Gwinnett Daily Post

Photo by Christine Troyke

North Gwinnett and Grayson filled in the last gap in their football schedules this week, securing contracts from opponents for the Bulldogs’ annual Progessive National Football Challenge.

The Aug. 27 doubleheader in Suwanee will feature North against East St. Louis (Ill.) as the nightcap following an opening games between Grayson and Edgewater (Fla.), a team from Orlando. The two out-of-state foes for Grayson and North at last year’s challenge — Spain Park (Ala.) and Bob Jones (Ala.) — were signed to one-year deals, so the North Gwinnett Touchdown Club searched for two new teams.

“The Touchdown Club’s committee tries to go for a variety of teams, that’s been their philosophy and I agree with it,” North head football coach Bob Sphire said. “I know East St. Louis because I read the book on that program years ago. They’ve turned out a ton of NFL players. They’ll be loaded with athletes.”

East St. Louis has traditionally been one of the top teams in Illinois, sporting a 54-8 record since 2006. Edgewater has gone 41-18 during that same time span.

North had to fill another spot on its schedule this offseason to replace the one-time game that was televised by ESPN against Crenshaw (Calif.). The Bulldogs found that game by facing St. Augustine in a showcase event at Carrollton.