The Norcross Blue Devils will challenge the North Gwinnett Bulldogs at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Norcross comes in on three and North Gwinnett on seven.
On Friday, Norcross didn't have too much trouble with Berkmar as they won 35-19. The final result isn't all that surprising considering the Blue Devils' considerable advantage in MaxPreps' Georgia football rankings (they are ranked 62nd, while the Patriots are ranked 341st).
Kendall Edwards was nothing short of spectacular: he rushed for 75 yards and a pair of scores on only seven carries. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in rushing touchdowns (two).
Special teams also played a big role in the game for Norcross, adding 11 points to the final score. The biggest highlight from special teams (and perhaps the team as a whole) came courtesy of Jayson Jones, who ran a kickoff back for a touchdown.
Norcross didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Joshua Burks and Jayden Clermont. Norcross got some further help from Gray Nicklaus: he picked up a sack, made seven total tackles (2.0 for loss), and defended one pass.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask North Gwinnett). They blew past Meadowcreek 63-0 on Friday. Considering the Bulldogs have won five matchups by more than 22 points this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
North Gwinnett's win came from a few key players Norcross will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Elam Rahman, who threw for 158 yards and two TDs while completing 85.7% of his passes. Another player making a difference was Banks Halcomb, who threw for 90 yards and a pair of touchdowns while completing 87.5% of his passes.
Wins are hard to come by when you can't run the rock, something North Gwinnett proved: they limited Meadowcreek to a paltry 2.1 yards per carry. The team can thank Ethan Robinson for the heroic effort on defense: he. North Gwinnett's run defense has been on the up-and-up: they allowed 3.86 yards per carry earlier this season, but they've only allowed 9.4 on average over their last five games.
Norcross' victory bumped their record up to 6-2. As for North Gwinnett, their win bumped their record up to 7-1.
Norcross came up short against North Gwinnett when the teams last played back in October of 2024, falling 27-21. Will the Blue Devils have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
