Grayson in Elite Company in State Semifinals

When Grayson takes the field to host Roswell Friday night in the state semifinals, they’ll be part of what some are calling the best Final Four in Georgia high-school football history.

Grayson and Roswell, like Colquitt County and Mill Creek in the other Class AAAAAA semifinal, can boast of unblemished 13-0 records.

As Todd Holcomb at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution notes, in all classifications, Georgia has only had four undefeated teams in the state semifinals four times. In the first two of those, in 1954 and 1960, a couple of teams went straight to the semifinals from the regular season.

No. 2-ranked Grayson made it to the semifinals via a tougher-than-expected 35-28 win over Westlake last week.

The victory was powered by a monster game from running back Cameryn Brent, who rushed for 267 yards and four touchdowns on 24 carries.

Quarterback Chase Brice added a touchdown on a dramatic 4th-and-7 scoring strike and junior Matthew Greenway picked off Westlake quarterback Malik Willis at the Rams’ 20-yard-line with 2:53 remaining to end the threat from the unranked Lions.

Meanwhile, third-ranked Roswell enters the weekend on the back of a squeaker of its own, having defeated Collins Hill last week by a score of 17-10.

In what was by far their toughest contest of the season, Roswell’s defense forced four turnovers and quarterback Quintarius Neely scored the game-winning touchdown to advance.

Both Grayson and Roswell are now ranked nationally, with Grayson coming in at No. 8 and Roswell at No. 14 in the latest CBS MaxPreps Xcellent 25 poll.

Defending state champs Colquitt County are ranked No. 4 in the nation, while Mill Creek did not make the Top 25.

Kickoff Friday is at 7:30 p.m. at Grayson Stadium. The Rams won the right to host the game via a coin toss.