HAZLEHURST – Gabriel Gray accounted for 30 of his team’s 32points Friday night en route to a surprising 32-17 victory over theFranklin County Bulldogs in Region 7-3A action. The win, theIndians’ first over the Dawgs since 2004, moved Hazlehurst to 5-2overall and 1-1 inside the division.

“Gabriel is one of the best athletes in the state,” said Hazlehursthead coach Todd McDaniel. “He stepped up tonight and made some bigtime plays.”

Gray, a 3-sport standout (football, basketball and baseball) scoredfive touchdowns in the contest and picked off two passes as well.The slender 6-foot-2, 185-pounder is entertaining scholarshipoffers from Mississippi State, Southern Miss, Memphis, SELouisiana, Jackson State, and Alcorn State on the gridiron. Hecommitted to the Co-Lin Community College baseball program onThursday as a fleet-footed outfielder with 6.47, 60-yard dashspeed.

“Tonight was a big win for us,” said Gray, who is also receivingMLB Draft interest from several pro clubs as a 2011 prospect. “Wefeel we got cheated last week at Tylertown (26-24 loss) and we werestill mad about that.”

Lining up at quarterback and wide Receiver, Gray carried the ballnine times for 133 yards. He scored on runs of 21 and 10 early toset the tone in the contest.

“I told Gabe before the game that I needed him tonight,” addedMcDaniel. “We’re a young team, and he’s a senior. We’ve beenfighting some injuries on the team, so he knew he was going to haveto carry the load for us.”

Franklin County (3-5, 1-1) gave the Indians all they could handlein the first half. Senior split end Milton Griffin’s electrifying30-yard run set up kicker Coleman Graves with a 22-yard field goalin the first quarter. FCHS trailed Hazlehurst 6-3 after one quarterof play before Gray turned on the jets.

“One guy basically beat us tonight,” said FC head coach RickeyO’Quinn Jr. following the game. “We’ve got to regroup. We’ve stillgot a lot to fight for.”

Hazlehurst took a 12-3 lead early in the second frame before theBulldogs responded again. Griffin, a 5-9, 165-pound speedster,showcased his athletic ability with a 24-yard touchdown run thatleft the Indians stunned on defense. Griffin broke three tacklesand shook two defenders at the line of scrimmage with a twist and aspin that left the Indians tackling air as he ran down thesidelines.

“Not many people can do what he did there,” echoed FC assistantcoach Adam Barron about Griffin’s big play that brought theBulldogs within two points of the Indians 12-10 with 5:25 to playbefore halftime.

Just when the Franklin County thought they had to momentum on theirside, Gray swiftly took it back in the span of 11 seconds with a91-yard kickoff return that put the Bulldogs down 18-10.

Seconds after halftime, Gray added an elusive 81-yard jaunt downthe sidelines to put Hazlehurst ahead, 24-10. He added a one-yardrun in the fourth quarter for a 32-10 advantage.

Franklin County senior Calvin Robinson would add a 75-yard kickoffreturn for the final score of the night. The Bulldogs tried severallong passes in the quarter, but Gray intercepted two of them,taking both back inside the five-yard line.

Gray accounted for 242 all-purpose yards in the contest and fivetouchdowns, a career high for the preseason All-Stateselection.

“It feels good,” said Gray smiling after the game. “We won a bigone tonight.”

Both Gray and Griffin, two of the state’s fastest players withrecorded 4.4s in the forty-yard dash, gave those in attendance anight to remember as far as dazzling plays go. Griffin finishedwith eight carries for 74 yards rushing and a touchdown.

On defense, Calvin Robinson made five tackles and an interceptionfor the Dawgs. Freshman Trey Norman added five hits.