For the first time since 1989, Clayton is playing for a state championship. The Comets’ reward for last week’s 35-32 win at Cardinal Gibbons is a date with Grimsley on Friday night at 8 at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill.
It’s a tall task, as you’ll see below. It reminds me of the story of Jack Straus’ run to the World Series of Poker Main Event. He went bust on a big pot, stood up to leave, then realized he had a $500 chip under a napkin.
He went all in the next few hands, and eventually won the whole thing. That’s where the saying, “all you need is a chip and a chair” comes from.
Clayton has its chip, and it has a chair. Let’s deal, shall we?
Records: Clayton 12-2; Grimsley 14-0
Last week: Clayton took down Cardinal Gibbons, 35-32, while Grimsley held off Weddington, 13-7.
History: In the MaxPreps era, Grimsley owns a couple of wins over Clayton. The Whirlies won 56-0 in 2021 and 42-14 the following season.
Massey Rating spread: Grimsley -14.5
Media Watch: NFHS, 102.3 FM, jocofootball.com and CRN for sure. You can also watch it locally on WRDC.
Breakdown: Like I said last week, it’s been a year for dragon slaying for Clayton. With Cleveland and Cardinal Gibbons out of the way, another state heavyweight stands between the Comets and the dream of a state championship.
Grimsley is unbeaten this season. The Whirlies were equally perfect in 2024, and lost only once in 2023, to Weddington, 44-27, in the fourth round of the postseason. They were 16-0 the year before that, too. This decade, Coach Darryl Brown’s program is a staggering 80-2 with a couple of state championship trophies already in the cabinet. They lost in the 2022 title game to New Bern, and that title wound up being vacated. (So, really, they should have won that one, too.)
So, Grimsley is good. All the time. That doesn’t fully explain the -14.5 Massey spread, but it’s in the calculus. The Whirlies have breezed through most of their slate, winning games by an average score of about 41-12.
Aside from last week’s nail biter with Weddington, a 21-14 win over a Varina team that’s playing for a Class 4 Virginia state title on Oct. 3 and a 28-27 win over a pretty good West Charlotte squad in the season opener, all of those wins have been by at least 14 points.
Quarterback Faizon Brandon, a Tennessee signee, missed nine games with a thumb injury, but is back for the postseason. He’s 55-of-80 for 978 yards, 10 TD and no picks — and at 6-4, 220 pounds, looks like a dude that might be playing QB in the SEC someday.
Ty Shoemake stepped in for 2,000-yard rusher Mitchell Summers at running back, and has tallied 1,082 yards and 16 touchdowns. Micah Williams (507 yards, 14 TD) is also a weapon on the ground, and Brandon is mobile (625 yards, 8 TD last year) as well.
Charlotte signee Kaden Catoe is the leading receiver with 64 grabs for 953 yards and 11 scores, but he picked up an injury last week. Didn’t look terribly serious, but I did notice it. Four other receivers have at least 15 receptions, and all of this happens behind a skilled offensive line.
On defense, eight Whirlies have at least 50 tackles — which shows balance and a lot of lopsided games. Jaiden Wardlaw and Andrew Rogers have eight sacks each and the unit has recorded 17 interceptions and nine fumble recoveries.
Of course, Clayton has its own highly touted quarterback in Aiden Smalls. All the N.C. State signee did last week is carry the Comets with 213 yards and four touchdowns on 33 rushes while throwing for another 182 yards and the game-winning strike to Parker Ferguson in a thriller against Cardinal Gibbons.
In the playoffs (shout out to Coach Scott Chadwick’s excellent game notes), he’s accounted for 1,107 yards of total offense and 15 touchdowns. On the season, he’s thrown for 1,784 yards, 21 touchdowns and five interceptions while rushing for 1,348 yards and 24 more scores.
Noah Smith added 63 yards on the ground last week, and he’s at 986 yards and 15 touchdowns this season.
Parker Ferguson has come on strong in the postseason, and leads the Comets with 45 catches, 866 yards and eight touchdowns. DeAngelo Ruffin (27-545, 6 TD) and Tyler Campbell (21-325, 7 TD) add receiving depth while all-conference selections Ovanny Flores and Cory Robinson anchor an experienced offensive line.
It’s worth pointing out that Grimsley might have an edge on special teams with kicker Chase Huellmantel. The junior is 5-of-5 on field goals (all 33 yards and in) and 72-of-78 on extra points.
The Weddington game footage is interesting. The Warriors played a lot of man coverage and forced Brandon into his first game completing fewer than 50 percent of his throws since his sophomore season. The windows were small, but he made the big throws in the clutch, including inside his own five with under three minutes left after the Whirlies’ game-saving goal line stand.
Now, the Whirlies still left a lot of points on the field, with Huellmantel converting two field goals under 25 yards in length. But the Grimsley defense won that game last week, forcing three turnovers and allowing just 182 yards.
Last week, I was convinced that, on paper, Clayton was better than Cardinal Gibbons. I don’t feel quite that strongly this time around. I do believe, however, that Clayton is on par with Weddington, defensively, and is likely a little better on offense. Namely, I don’t expect the Whirlies to be able to generate an effective pass rush with three or four guys consistently, as they did last week,
Smalls is going to be the most dynamic QB Grimsley has seen in a while, and that’s certainly a plus. Brandon, however, is an elite talent. Wake Forest signee Gannon Jones produced 293 yards of total offense and a couple of scores against the Comets last week, and Brandon is another step up from him in terms of ability. It’s going to be a real test.
On paper, I’d probably lean toward Grimsley. There’s a ton of big-game experience, talent and coaching nous there, and the Whirlies look very much like the bullies on the block.
I’m still a vibe guy, though. And the storybook ending to a fun season is too much for me to pass up. I think a defensive score, maybe produced by KeShawn Stancil, a Miami signee that I probably should have mentioned before now, or cornerback AK Crumel is the difference.
Prediction: Clayton 35, Grimsley 28