CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Grimsley quarterback Faizon Brandon went full Thanos in the N.C. High School Athletic Association 4A football championship game, at some point deciding enough was enough and he’d do it himself.

Brandon threw for three touchdown passes and rushed for another in the 35-23 win over Rolesville at UNC’s Kenan Stadium on Friday.

“At the end of the day, Faizon Brandon is the No. 1 quarterback in the nation,” Rolesville head coach Rainer Rackley said after the game. “Period, point blank and that’s why he’s got that title. I have so much respect for that kid. They (rode) behind their guy and they got it done.”

It was the second state championship in three years for the Greensboro school.

“Just super proud of our guys and how tough and how resilient they were tonight,” Whirlies head coach Darryl Brown said. “We suffered some injuries throughout the game, but just continued to gut it up and find a way. Really gritty and together and that’s kind of been our motto the last couple of weeks, to find a way to get it done.”

With star running back Mitchell Summers banged up in the second half, Brandon’s fourth quarter rushing touchdown proved to be the nail in the coffin. Moments later Brandon threw the dirt on that coffin with a 63-yard touchdown pass to Hudson Cooper, his first catch of the night.

Brandon, the Tennessee commit and North Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year, finished with 9-for-13 with 182 yards and one interception. He added 16 yards on the ground. Before leaving the game in the second half, Summers had 126 yards and two scores on 26 carries.

Brandon was the overall MVP, while Summers was his team’s Most Outstanding Offensive Player.

“I couldn’t do it all by myself,” Brandon said. “Just having trust in my guys and being able to have opportunities to take shots, I trust my guys to make plays. It’s a team thing, not really all me. It’s just the hard work we put in and all the trust that we have.”

The Grimsley (16-0) defense did its part, picking off Rolesville quarterback Braden Atkinson twice, both by Ryan Debow. Atkinson finished his senior season with 52 passing touchdowns and had 298 yards in his final game. His final pass was a 24-yard throw to Gavin Waddell as time expired.

Atkinson was his team’s Most Outstanding Offensive Player, finishing 21-of-39 passing with three touchdowns. Waddell led the team with seven receptions for 112 yards and a score. He was under pressure continually from Duke recruit Bryce Davis, who had six tackles and three sacks. Davis was his team’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player.

In a rematch of a week two showdown in Wake County, the Rams (14-2) fell behind early, but pulled within one score on two separate occasions.

Rolesville made two trips to the red zone in the third quarter, but came away with just three points, a 24-yard field goal from Riley Daniels. Marion Turner picked off Brandon on the opening drive of the third to set the Rams up in Whirlies territory, but Rolesville went backwards after having the ball at the 2. Rolesville had an apparent touchdown called all the board due to a holding, but were able to force another punt and pick up the Daniels field goal.

In the state title game, you can’t exchange field goals for touchdowns.

A touchdown is exactly what Grimsley got on their third possession of the second half. Brandon called his own number, taking it in from 2-yards with 9:45 remaining in the game. The PAT made it 28-17 in favor of the Whirlies.

“They (the offense) had our backs all season, so it was time for us to pay it back,” Davis said. “We knew they were going to get the job done, we just had to get a couple of stops for them and get them going.”

Rackley knew coming up empty one trip and settling for three the next, was crucial in this contest.

“Anytime you get a momentum shift like that it can set you back a little bit,” Rackley said. “It kind of sucked the life out of us a little bit.”

Grimsley led 21-14 at halftime thanks to two rushing touchdowns by Summers, covering 2 and 44 yards. Brandon threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Khyan Battle on the first drive of the game for the Whirlies.

Grimsley jumped out to a 14-0 lead after Summers capped off a three-play drive with his first score of the day, set up by a 42-yard punt return by Battle. The Whirlies’ Jasiah Hussey got a piece of a Riley Daniels field goal — it was Hussey’s third blocked kick of the year — just before the end of the quarter, keeping the Rams scoreless.

Needing to get on the board desperately, Rolesville forced the first Whirlies’ punt to start the second quarter and quickly took advantage. On the third play of the ensuing drive, Atkinson found A.J. Roberts across the middle. The sophomore outran the defense for a 43-yard touchdown to make it 14-7 after the made PAT.

The Rams’ defense, ran through by Grimsley at first, made a second stop, this time on 4th-and-1, to get the ball back in Whirlies territory. However, on the first snap, Atkinson threw an interception to Debow. Four plays later Summers quickly covered 44 yards for a score to make it 21-7 midway through the second.

Summers ended the year with 47 rushing touchdowns.

Rolesville was forced to punt it away again, but got another key defensive stop, getting the ball back with 52 seconds remaining in the half. Xavier Lewis, with a game-high 12 tackles, was named his team’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player.

