SUWANEE — Jayden McDonald never doubted he would be standing where he was Friday night.
“We knew back in the summer that we had the talent to get here. We believed we could do it and we have,” the senior North Gwinnett linebacker and Rutgers-commit said after the Bulldogs vanquished defending Class 7A champion Grayson 35-28 at Tom Robinson Stadium.
North Gwinnett (11-1) will move into the quarterfinals and will play host to at-large team Marietta, which held off Woodstock 38-28 on the road.
McDonald recorded seven tackles for loss, including five sacks, as the Bulldogs defense clamped down on the Rams power running game and quarterback DJ Irons over the final seven minutes. None were bigger than when we hauled down Irons on a 3rd-and-7 at the Rams 41 as they looked headed for an apparent go-ahead score.
“(Jayden) is an impact player,” North Gwinnett coach Bill Stewart said. “The defense played great all night. We took some body-blows in the third quarter but when we needed it, they rose to the occasion. Just a tremendous effort.”
“The coaches put me on the outside to use my speed and I was able to make some moves,” McDonald said. “It’s just a great feeling right now.”
After McDonald’s sack, it turned into the Tyler Goodson show. The junior running back accounted for 50 yards, including a stealthy 15-yard touchdown run through traffic with just 1:37 left to cap a 74-yard, 12-play drive that drained 5:33 off the clock.
Goodson finished with 132 yards and three scores on 23 carries. Senior quarterback Jimmy Urzua was 15-of-19 for 233 yards and one touchdown to complement the run game.
“Tyler is back at full strength now and he was outstanding. Jimmy was unbelievable. The entire offense was really on for most of the night against maybe the best defense they’ll see all year,” Stewart said. “That last drive was just a thing of beauty.”
But Grayson did not go quietly despite just 97 seconds left. They got one quick first down before being stopped on downs when Irons was forced out of bounds on a 4th-down run. The Rams held the Bulldogs on four plays on the their ensuing drive and had one last shot with 33 second left.
But fittingly Irons was sacked by Payne Walker on fourth down to seal the game.
The Bulldogs never trailed but let a pair of 14-point leads slip away. After a defensive slugfest early, they jumped out to a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter. They led 28-14 early in the third quarter before the Rams (10-2) rallied to tie the game late in the period.
North Gwinnett took a 21-14 lead into halftime and quickly extended it to 28-14 on a 31-yard pass from Urzua to LJ Fisher to cap a 4 minute drive to open the third quarter.
But the Rams answered back even quicker when Jaylen Haynes returned the kickoff 62-yards, and combined with a 15-yard penalty on the Bulldogs, they started at the North Gwinnett 20. Two plays later Irons scored on a 2-yard run to trim it to 28-21.
The Grayson defense began to exert itself forcing a North Gwinnett punt and then Camron Thompson tied the game at 28 on a 15-yard touchdown run less than five minutes later.
The defenses then took over until North Gwinnett’s game-winning drive.
The first half saw the defense dominate early and the offenses finally break through late as North Gwinnett eventually took a 21-14 lead into the halftime.
The Rams wasted little time as Irons connected with Kenyon Jackson on a 39-yard pass on the opening play to the North Gwinnett 19. But the Bulldogs stiffened sacking Irons on third down and forcing a 34-yard Will Van Pamelen field goal attempt. The kick sailed wide, however, keeping the game tied.
Goodson opened the first North Gwinnett possession with a 20-yard run but the Rams defense induced two negative plays and a Bulldogs punt.
The Bulldogs defense got the first of four first half sacks of Irons to force another punt and then Urzua connected with Josh Downs for a 43-yard slant pass to the Rams 16. Two plays later Javonni Cunningham gave the Bulldogs the first lead on a 14-yard reverse run for a touchdown.
After the third Grayson punt in four possessions, led by three sacks and five tackles for loss by McDonald, the Bulldogs offense struck again, this time behind Goodson, who serpentined 49 yards to the Grayson 13. He later capped the quick drive with a 3-yard scoring run for a 14-0 lead with 9:59 left in the first half.
Grayson would not be held down forever. The Rams drove to the Bulldogs 19 and a Van Pamelen 37-yard field goal appeared to cut into the lead. But North Gwinnett was called for offsides giving Grayson a first down and three plays later Thompson got the Rams on the board with a 4-yard touchdown run to trim the lead to 14-7 with 4:50 left.
Grayson tied the game at 14 three minutes later when Irons found a wide open Jaquavius Lane for a 44-yard touchdown strike when a Bulldogs defender fell down.
North Gwinnett did not need all of the 1:11 left, however. Goodson got 13 yards on a screen pass and then Urzua scrambled and found Fisher or a 60-yard catch and run to the Rams 2. Goodson punched it in one play later for the halftime lead.
SCORING SUMMARY
Grayson............0..14....14...0 -- 28
N. Gwinnett.......7..14....7.....7 -- 35
First Quarter
N -- Cunningham 14 run (Clark kick) 7-0, 2:55
Second Quarter
N -- Goodson 3 run (Clark kick) 14-0, 9:59
G -- Thompson 4 run (Van Pamelen kick) 14-7, 4:50
G -- Lane 44 pass from Irons (Van Pamelen kick) 14-14, 1:11
N -- Goodson 2 run (Clark kick) 21-14, 0:36
Third Quarter
N -- Fisher 31 pass from Urzua (Clark kick) 28-14, 7:40
G -- Irons 2 run (Van Pamelen kick) 28-21, 7:01
G -- Thompson 15 run (Van Pamelen kick) 28-28, 2:19
Fourth Quarter
N -- Goodson 15 run (Clark kick) 35-28, 1:37
