,” Dixon said. “The pick really uplifted the entire team, the offense and the defense. They fed off that as well, like the defense did.”
Grayson scored again on a 27-yard field goal from Will VanPamelen. The Rams got the ball at the 6 on a 29-yard punt return by Jamyest Williams, but couldn’t punch it in for a touchdown.
The Rams struck again on their next possession behind the strong arm of Brice once again. This time he threw a 65-yard touchdown pass to Evan Sturgill, giving Grayson a 24-0 lead it held at halftime.
Grayson added a touchdown in the third quarter when Brice connected with Sturgill for a 14-yard score, which enabled the fourth quarter to be played with a running clock.
Grayson added a final score with 6:41 left on Kurt Taylor’s 9-yard run.
“We didn’t look at their record,” Brice said. “We went in thinking it was going to be a dogfight. We came out and did what we had to do. We got ahead of ourselves a little, but settled down and started making the routine plays, not forcing things and the defense played great. It really takes pressure off the offense when they can get a pick-six, block a punt and get short field position.”
Grayson’s defensive front harassed quarterback Dillon Waye all game and came away with six sacks. The Rams limited Archer rushed for 19 yards and Waye was able to complete just 12 of 27 passes for 79 yards and two interceptions.
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