“I’m really proud of our program as a whole,” Brown said. “We’ve been really consistent the last six years, four regional finals in the last six years, three state championships, just speaks volumes to our staff, our community, our school from the top down. We have tremendous support from our administrations and our booster club and then these guys.”

In a had to have it drive, the Rams answered the bell, using seven plays to cover 74 yards. Atkinson capped off the drive with a 9-yard pass to Jack McHugh to make it a seven-point game at the break.

Grimsley was playing in its third title game since being renamed in 1962, with both of its two titles coming in the last five years. The school also went 4-6-3 in 13 appearances under its former names: Greensboro Central and Greensboro High.

Rolesville was playing in its second title game, the first coming in the “2020” season that was played in the spring of 2021. The Rams, runner-up for the second time in five years, only lost to the state champs this year.

It was a unique rematch between the two schools, who met in Week 2 of the regular season. Grimsley won that game 35-20.

Before the game, each team honored its sportsmanship award winner for the season: Will Rainwater from Grimsley and Gavin Marks from Rolesville. Marks was recently diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and has not played since undergoing treatment.

“It’s been really important for me,” Marks said. “They help pick me up when I’m down and we have such a tight bond, it means a lot to me. They’ve helped build me up and I’ve helped build them up throughout this whole process.”

Final Stats

Offense

Rolesville

Passing — Braden Atkinson 21-of-39 passing, 298 yards, 3 TDs, 2 INTs; Rushing — Amir Brown 8 carries, 52 yards; Devon Thomas 6 carries, 15 yards; Braden Atkinson 9 carries, -29 yards; Receiving — Gavin Waddell 7 receptions, 112 yards, 1 TD; Jaedon Alford 6 receptions, 56 yards; A.J. Roberts, 3 receptions, 65 yards, 1 TD; Amir Brown 3 receptions, 44 yards; Devon Thomas 1 reception, 12 yards; Jack McHugh 1 reception, 9 yards, 1 TD.

Grimsley

Passing — Faizon Brandon 9-of-13 passing, 182 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT; Rushing — Mitchell Summers 26 carries, 126 yards, 2 TDs; Faizon Brandon 12 carries, 16 yards, 1 TD; Micah Williams, 3 carries, 2 yards; Receiving — Kaden Catoe 3 receptions, 59 yards; Khyan Battle 2 receptions, 41 yards, 1 TD; Hudson Cooper 1 reception, 63 yards, 1 TD; D.J. Howerton 1 reception, 11 yards; Mitchell Summers 1 reception, 6 yards; Jasiah Hussey 1 reception, 2 yards.

Defense

Rolesville

Leading tacklers — Xavier Lewis 12 (1 TFL), Tayln Watkins 8, Cameron Harrison 7 (2 TFL), Jayden Griffin-Haynes 6 (1 TFL); Sacks — Xavier Lewis 1, Jayden Griffin-Haynes 1; INTs — Marion Turner 1

Grimsley

Leading tacklers — Jaiden Wardlaw 8 (3.5 TFL), Kyrie Millner 8 (1 TFL), Ryan Debow 7 (1 TFL), Bryce Davis 6 (3 TFL); Sacks — Bryce Davis 3, Jaiden Wardlaw 2.5; Jailyn Anthony 0.5; INTs — Ryan Debow 2; Other — Jasiah Hussey 1 blocked FG; Bryce Davis 1 FF.

Scoring plays

GRIM — Faizon Brandon 20-yard pass to Khyan Battle, XP good by Jackson Henry; 7-0, 6:09 1Q
GRIM — Mitchell Summers 2-yard run, XP good by Jackson Henry; 14-0, 4:07 1Q
ROL — Braden Atkinson 43-yard pass to A.J. Roberts, XP good by Riley Daniels; 14-7, 8:20 2Q
GRIM — Mitchell Summers 44-yard run, XP good by Jackson Henry; 21-7, 4:07 2Q
ROL — Braden Atkinson 9-yard pass to Jack McHugh, XP good by Riley Daniels; 21-14, 0:12 2Q
ROL — Riley Daniels 24-yard field goal; 21-17, 2:12 3Q
GRIM — Faizon Brandon 1-yard run, XP good by Jackson Henry; 28-17, 9:45 4Q
GRIM — Faizon Brandon 63-yard pass to Hudson Cooper, XP good by Jackson Henry; 35-17, 4:19 4Q

Total numbers

Rolesville: 19 first downs; 38 yards rushing; 298 yards passing; 336 total yards; 29:07 time of possession; 4-of-12 third down conversions, 1-of-3 fourth down conversions

Grimsley: 15 first downs; 145 yards rushing; 182 yards passing; 327 total yards; 33:53 time of possession; 5-of-11 third down conversions; 0-for-2 fourth down conversions