North Gwinnett had to earn their first region championship since 2019 the old-fashioned way.
The Bulldogs need the full 48 minutes to knock off Norcross 35-27 on Friday at Norcross Stadium to end a two-year trophy-less streak and win the Region 7-7A championship and earn a No. 1 seed in the playoffs.
“We’ve had a lot of big wins,” North coach Bill Stewart said. “This one ranks right up there, man. It’s a good feeling. I think about those injuries and all that stuff and for them to be here for this moment and do it on TV, that’s good stuff.”
At times during the season the Bulldogs were without five starters. Now that the roster is back to full strength, they’ve won six in a row.
The outcome appeared to be settled when Julian Walters scored on a 13-yard run, his third touchdown of the game, with 4:58 remaining to give the Bulldogs a 15-point lead. But Norcross responded with a five-play touchdown drive that required only 37 seconds and finished when Nakai Poole danced around the pylon to catch a 30-yard touchdown pass.
That put the North Gwinnett offense on high alert, especially when they had to start at the 1 when the return man made a mental mistake and buried the team deep in its own territory. But after drawing Norcross offside on first down, the Bulldogs ran out the final 4:21 on eight runs.
“That was one of those moments and you’re like, ‘Oh, no, what just happened?” Stewart said. “They jumped offsides and our guys were disciplined. That drive … that’s the winner.”
Walters said, “It was just adrenaline. “We knew we had to win the game. We knew we had to get some yards. We pushed the ball downfield and ultimately got the ‘W.’”
North Gwinnett (8-2) was led by sophomore quarter Ryan Hall, who completed 6 of 14 passes for 130 yards and one interception and ran 20 times for 161 yards and one touchdown. Walters carried 14 times for 111 yards and three touchdowns. Kayden McDonald, the big defensive lineman who last week committed to Ohio State, ran 11 times for 73 yards and one touchdown. McDonald also picked up two first downs when North was trying to run out the clock.
Norcross (7-3) got 365 yards passing from quarterback A.J. Watkins, who completed 15 of 27 passes and threw for three touchdowns. Watkins also ran 13 times for 58 yards, but was sacked twice. His favorite target was Poole, who caught six passes for 149 yards and two touchdowns, Zion Taylor (three catches for 104 yards) and Lawson Luckie (three catches for 47 yards). Norcross got a pair of field goals from Drew Duva.
“I’m proud of our defense. That’s an offense that just put up 67 and they’ve got three kids over there that are big time,” Stewart said. “We didn’t anticipate coming over here and shutting it all down. We just wanted to make sure we held off the explosive plays and didn’t let them quick quick touchdowns and I think our guys did that for the most part.”
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