Last Thursday, Friday, and Saturday brought a showcase of the best high school football in Georgia. Sixteen teams took the gridiron at Center Parc Stadium with hopes of winning a coveted state championship trophy, some for the first time in school history. While some of the outcomes were expected, the true nature of the playoffs reared its unpredictable head in other games. Here’s at look at the eight title games and the Georgia high school state champions they produced.
Class 1A-DII: Bowdon 39, Schley County 31
The Red Devils are Georgia high school state champions for the first time since 1992 by dominating Schley County’s defense on the ground. Running back TJ Harvison led the team with over 200 rushing yards, while Robert McNeal tacked on 100 more.
The teams traded scores for much of the first half, but a 13-point spurt by Bowdon in the third quarter proved to be the difference. The Wildcats’ balanced rush offense was held to less than 4 yards per carry. That forced QB Jay Kanazawa to pass more often, which Bowdon mostly contained.
Class 1A-DI: Prince Avenue Christian 52, Swainsboro 34
Early on, it appeared that Ty Adams would be the hero for the Tigers. Swainsboro pounced to a 20-7 lead, but Wolverines QB Aaron Philo fueled a comeback with his arm. Philo picked apart a suffocating Swainsboro defense that had never allowed more than three scores in a game, passing for 477 yards and 6 touchdowns.
Adams’ 259 rushing yards and four touchdowns were overshadowed by Philo and receiver Josh Britt’s outstanding performance on both sides of the ball.
Class 2A: Thomson 32, Fitzgerald 27
After a season-opening loss to Burke County, Thomson stepped up on both sides of the football. That improvement was on clear display against defending champion Fitzgerald, which had won its last 20 games.
Big plays fueled the new Georgia high school 2A state champions, as a 75-yard kickoff return and three long touchdown runs provided most of Thomson’s points. Those long carries came by way of Jontavis Curry, whose 243 yards and 4 touchdowns set career highs. The victory gives Thomson its sixth football state title.
Class 3A: Sandy Creek 21, Cedar Grove 17
The excellence of quarterbacks Geimere Latimer and EJ Colson will be overshadowed by likely the most controversial call in Georgia state championship history.
After miraculously converting a 4th-and-22, the Patriots lined up for 3rd-and-goal from the 2-yard line with less than a minute remaining in the game. Running back Travis Franklin took the direct snap and lunged forward, only to be held short at the 1-yard line. However, an official along the goal line ruled the play a touchdown, giving Sandy Creek a four-point lead and the eventual victory.
Class 4A: Benedictine 14, Cedartown 13
Football truly is a game of inches. Benedictine scored the game’s first 14 points, but Cedartown answered with touchdowns late in the third quarter and with four minutes left in the fourth. However, the Bulldogs’ kicker missed the extra point on the latter score.
After regaining possession and facing 4th-and-goal from the 1 with three seconds left, coach Jamie Abrams opted to go for the touchdown instead of kicking the game-winning field goal, but RB Patrick Gardner was stuffed merely inches from the goal line.
Class 5A: Ware County 38, Warner Robins 13
The Gators earned their first-ever title of Georgia high school state champions in dominant fashion, dismantling Warner Robins early. QB Niko Smith (256 passing yards, 3 touchdowns) connected often with receiver Jarvis Hayes, who ended with 171 yards and 2 touchdowns.
The defense did its part, led by Jamario Barkley and Trey Hargrove, and held the Demons to less than 14 points, the 12th time they accomplished that feat this season.
Class 6A: Langston Hughes 35, Gainesville 28
Considered by some to be the best team in the state, Langston Hughes was tested all night by underdog Gainesville. The previously undefeated Red Elephants relied heavily on QB Baxter Wright, who scored three times with nearly 250 combined rushing and passing yards.
For the Panthers, QB “Air” Noland and WR Jaden Barnes were outstanding. Noland completed 18 of his 21 passes for three scores and 263 yards, with 150 of those yards hauled in by Barnes. The Panthers now hold the state record for points scored in a season with 792.
Class 7A: Mill Creek 70, Carrollton 35
The highest-scoring state championship game in Georgia history featured a 49-28 Mill Creek lead at halftime. Five touchdowns were scored in 55 seconds within the first quarter, and two special teams scores by the Hawks proved to be the early difference.
Carrollton’s freshman sensation, Julian Lewis, passed for 529 yards and 5 touchdowns, but his effort was overshadowed by Caleb Downs’ 3 touchdowns and several big plays by Mill Creek in every quarter. The record-breaking victory gives Gwinnett County three straight Georgia high school 7A state champions.
