SUWANEE — Looking at North Gwinnett’s tradition of the past decade — not to mention the Bulldogs’ current form, which includes a 10-game win streak, region title and No. 7 ranking — it’s hard to believe.
But Warren Ericson pointed it out immediately.
“This senior class hasn’t won a playoff game in the years we’ve been here, so it’s certainly been a good feeling,” the senior leader said — before quickly adding: “We’re certainly hungry for more.”
The table is certainly set for a tantalizing feast on Friday, as the Bulldogs play host to third-ranked and defending Class 7A champion Grayson.
Far from giddy over its first postseason success since a run to the 2013 Class 6A title game, North Gwinnett says it understands just how challenging a test the Rams present.
“One thing you know about Grayson is they have a lot of talent, just a bunch of athletic dudes,” Bulldogs junior cornerback Warren Burrell said. “But all we have to do is just get out and execute, just one play at a time, just do everything to the best of your ability.”
It is a mindset that has served the Bulldogs well under first-year head coach Bill Stewart, as his charges have responded impressively to adversity — including losing starting quarterback Cade Fortin (a Texas A&M commit) to injury early in the campaign, as well as rotating running backs due to various injuries.
“At the end of the day we’re always talking about, ‘next man up.’ We’ve been doing it all year,” Stewart said. “We’ve had some critical injuries and stuff where guys have had to step in. And that’s just the way it is when you’re in a physical region like we are; you’ve got to be able to do that, and also if you want to keep moving on you have to have some depth. And so they’ve met the challenge and played well and gotten better each week.”
Players like senior quarterback Jimmy Urzua (1,492 yards passing, 61 percent completion rate, 14 TDs, 2 INTs) have picked up the slack, while five different back have rushed for more than 100 yards — led by Tyler Goodson (723 yards, 13 TDs) and Devin Crosby (541 yards, 11 TDs) — thanks in large part to a physical offensive line that has helped set the tone of the hard-nosed program that Stewart wanted to develop after leaving the defensive coordinator’s position at Mill Creek in March.
“They’ve played with a lot of heart, if you watch us play, we got guys flying around,” Stewart said. “Defensively we’ve got nine touchdowns, which is a huge number. So offensively we’ve won games in the fourth quarter and been able to set the line of scrimmage in the fourth quarter too, and that’s just from being physical and continuing to work on being tough and playing play after play.”
That said, the Bulldogs know they must be at their absolute peak against a reigning state champion loaded with talent (seven collegiate commits so far) — especially on the defensive side of the ball, where Grayson is yielding a paltry 9.6 points per game (only a 10th of a point higher than the stingiest remaining defense in the postseason, Archer -- which edged Grayson 6-3 for the Region 8-AAAAAAA title).
“As everyone knows, their defense is filled with stars, just great players,” Ericson said. “They fly to the ball, hard-nosed guys. We’re definitely up for the challenge though.”
Ericson and his line mates face a Rams defense that has racked up an astounding 56 quarterback sacks and features linebackers Solomon Egbe (72 tackles, 10 for loss, Toledo commit) and Owen Pappoe (62 tackles, 9 for loss, multiple major collegiate offers).
Offensively, Grayson also presents some unique challenges thanks to a dual-threat quarterback in DJ Irons — who spent last season at Gainesville. The senior has 1,608 yards passing, a 62 percent completion rate, 14 TDs and 3 INTs, and he also leads the Rams in rushing with 475 yards and 8 TDs. And Grayson was boosted last week by the return of running back Camron Thompson from a broken collarbone (Thompson rushed for 193 yards in a 31-14 defeat of Norcross).
“You’ve pretty much got to be aware of everyone on the field,” Stewart said of the Rams. “They’re loaded with talent, got a great defensive front. They fly around defensively. Offensively, they’ve got a quarterback that can run. They’re going to spread it out and hit guys that can score on the perimeter too. But they’ve got so much in the middle that it’s really a tough offense to defend.”
Granted the Bulldogs defense has been no slouch, allowing 13.1 points per game, while producing 28 turnovers (14 interceptions and 14 fumble recoveries) and 42.5 sacks.
Senior defensive end Payne Walker (58 tackles, 14.5 for loss), defensive tackle Knox Denning (55 tackles, 11 for loss) and senior linebacker Jake Stewart (47 tackles, 8 for loss) have made life miserable for a number of opposing offenses, and the Bulldogs believe in the momentum they have built together.
“Every win that we’ve had, every game up to this point has prepared us more and more for what we have next, and I feel like at this point our confidence level is high,” Burrell said. “And I feel like we can execute really well. And, really as a team, we’ve come closer together.”
And while it will take their most unified contest of the season so far to keep moving on in the postseason, the Bulldogs remain undaunted.
“We’re just focused on this game, this minute and right now, so that’s how we’re going about it,” Ericson said.
GRAYSON at NORTH GWINNETT
-- WHAT: Class AAAAAAA state second round round playoff game
-- WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Friday
-- WHERE: Tom Robinson Memorial Stadium, Suwanee
-- GRAYSON (10-1, No. 2 seed Region 8-AAAAAAA): Defeated Norcross 31-14 in first round
-- NORTH GWINNETT (10-1, No. 1 seed Region 6-AAAAAAA): Defeated North Forsyth 55-7 in the first round
-- NOTABLE: North Gwinnett leads the series 2-1; the two teams have split previous playoff match-ups
-- WINNER PLAYS: Woodstock vs. Marietta winner in state quarterfinals
