No. 7 Grayson (Ga.) beats No. 22 Thompson in overtime

When the No. 7 ranked Grayson Rams got the news on Thursday that senior four-star quarterback Travis Burgess (North Carolina commit) would be out for the rest of the 2025 season due to an injury he sustained last week, many thought Georgia’s No. 1 team was down and out.

On Friday night, the Rams put all of that to rest when they welcomed the No. 22 ranked Thompson Warriors into town and proved without Burgess, they’re still very much in play to win another GHSA Class 6A state championship. Grayson was able to pull off a gutsy 24-23 overtime victory over Thompson to improve to 3-0 on the season.

Grayson’s Deuce Smith has to be the guy behind center from here on out

With Burgess out for the rest of the season, enter junior quarterback Deuce Smith as the Rams’ signal caller for the foreseeable future of this undefeated Grayson team.

Smith completed 7 of 10 passes for 65 yards in last week’s 24-19 win over Rabun Gap-Nacoochee. Against Thompson, it would be running back Ashton Turner carrying a lot more of the load on offense, scoring two touchdowns on the ground.

The junior quarterback had his moments throughout the overtime game, including a 27-yard touchdown to wide receiver Thaxton Cunningham. If the Rams are going to remain the Peach State’s top team without Burgess, Smith will need to grow into a little more than a game manager at times.

Tyler Atkinson makes his regular season debut for the Rams

After sitting out the first couple of games for the Rams, senior five-star linebacker Tyler Atkinson (Texas commit) made his regular season debut against Alabama’s top high school football team.

Needless to say, Atkinson surely made his presence felt with his pads against the Warriors’ offense. The toughest part of Thompson’s schedule was arguably the first three games and the Rams have another next week against Mallard Creek of North Carolina.

Like Smith needing to step up behind center for the team, the defense is going to be hard pressed in also stepping up with Burgess being out for the remainder of the season. Getting a player of Atkinson’s caliber back on the field is not just a boost on defense, but also a morale game-changer. With Atkinson on the field, Grayson arguably has one, if not the, top defense in Georgia.

Thompson’s Trent Seaborn has a solid night despite the loss

Losing in overtime is never a great feeling if you’re the quarterback on the losing end that just threw three touchdown passes against one of the best high school defenses in the country.

That was the kind of night Thompson’s Trent Seaborn went threw as the Warriors fell to the Rams. Seaborn shouldn’t hang his head low for any reason, as the junior threw touchdown passes of 5, 15 and 49 yards.

For all the plays Seaborn made throughout the night, the one the quarterback wanted most was the two-point conversion try in extra time. Coming up short in overtime, bringing the Warriors’ record to 1-1 on the season, Seaborn proved he can find the windows against the best of ’em in the Southeast.

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