LOGANVILLE, Ga. — The “Battle of the Rams” quickly turned into a rout of the Newton Rams on Friday at the hands of Grayson, who comfortably won 50-3. 

It was a four-quarter affair, but it only took a few sequences for Grayson to show why it is the reigning champ of 6A ball.

There were many keys to the game for Grayson in its victory, but the one that stood above the rest was the work of the team’s defensive unit.

Led by Texas-bound Tyler Atkinson, the Rams defense gave Newton fits from the early going.

Newton stifled on offensive side 

Newton was without the service of star sophomore back Kevin Hartsfield on Friday as he continued to battle an injury. 

Outside of Hartsfield, Newton still had its fair share of backs with Darius White, Kaden Hambright and even freshman Karter Lumpkin who made his season debut.

Even with the depth, Grayson swarmed, stifled and stopped the Newton offense in almost every facet of the game.

Outside of the final drive of the half, every single drive from Newton resulted in a punt. 

Newton finished the first half with only one third down conversion on nine attempts.

The Rams from Covington found some momentum later after a turnover as Deron Benson connected out wide with Devin Barber and Derrick Miller, but the pass game proved stopped just as much as the run game.

A 15-yard rush from White on the opening drive of the second half proved to be the first run play of five yards or more on the day.

With the Grayson defense at its height, it allowed for the offense to chip away and create a sizable lead.

Newton started to slowly find success with runs in the second half, but the team was unable to mount long drives.

After the team crossed midfield late in the third quarter, Benson was intercepted by Aaron Black for Newton’s first offensive turnover of the day.

Grayson’s offense does enough to grab win

It was not a perfect performance from Deuce Smith and the Grayson offense, but it proved to be more than enough on Friday.

On the first drive of the game, Grayson had a strong mix of run and pass that led to an opening score.

A dart from Smith to receiver Dawson Quarterman on a slant of six yards put them ahead, but the Newton defense responded well.

After a quick stop, Grayson gave up its first of multiple turnovers.

Newton met the Grayson ball carrier on the outside and multiple white jerseys delivered a hit that sent the ball sailing into the air and into the hands of Landes English for a fumble.

However, Newton’s offense was stopped again, and a blocked punt set up Grayson in striking distance almost immediately.

Even with a quality drive in the works, Newton’s defense pushed through to force another turnover.

A deep ball from Smith was just short, as it landed in the hands of Braylon Miller for an interception.

In what proved to be a tough defeat, Miller found a way to shine as the senior came away with multiple pass breakups and key tackles along with his interception.

Nevertheless, the Grayson defense continued to dominate and Smith responded well to the turnovers as he went on to mount four consecutive scoring drives.

Three of the scores came from the air, and none were particularly easy as Smith showed no hesitation to take shots downfield against man coverage.

Smith connected on long touchdowns to Ty’jae Clark, Jonathan Stafford and Saif Bin-Wahad as Grayson quickly found itself up by multiple scores.

Before halftime could be reached, Grayson added on a rushing score courtesy of Josh Thomas to take a 36-3 lead.

Smith had another chance to add on before intermission, but an interception from Newton’s Omarion Wallace stopped Grayson right in its tracks.

Wallace’s snag put Newton in position to get on the board on a 28-yard field goal from Sam Velasquez in the final moments of the second quarter.

Grayson’s offensive success took a break after halftime as the team opened with its first punt of the contest.

Following a stop, Smith and Quarterman connected again on a 38-yard scoring strike that put Grayson ahead 42-3 midway through the third quarter.

A late touchdown from KJ Simpson to Caleb Barber put the final touches on the 50-3 win for Grayson.

What’s Next?

The loss drops Newton back to .500 at a 3-3 record with a 1-1 line in Region 4-AAAAAA.

Next up for the Rams is a long trip to take on the Grovetown Warriors on Friday, Oct. 2.