It was past midnight when the quartet of Grayson players were asked to pose for a photo, but they could hardly mind.
They gathered together, members of the young secondary. Jibrahn Claude wore a championship wrestling-type belt draped over his shoulder. He was joined by teammates Marquis Killebrew and Marsyas Fox in striking the tough-guy formation.
Outside they tried to look sinister, but within each was the unfettered joy that came from knowing their contributions were crucial in helping the No. 5-ranks Rams defeat No. 1 Marietta 28-14 in a non-region clash between two Class AAAAAAA powers.
It is the second straight season that Grayson (3-0) has beaten Marietta (3-1). The second half of the game was delayed nearly two hours because of lightning in the area, although there was little rain that fell at Grayson Community Stadium. The third quarter kickoff did not take place until 10:57 p.m.
“I told our kids, you can’t control the weather, all you can do is control the next 24 minutes of the game,” Grayson coach Adam Carter said. “They sat there and stayed focused. It’s all on the kids.”
The interceptions were a big difference. Claude intercepted two passes in the first half and Killebrew and Fox had one apiece in the second half, all against Marietta’s Harrison Bailey, a Tennessee commitment and four-star prospect.
“It really showed them where to throw it and where not to throw it,” Claude said. “Then they started to pick on different targets. All our DB’s have one mindset … if the ball’s in the air and it’s a 50-50 ball, you come down with it.”
Bailey completed 17 of 34 passes for 226 yards and one touchdown, with four interceptions. He was under heavy pressure much of the night, with Noah Collins and Jadyn Hicks putting on the heat. Five-star tight end Arik Gilbert caught four passes for 100 yards and Ricky White caught eight for 70 yards.
Carter, who helps coach the secondary, said, “I told our guys, this is your opportunity. If you wanted an opportunity to make a name for yourself, this is it. We don’t necessarily have all the stars back there with all the offers, but we’ve got a group of about six or seven that will play their tails off for you for a whole game and you can win a lot of high school games with those kids.”
Claude said, “I told my boys earlier, these are going to big boys, 6-4, 6-5, but that’s just in the Bible. They’re going to be our Goliath. We’ve got to be David and take them down. They’re a great team. I’m not going to take that away from them. But at the end the of the day, the one that worked the hardest, the one that fought the hardest won the game.”
Grayson broke the 7-7 halftime tie following the Fox interception late in the third quarter. The Rams punched it in by driving 84 yards, the big play being a 58-yard pass to Jamal Haynes. Lafayette Gurvin Jr. score on a 7-yard run with 14 seconds left.
Marietta answered with an 80-yard drive that was completed when Peter Warrick ran in untouched on the left side, knotting the game at 14-14 with 9:14 to play.
From that point it was all Grayson. The Rams regained the lead on an 80-yard drive with Haynes turning a short pass into a 42-yard gain and scoring on a 29-yard pass from C.J. Dixon with 5:07 left.
After forcing Marietta to punt, Grayson was in business thanks to Haynes’ 38-yard punt return. It took the Rams six clock-draining plays to score, with Gurvin powering in from the 1 for the insurance score.
Gurvin carried 27 times for 89 yards and three touchdowns. Dixon did not start because of an undisclosed team violation, but the Illinois commitment entered in the second period and completed 8 of 14 passes for 177 yards and connected on his last five passes.
“I told our coaches before we came out here, stick to your plan,” Carter said. “Stick to your plan and the kids will believe in it. Finally after they got rolling a little bit, things started clicking and we were able to put some points on the board.”
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