Grayson beats Walton 24-0 for first state title

ATLANTA (AP) -- Nick Schuessler threw touchdown passes of 55 and
11 yards to Callen Hightower and Grayson limited Walton to six
first downs while winning the Class AAAAA state championship 24-0
on Saturday night at the Georgia Dome.

   Robert Nkemdiche scored the first touchdown on a 3-yard run. He
led a defense that sacked Walton quarterback Parker McLeod five
times and held Tyren Jones to 11 yards on 12 carries. Jones came in
as the state's leading rusher with 2,299 yards.

   Grayson (15-0) did all its scoring in the first half, when it
had 203 yards to 40 for Walton (14-1). Walton finished with 95
yards, but 52 came on a fourth-quarter run by Jacob Murphy.

   It was the first state title for Grayson, which opened in 2000,
but the eighth by a Gwinnett County team in the highest
classification since 1996 and the second in a row. Brookwood won
last season.

   Nkemdiche gained 85 yards on 19 carries and Schuessler was
3-for-3 passing for 108 yards.

   It was the 100th victory for coach Mickey Conn, who began the
Grayson program.

   Grayson came in limiting opponents to 36.6 yards rushing per
game and the shutout was the Rams' fifth of the season.

   Walton fumbled at its own 42 on its second play from scrimmage
when David Kamara made a big hit and Grayson took the lead with
5:26 left in the opening quarter after Jay Strickland's recovery.
The Rams stuck to the ground and Nkemdiche carried on seven of the
nine plays, scoring from 3 yards out.

   A 42-yard pass from Schuessler to Corey Schaeffer got Grayson
back in scoring territory before the end of the quarter and Callen
Rhodes kicked a 35-yard field goal with 1:15 left to make it 10-0.

   Schuessler found Hightower wide open behind the Walton secondary
on the Rams' next possession and the 55-yard touchdown pushed the
lead to 17 points with 9:28 left in the second quarter. At that
point, the Rams had 163 net yards to one for Walton.

   By halftime, the lead was 24-0. Ryan Carter returned a punt 67
yards and Schuessler found Hightower in the end zone from 11 yards
out with 42 seconds left before halftime.

   Walton, playing in its first title game, was trying to become
the first school from Cobb County to win a state championship since
Marietta in 1967.