DULUTH — The Norcross Blue Devils came out on top of one of the oldest football rivalries in Gwinnett County, beating Duluth 35-21 in their Region 7-AAAAAAA matchup on Friday.


Head coach Corey Richardson’s Blue Devils finish the regular season with a record of 5-5, going 3-3 in the region. The victory gives Norcross a good shot at the state playoffs, as it entered the matchup ranked 29th in the Georgia High School Association’s PSR Power Rankings, and the top 32 teams make it into the playoffs.

Head coach Cam Jones’ Wildcats finished the season 2-8 (1-5 in the region).

The long-running rivalry has seen Norcross win the last 19 years. The Blue Devils have won every head-to-head matchup since 2003, and the last three matchups have all ended with the same score, 35-21.


“It feels awesome, it really does,” Richardson said. “Our season’s kind of been up and down a little bit, but to play your cross-town rivals and keep the streak alive, it really makes you feel good.”

Duluth’s first score was a wild ride, as it recovered a punt muffed by the Norcross returner at the opponent’s 26 yard-line. Wildcats running back DeAndre Lowe carried the ball into the end zone a few plays later, putting his team up 7-0.

The Blue Devils didn’t do anything with their opening drive on offense, but their defense came up with a huge stop, as Drew Noelsaint intercepted Wildcats quarterback Marion Luckett, returning the ball to their own 15 yard-line.

The turnover set up a quick Norcross score as running back Connor Washington pounded his way across the goal line to tie the game.

The Wildcats’ next drive resulted in a touchdown as receiver Kyle Enterline hauled in a 15-yard pass from Luckett to put them up 14-7 with 5:14 left in the second quarter.

Norcross responded immediately after, as returner Zien Goodine fielded the kickoff at the 24-yard line and outran the defense as he went 76 yards for a TD, putting the score at 14-14.

The Blue Devils forced a quick three-and-out, as running back J.R. Elesby led the offense down the field and ran the ball in from 12 yards out, putting Norcross up 21-14 right before halftime.

The second half went by quickly, and nobody scored until the fourth quarter. Blue Devils quarterback Luqman Baig, who went down with an apparent leg injury in the first quarter, was still leading the offense.

Norcross took the ball at its own 16-yard line with 8:15 left in the game, and Baig constructed a beautiful 84-yard drive, ending with the quarterback running a read option play and scoring a 17-yard rushing touchdown.


The Blue Devils scored again, this time thanks to linebacker Anthony Allen, who recovered a fumble and returned it 55 yards to put them up 35-14.

Duluth scored on its last drive of the game, thanks to four personal fouls called against the Norcross defense. Norcross committed 18 penalties for a total of 185 yards in the game, and Duluth had 13 of their own penalties for 125 yards.

“You’re not going to beat great teams committing those kinds of penalties, so we definitely have got to clean it up,” Richardson said.