The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
North Gwinnett kicker atones, hits winner
Fight breaks out after Rome blanks Warner Robins.
After a week of criticism from fans and coaches about the GHSA decision to play at the higher-seeded schools rather than at neutral sites, four teams won state football titles on Friday night as visitors, and the two home teams that won pulled off their championships with final-second dramatics to prevent a clean sweep by visiting teams.
Class AAAAAAA
North Gwinnett 19, Colquitt County 17
North Gwinnett kicker Cameron Clark kicked a 38-yard field goal on an untimed down to give the Bulldogs a 19-17 win over Colquitt County in the championship game at North’s Tom Robinson Stadium on Friday night.
Clark missed an extra point on North’s go-ahead touchdown with 5:50 left and watched in horror as Colquitt County drove for a score with 49 seconds remaining. Josh Hadley caught a 13-yard touchdown pass and Ryan Fitzgerald kicked the extra point for the 17-16 lead, putting Colquitt in position to win its third state championship in four years.
“I was overwhelmed with emotion,” Clark said. “We didn’t deserve that chance and somehow we got it.”
North Gwinnett responded with some big pass plays to get into Colquitt territory.
That’s when the Packers went on a penalty binge that gave the Bulldogs a chance: a defensive holding call, two 5-yarders for having too many men on the field and a pass-interference penalty that occurred as time expired.
“We practice low-time scenarios all the time,” North
Gwinnett running back Devin Crosby said. “We knew we were going to win. We knew he’s not going to miss twice. We all make mistakes, but as long as we bounce back from them, it’s not a problem.”
The last penalty allowed North to try a 38-yard field goal with no time on the clock. Clark, who had missed one field goal and made another, lined up and kicked the ball between the uprights, setting off a wild on-field celebration.
“There wasn’t much going through my mind,” Clark said.
“I was just trying to focus as much as I could. My kicking coach, he tells me every day that it might come down to a game-winning kick and he puts me in those scenarios, so he was a big part of it.”
This was the first state championship in North Gwinnett history. The No. 5 Bulldogs (14-1) finished the season with 14 straight wins.
No. 8 Colquitt County (11-4) was trying to win the state championship with five straight road playoff victories.
Class AAAAAA
Lee County 28, Coffee 21 (OT)
The rematch of the Region 1 championship game took overtime, but an 11-yard touchdown pass from Jase Orndorff to Drequan Garmon gave the host Trojans a 28-21 lead after the first possession of the extra period.
Coffee (11-4) had the lead until 2:14 in the fourth quarter, and had a chance to answer on its possession, but an interception by Tay Mayo secured the title for Lee (14-1). The victory marked the
second for Lee over Coffee this season.
Class AAAAA
Rome 38, Warner Robins 0
Visiting Rome dismantled Warner Robins before an overflow crowd at McConnell-Talbert Stadium.
A brawl broke out during the handshake line between the teams, lasting less than two minutes and with a few hundred fans on the field. Nobody appeared injured, and the trophy presentations were muted, with a trophy quietly given to each head coach far from the middle of the field.
Both sides were chippy during the game after a week with some sniping back and forth, in part because of comments from GHSA president and Floyd County Board of Education employee Glenn White saying in a radio interview that he wondered if Warner Robins could host a game of this magnitude.
Class AAAA
Blessed Trinity 16, Marist 7
Jake Smith’s second-quarter touchdown pass to Ryan Davis gave Blessed Trinity the lead, and the Titans’ defense made it hold up in a road victory for the championship.
The victory avenged a 25-24 loss to Region 7 rival Marist in the regular season and gave Blessed Trinity (13-2) its first state championship in the history of the program, which started in 2001. Marist (14-1) came up short in its bid for its first state championship since 2003 and third overall.
Blessed Trinity coach Tim McFarlin became the 15th coach in GHSA history to win state championships at two schools. He led Roswell to the Class AAAAA title in 2016.
Class AA
Hapeville Charter 35, Rabun County 23
Seven seasons ago, the Hapeville Charter program came into existence. On Friday, the Hornets became state champions, defeating the host Wildcats in the title game. The Hornets (14-1) earned their championship the hard way, losing three consecutive coin tosses that meant they played on the road for every game past the second round.
Class A Public
Clinch County 21, Irwin County 12
For the second time in three years, Clinch County defeated Irwin County to win the Class A-Public state championship. Clinch held Irwin to just 65 total yards — including minus-1 in the second half — to give the Panthers the road victory.
A late sack and forced fumble from Clinch County twoway star Trezman Marshall led to a Panthers recovery and a Charles McClelland touchdown run two plays later to seal the win.