High school football: Jake Garcia, No. 4 Grayson dominant in Georgia semifinal win over No. 16 Norcross

California transfer Jake Garcia and Grayson (Loganville) are headed to the Georgia AAAAAAA high school football championship on a roll. The fourth-ranked Rams blanked No. 16 Norcross 28-0 on Friday, dominating the Blue Devils on both sides of the ball.

Grayson looks for its third state title Dec. 30 against Collins Hill (Suwanee), 31-14 winners over Lowndes (Valdosta). The Rams have shutout three of four postseason opponents, allowing a grand total of six points in those contests.

Garcia, whose journey started on the West Coast and featured a stop at Valdosta before being declared ineligible led him to Grayson, showed mettle in going 10 of 20 passing for 199 yards, two scores and two interceptions.

While the Miami commit consistently made clutch throws, a Rams rushing attack minus Clemson-bound Phil Mafah (ankle injury) punished the Norcross defense between the hashes on a soggy turf. Joseph Taylor ran for 61 yards on 14 carries and a score while Sean Downer added 58 yards and a 10-yard TD on the same number of touches. Meanwhile, the Rams' defense might have outshined the offense, holding Norcross to 41 total yards of offense in the first half as Grayson built a 14-0 lead by intermission.

The Rams got on the board in the first quarter as Garcia found Georgia Tech commit Jamal Haynes on a 29-yard catch-and-run touchdown on fourth-and-5.

And while Grayson worked for its nine-play, 75-yard opening score, the second touchdown came quite a bit easier as punter Jarren Shaw's knee hit the turf trying to field a low snap. The miscue gave Grayson the ball on the Blue Devils' 5-yard line and Taylor found the end zone two plays later.

Norcross threatened late in the second quarter after back-to-back pass interference penalties set the Blue Devils up deep in Grayson territory. But Mason Kaplan, who looked like he was still nursing a sore shoulder he injured in last week's win over Colquitt County, threw one of his three interceptions to scuttle the drive.

Grayson extended its lead to 21-0 in the third period on an 11-play, 79-yard drive that featured Garcia showing why he's the real deal. Twice he converted 20-plus yard completions on third and long to extend the drive before hitting Jaden Smith on a 25-yard TD strike. The Rams spent much of the fourth quarter chewing clock on the ground as Downer found the end zone late in the game from 10 yards out.