G-men propel Grizzlies to win

Roaring through the Al Raby defense on one play, plowing into the offensive line for a tackle on the next -- Tony Gerhart and LeRoy Gordon took over for Payton Friday en route to a 22-12 win in the Inter-City playoffs.

Gerhart rushed for two touchdowns and had 192 yards on 30 carries while Gordon broke through for a breathing room touchdown and had 53 yards on the ground.

On the other side Gordon stunted the passing game time and time again. Gordon intercepted a pass, deflected two others and recorded 11 tackles, and Gerhart added to his game-high rushing total by leading the team in tackles as well, racking up 13 tackles in a dominant effort.

"LeRoy definitely put in the work, and so did Tony, to prepare for this," Payton head coach Brian Billings said.

The Grizzlies (7-1, 6-0 Inter-City South) were pushed around at the outset as Billings watched the normally stalwart defensive group give up ground to Raby, falling behind 6-0 after the opening drive.

The defense returned to dominance after that, not allowing another score in the game against a no-huddle, spread offense they hadn't seen yet this season. Getting his first start of the season freshman Gabe Ahroni and Neil Dikman-Malonis both added eight tackles.

Gaining momentum Gerhart brought Payton right back and tied the score 6-6 with his first run into the end zone. After Gerhart ran in another score Mike Adelphia added a two-point conversion for a 14-6 lead.

"Tony just had a huge game," Billings said. "He was just an animal on both sides of the ball, he was a horse with the ball. He did the work for us. He played a hell of a game."

After the score Al-Raby made it a two point game as they returned the kickoff all the way to put the score at 14-12 heading into halftime.

Still Payton's powerful tandem made sure they were going to stay on top the rest of the way.

Gordon got out front again for a rushing touchdown in the third to stretch the score, and put Payton into the Inter-City semifinals with the win.

Standout senior right guard Brian Reed left the game in the third with a neck injury, but luckily it was not serious, according to Billings. Though the team's leader will miss this week's game after fronting the way for a stellar running attack this season, his impact is sure to be on the field against Farragut.

"Our team really came together and really wanted to pull out a win for him," Billings said.

Payton played Farragut, 5 p.m. Tuesday at Lane Stadium.

The Raiders finished the 2007 campaign with a 14-0 shutout victory over the Huskies.

With the win Wells finished the season 4-5 overall and 3-4 in conference, a big improvement over their 1-7 season in 2006.