After going scoreless in the first quarter and trailing 7-0, No. 12
Grimsley (Greensboro, N.C.) rebounded to win its second straight Class 7A state championship 24-14 over
Clayton (N.C.) on Friday at Kenan Stadium.
Five-star senior quarterback
Faizon Brandon threw for 118 yards and a touchdown while running for 53 yards with a score.
The future Tennessee Volunteer started 36 games in his Whirlies career and won 35 of them. This season he missed nine games after an injury in the season opener. He continued his dominance upon his return by completing 12 of his 15 passes in the postseason victory.
Brandon is rated as the No. 2 overall player in the Class of 2026 and finished his career with 114 total touchdowns with 8,952 yards. The only loss in his career was in the 2023 postseason during his sophomore year. Since then the Whirlies have gone 31-0 with two state championships.
Five-star senior quarterback Faizon Brandon led No. 12 Grimsley to its second straight state championship Friday taking down Clayton 24-14. Brandon finished his career with 114 total touchdowns. (PHOTO: David Fernandez)
Clayton went up 7-0 when North Carolina State commit
Aiden Smalls scored on a 12-yard rushing touchdown.
Grimsley tied the game in the second quarter when Brandon found senior
Hudson Cooper for a 7-yard touchdown, his 10th receiving score of the season. The Whirles defense got a stop and took a 14-7 lead just before halftime on Brandon's 24th career rushing touchdown.
In the third quarter, Grimsley's defense scored as junior
Makai Yon intercepted his fourth pass of the season and returned it 40 yards to the house for a 21-7 lead.
Grimsley extended its lead to 24-7 on a 22-yard
Chase Huellmantel field goal toward the end of the third quarter.
The last quarterback to win a state title at Grimsley was
Alonza Barnett in 2020. Now, Barnett is the starting quarterback at James Madison, which plays in the College Football Playoff on Dec. 20.
Clayton cut the deficit to 24-14 when Smalls scored his second rushing touchdown of the day on a 61-yard scamper just inside the fourth quarter.
Brandon, a three-year starter, threw the ball 633 times in his career with just
10 interceptions, one of which was tonight. From Sept. 1, 2023, through
Sept. 6, 2024, Brandon threw 286 consecutive passes without a pick. He
then threw an interception on Sept. 20, before going another 138 passes
without an interception.
The great quarterback legacy at Grimsley is in good hands with
Brody Lowe expected to start in 2026. As a freshman this season, Lowe went 9-0 as a starter with 2,241 yards, 23 touchdowns and three interceptions.
