North Gwinnett quarterbacks John Urzua and Ayinde Russell threw a combined four touchdown passes, including two of more than 30 yards on fourth-down plays, as the 10th-ranked Bulldogs built a 28-7 lead and then held on for a 28-21 victory Friday at Hillgrove.
Russell provided the spark for a North Gwinnett offense that had gained 43 yards and one first down on its first four possessions. The senior, who had attempted just one pass in the Bulldogs’ first two games, was inserted in place of Urzua to begin North Gwinnett’s first drive of the second quarter, and he immediately began to move the Bulldogs. Russell led North Gwinnett (2-1) on an 80-yard, 10-play drive that ended with a touchdown pass to Josh Imatorbhebhe on a fourth-and-9 play from the Hillgrove 38. The drive was aided by a 15-yard penalty against the Hawks (2-1) when North Gwinnett faced a third-and-12 and its own 29.
That touchdown seemed to spark Urzua, as well. When he returned to the game on the Bulldogs’ next possession, he led North Gwinnett 69 yards in 11 plays, capped by a 12-yard touchdown pass to Brian Eberhardt for a 14-0 lead with 28.8 seconds to play in the first half. Urzua completed just five of his first 12 passes for 23 yards but finished 11-for-23 for 177 yards and three touchdowns.
Hillgrove cut the lead to 14-7 on its opening drive of the third quarter on a 3-yard run by Sonny Harris, but the Bulldogs answered on their next possession with another big fourth-down play. After driving to the Hillgrove 32, Urzua threw a touchdown pass to Daniel Imatorbhebhe on fourth-and-20 to restore the two-touchdown lead.
Hillgrove faced its own crucial fourth-down play on its next possession but came up short, and the Bulldogs made the Hawks pay. After Hawks quarterback Matthew Wilson was stopped short on a fourth-and-1 in North Gwinnett territory, Urzua threw a 60-yard touchdown pass to Josh Imatorbhebhe on the next play for a 28-7 lead.
Hillgrove sophomore quarterback Bryson Parks took over in the fourth quarter and led the Hawks on two touchdown drives to cut the lead to 28-21. Hillgrove got one last chance to tie the game, taking over at its 30 with 1:27 to play, but turned it over on downs and the Bulldogs ran out the clock.
Despite the slow start, North Gwinnett finished with 338 yards of total offense. Hillgrove finished with 337, led by Wilson’s 118 yards passing and Eric Montgomery’s 86 yards rushing.
North Gwinnett – 0-14-14-0 – 28
Hillgrove – 0-0-7-14 – 21
N – Josh Imatorbhebhe 38 pass from Ayinde Russell (Sergey Hartsthorne kick)
N – Brian Eberhardt 12 pass from John Urzua (Hartsthorne kick)
H – Sonny Harris 3 run (Eirick Abney kick)
N – Daniel Imatorbhebhe 32 pass from Urzua (Hartsthorne kick)
N – J. Imatorbhebhe 60 pass from Urzua (Hartsthorne kick)
H – Tavion Walker 10 pass from Bryson Parks (Abney kick)
H – Vinny Rosamilla 6 pass from Parks (Abney kick)
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