Without its starting quarterback, the Gray Station Middle football team did not shy away from going to the air for a 12-0 regular-season-ending victory of Clifton Ridge Saturday.

Back-up quarterbacks Kenshaw Roberson and Alex Knight each threw a touchdown pass in the win, which earned the Greyhounds the third seed in the east division of the Central Georgia Middle School Athletic League for this week’s playoffs.

Gray Station (4-2) head coach Travis Lawson was hopeful he would have starting signal caller and team captain Cody Lanford back for a 5 p.m. kickoff at Upson-Lee Middle (5-1) in Wednesday’s first-round playoff game.

Lanford hurt his knee in a 26-0 win over Crawford Oct. 17.

“When your starting quarterback and captain go down, I think initially the boys were a little shocked,” Lawson said. “But I’m real proud of how they were still able to win.”

Against Clifton Ridge, Roberson found Mario Harvey for a 15-yard touchdown on the opening play of the second quarter to give Gray Station a 6-0 lead.

Knight then found Marquise Hardwick on the final play of the first half, as Hardwick made a leaping grab 25 yards from the end zone before breaking a pair of tackles and streaking down the sidelines for a 39-yard scoring play.

The team’s 12-0 halftime advantage would hold over the final two quarters, as the ’Hounds stopped the Cougars at the Gray Station five-yard line during the visitors’ only substantial scoring opportunity of the game, which came in the waning seconds of the fourth quarter.

The Greyhounds held the Cougars to just 56 yards of total offense.

Xavier Watson, who plays receiver and defensive back for the ’Hounds, had an interception in the contest, as well.

Watson, Hardwick, and Harvey are part of a deep receiving corps on the Gray Station roster.

“They’re all players,” Lawson said of the trio. “All three are eighth-graders, but for Marquise and Mario this is their first year playing football. I expect all of them to play in high school. They’re naturals. You’ve just got to get them the ball.”

Those receivers, along with a stable of running backs that includes Shon Barnes and Joseph Marsh, has made for a balanced offensive attack that has averaged just over 22 points per game this season on the way to four wins.

The team’s two losses came to the CGMSAL eastern division’s top two teams, Henderson and Monroe.

The Greyhounds lost 38-21 to Henderson after leading 21-19 at halftime due in large part to four fumbles.

The ’Hounds fell 14-6 to Monroe in both teams’ first game of the year in which, Lawson said, his squad made a lot of mental errors.

The team heads into the playoffs defending last year’s league championship under the leadership of players like Barnes, Lanford, Watson, Blake Connolly, Hunter Hartley, and Dalton Spivey.

“I could keep going and going and going, but those are a few,” Lawson said.

Assistant coaches Chris Martin and Jon Belflower, along with volunteer coach Andrew Madden, have helped guide the team.

Lawson said this year’s squad consists of a relatively large contingent of 85 boys.

In hopes of keeping that number up, Lawson honored Jones County Youth Football League players at halftime of Saturday’s game.

“We want there to be a good relationship between athletics in both the schools and the recreation leagues in this county,” Lawson said.