Recruiting Roundup: North Gwinnett at Norcross

A Bulldogs win clinches the outright region title for North Gwinnett for a second consecutive season and third in four years, while a Blue Devils win puts Norcross in control of their own region destiny. The Devils would then need to win next week at Brookwood to claim the region crown for the first time since 2023.

Big games between the two rivals are nothing new as they will be meeting for the 30th time dating back to 1972 and every year but two since 2003. Norcross leads the all-time series 15-14 including a 31-14 victory over North Gwinnett in the 2013 state championship game. 

In the regular season, you would be hard pressed to top the 2006 showdown when both teams were 9-0 entering the final game of the regular season. The Blue Devils won 31-10 at a packed Tom Robinson Stadium to capture the first of Coach Keith Maloof’s seven region titles at Norcross. It was just the start of a great run for the Blue Devils as even bigger things were coming for Maloof, who retired at the end of his 26th season with Norcross last year as the all-time winningest coach in Gwinnett County history (210-92) with two state crowns.

The Region 7-6A Championship can be won tonight on GPB Sports Football Fridays in Georgia as fourth-ranked North Gwinnett (7-1, 5-0) plays at long-time rival Norcross (6-2, 4-1). A Bulldogs win clinches the outright region title for North Gwinnett for a second consecutive season and third in four years while a Blue Devils win puts Norcross in control of their own region destiny. The Devils would then need to win next week at Brookwood to claim the region crown for the first time since 2023.

The series has swung in the Bulldogs favor recently with North Gwinnett winning the last six meetings, a run that began in their 2017 state championship season. The last three meetings have been really close 35-27 in 2022 (the last time they played at Norcross Stadium), 51-41 in 2023 and then 27-21 last season (2024). Ironically even though the Bulldogs won a 92-point shootout in 2023 it was Norcross that was recognized as the official region champion that season (and region’s No. 1 seed) winning out in a three-way tiebreaker that included Peachtree Ridge. Nonetheless, North Gwinnett claims a co-championship that year meaning a win tonight would make four titles in a row — something that has never happened in program history.

Here in 2025, North Gwinnett has simply gotten better with each passing week after Coach Eric Godfree had to replace virtually every major skill player on offense from the 2024 season including three-year starting QB Ryan Hall who was a fifth-round draft pick of the Detroit Tigers and is playing pro baseball. The Bulldogs have won seven straight since a 21-7 loss to Douglas County in the season-opening Corky Kell/Dave Hunter Classic at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. North Gwinnett has won those seven games by an average score of 42-7 since that loss.

Meantime not only did Norcross have to replace nine starters on offense and seven on defense but also their 26-year head coach Keith Maloof. In stepped Corey Richardson who had been on Maloof’s staff for 24 seasons but with no head coaching experience and he has done an admirable job with a team that doesn’t have many top college prospects. Despite that the Blue Devils have battled their way to a 6-2 overall record where their two losses have come by a total of just five points. For all their roster inexperience Norcross is that close to an undefeated record.

So should be a lot of fun! Always is when these two teams meet. That’s the game preview. Now here’s the Top Prospects to Watch.

North Gwinnett Prospects

#75 Zachary Lewis – 6-4, 280, Senior – Consensus 3-Star IOL 2026 (Plays RT for Bulldogs) – Committed to Georgia over 19 other offers including Georgia Tech

#27 Chauncey Davis – 6-2, 190, Senior – Consensus 3-Star CB 2026 – Committed to Southern Miss over 21 other offers including Florida State and Georgia Tech. His dad Chauncy played 7 seasons in the NFL including three with the Atlanta Falcons where he was a teammate of our Wayne Gandy.

#10 Jake Godfree – 6-0, 214, Junior – 3-Star rated as high as No. 30 LB 2027 (Plays MLB for Bulldogs) – 41 offers including Florida State and Georgia Tech. He is Coach Eric Godfree’s son and they have traversed the country this season making Game Day visits at some of the biggest games this college football season. Wherever he ends up playing Jake will make an impact. His old school instincts make him a very attractive prospect drawing praise from Ohio State LB Coach James Laurinaitis a tremendous player in his own right.

#8 Connor Coxwell – 6-5, 240, Senior Edge (Plays DE for Bulldogs) – 18 offers including Pitt, USF, and Memphis

#7 Max Patterson – 6-6, 245, Junior TE – 15 offers including Georgia State, App State and Wake Forest. Patterson is already blessed with NFL Tight End size.

#2 Kalil Mazone – 6-0, 202, Senior RB/LB (Plays STAR on defense) – Seven offers including Toledo, Army, and Bowling Green

#55 Josh Jones – 6-1, 270, Junior OL (Plays LT for Bulldogs and also plays a lot at DT) – Offered by Liberty, Charlotte, and Georgia State 

#3 Bryson Ford – 6-1, 180, Junior DB (Plays CB for Bulldogs) – Offered by Georgia State, Miami of Ohio, and Gardner Webb 

#5 Andruw Gist – 6-1, 188, Senior SAF (Plays Rover for Bulldogs) – Committed to Yale over 6 other offers

#13 Christian Williams – 6-2, 185, Sophomore WR – Offered by Wake Forest

#16 Banks Halcomb – 6-3, 180, Sophomore QB (No. 2 QB for Bulldogs but will play a lot as North Gwinnett plays two quarterbacks) – Offered by Georgia State

#1 Braylen Jackson – 6-1, 192, Senior WR – Offered by UT-Martin

#77 Jacob Bayer – 6-4, 300, Senior OL (Plays CTR for Bulldogs) – Offered by Berry and receiving interest from ETSU

#44 Ethan Robinson – 5-10, 188, Senior LB – Offered by Reinhardt

 Norcross Prospects

#0 Carter Luckie – 6-5, 285, Senior – 4-Star rated as high as No. 23 DL 2026 – Committed to Georgia over 32 other offers including Ohio State, Florida State and NC State. Brother Lawson Luckie is star tight end for Georgia. His dad and uncles (The Luckie Triplets) played for the Bulldogs when Ray Goff was the coach.

#55 Marcus Austin – 6-5, 300, Sophomore OL – Offered by Florida State. Will see him more on the defensive line.

#2 Josh Burks – 5-11, 180, Senior Safety – Offered by Marshall. Great athlete who is the Blue Devils leading rusher and leading tackler. 

#4 P.J. Wolfe – 6-4, 182, Senior QB – Receiving interest from Valdosta State plus 10-plus D3 and NAIA offers

#70 John Aronstein – 6-3, 255, Senior Center – Offered by Johns Hopkins

#99 Rah’ja Wisdom – 5-10, 330, Senior DT – Offers include Reinhardt

#1 Chase Huff – 6-0, 180, Senior SAF – Offered by Point and Reinhardt

#11 Kendall Edwards – 5-7, 160, Senior RB – Offered by Centre College

#5 Jordan Isabu – 5-10, 170, Senior CB – Offered by Centre College

#46 Elijah Frey – 6-2, 185, Senior K/P – 4.5 Star rated No. 35 Punter and No. 47 Kicker 2026. Drawing interest from the likes of Coastal Carolina and Kennesaw State.

Join Wayne Gandy, Jon Nelson, and me for our Emmy Award-winning Football Fridays in Georgia Game of the Week as the North Gwinnett Bulldogs play at the Norcross Blue Devils. 

Remember, there are many ways you can watch Football Fridays in Georgia. Traditional TV (GPB), online at GPB.org, GPB Sports app, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Twitch.