All season the Grayson football team has built its success on a championship-caliber defense. That was true again in Wednesday’s Class 6A final, but it turns out the team’s offense isn’t too shabby, either.
The Rams’ defense turned out the lights on the career of Carrollton five-star quarterback Julian “JuJu” Lewis with five sacks, a forced fumble and two interceptions, while the offense generated 456 total yards and sparked the team to its14th consecutive win.
The result was a resounding 38-24 win for No. 6 Grayson over No. 1-ranked Carrollton. The Gams won their fourth state championship and first since 2020. Second-year coach Santavious Bryant became the program’s fourth coach to win a state title.
“I’ll be honest, a lot of people talk about our defense, but if you look up the numbers our offense (39.8 points per game) has put up all year, you’ve got to give them their credit,” Bryant said. “This is not a shock. This is what we’re supposed to do.”
Grayson kept Lewis uncomfortable with its relentless pressure and by some outstanding play by the Rams’ speedy, physical secondary. The Colorado signee completed 30 of 42 passes for 333 yards and two touchdowns, but Grayson successfully took away the vertical aspect of the game and did not surrender any home run balls. Peyton Zachary caught 12 passes for 76 yards.
The Grayson defense allowed only 43 rushing yards and posted 12 disruptive plays, including eight tackles, three tackles for loss, two sacks and a pass breakup by five-star junior linebacker Tyler Atkinson, 10 tackles and a sack from Anthony Davis and two interceptions and two breakups by cornerback Vaughn Mitchom.
“The defense came out here and played together, played physical and played fast,” Bryant said. “They were out there playing for each other. That’s the biggest difference in our team and a bunch of other teams is that our kids are all out there playing for each other and this community.”
Atkinson said, “I told coach at the beginning of the year we were going to win state and we did. Our defense came in with straight dominance. We didn’t give up. We just kept fighting. I did my job and they did their job. And that’s how we won.”
Grayson quarterback Travis Burgess completed 16 of 28 passes for 183 yards and one touchdown and rushed 10 times for 58 yards. The three-headed running game was led by Elijah Miller with 20 carries for 109 yards and three touchdowns. Joel Bradford rushed for 62 yards and had a 33-yard reception.
Grayson put 10 quick points on the board. The Rams drove 80 yards in 11 plays on their opening drive, scoring on a 17-yard pass from Burgess to Alex Sanchez. The play was ruled a touchdown following a video review after Sanchez was originally ruled out at the 1. The Rams reached the 14 on their next possession but settled for a 36-yard field goal from Ricardo Martinez.
Carrollton then reeled out 17 straight points. Lewis hit junior Ryan Mosley on a short slant and he broke one tackle and caused another defender to miss on the way to a 65-yard touchdown.
The Trojans took a 14-10 lead when Lewis hit Zion Cooley in the slot for a 31-yard catch-and-run, then upped I to 17-10 on a 29-yard field goal by Carlos Hernandez. Carrollton had to settle for the field goal when Grayson’s 2 broke up a pass in the end zone.
Grayson tied the game on a 15-play drive that covered 93 yards and ended with a 5-yard run by Miller that left the score tied 17-17 at halftime.
Grayson took the lead on its first possession of the third quarter. Going for it on fourth-and-2 at the 47, Miller bounced outside to his left, got a block from his receiver and ran 45 yards before being caught by Kadan Spratling. Ashton Turner scored two plays later on a 2-yard run and a 24-17 lead.
Carrollton tied the game with a 79-yard drive that included a 39-yard flea flicker from Lewis to A.J. McNeil. The score came a trick play, with Lewis going in motion and running back Kimauri Farmer taking a direct snap and shot-putting a high pass to Cooley for a 4-yard touchdown.
But Grayson regained the lead with a nine-play 80-yard drive capped by Miller’s 3-yard run, then iced it after Mitchom’s second interception. On a fourth-and-1, Miller scored on a 25-yard run.
Grayson (14-1) lost the season opener to Collins Hill, but didn’t lose again, avenging that lost to Collins Hill in the playoffs. Carrollton (14-1) was trying to win its first state title since 1998.
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