By now you know the winners, and you know the scores. You know the players, the coaches, and who did what. The 2024 GHSA football state championship games saw great personal and team accomplishments, but these are the stories beyond the final scores.
Georgia’s Highest Paid High School Football Coach, Nation’s Top-Rated QB Still With 0 State Titles
Grayson Frustrates 5-Star QB JuJu Lewis to Win GHSA Class 6A State Championship 38-24
Carrollton High School’s football program is one of the best in the state, having made it to two state title games in the past four seasons.
They have some of the best facilities among Georgia high school programs.
Their starting quarterback for the last four years, Julian “JuJu” Lewis, had a solid high school football career, during which he accumulated 11,010 yards passing, 144 touchdowns, and a 39-4 record as a starter. Lewis was the first ever high school athlete since Lebron James to grace the cover of Sports Illustrated, and he has a five-star status as the nation’s top-rated QB by most recruiting services.
Despite all that, it was the Grayson Rams who stole the bright spotlight at Mercedes Benz Stadium with a suffocating defense against Lewis and the Carrollton Trojans to win the 2024 GHSA Class 6A football state championship.
Fair or not, fans have a short memory, and many will remember Lewis for his stats in his final high school game: five sacks, two interceptions, 1 fumble, and zero state titles.
Yes, Lewis did end up completing 30-of-42 passes for 333 yards with two TD passes. However, to borrow an age-old football adage, defense wins championships. That was the difference in this one.
This 2024 GHSA football state championship win was Grayson’s fourth overall state title and the first for head coach Santavious Bryant in just his second season as the Rams’ head coach.
Joey King, who is the highest paid high school football coach in Georgia, is still without a state title as the head football coach at Carrollton. The 2024 season was his fourth season leading the Trojans.
Are the Milton Eagles the Best High School Football Team in America?
The Milton Eagles have proven they are the best team in Georgia high school football’s Class 5A, and it’s likely they are the best team in Georgia overall.
The Eagles are GHSA state champions for the second straight season after defeating Hughes 56-35 in the 2024 title game.
Milton actually scored 56 points in each of its final three playoff games. Prior to the 56-35 state title win, Milton won 56-14 over Houston County in Round 3 and 56-28 over an undefeated Lee County squad in the semifinals.
The 2024 GHSA football state championship win was Milton’s third overall.
How dominant was Milton in this game against a very good Hughes team, who won the state championship in 2022?
Consider this: After surviving explosive offenses from both teams in the first half, Milton led 42-35 at halftime. Then the Eagles showed just how complete a football team they are when their defense stepped up to shut out Hughes 14-0 in the second half.
Milton’s performance in this Class 5A state final concluded one of the most dominant overall seasons I’ve ever seen from any program, which prompts the question: Is Milton the best high school football team in the nation?
The final MaxPreps national high school poll ranked California’s Mater Dei at No. 1 and Milton at No. 2, which prompts another question: If these two teams faced off, who would win? (Look for our upcoming article on what that matchup could look like.)
Battle of the Unbeatens for Class 4A State Title
Winning a state championship is great. Winning your first state championship is as good as it gets. Losing your first game of the season in the state title game, however, is as rough as it gets.
After coming close in previous seasons, with losses in back-to-back semifinals appearances in 2021 and 2022, the North Oconee Titans and head coach Tyler Aurandt finally broke through that barrier to defeat the Marist War Eagles 14-7 in the 2024 GHSA Class 4A football state championship game and win the school’s first football state title.
The matchup between Marist and North Oconee was the only 2024 championship contest that featured two undefeated teams.
Marist head coach Alan Chadwick’s team entered the game as one of the state’s few, true triple-option offenses. That style of offense and great defense has put them in eight state title games, including this one in 2024, and won them 3 state championships.
North Oconee, on the other hand, featured a more balanced offense that was averaging over 220 yards passing per game and 170 yards rushing per game this season.
As different as the offenses have been this year, the two defenses were a lot alike: stingy. Entering the championship game, North Oconee had allowed an average of 9.6 points per game, while the Marist defensive unit had given up an average of 9.2 points per game. A 14-7 final score is what we should have expected.
The Next Great Georgia High School Football Freshman
Remember the name Trace Hawkins. The freshman quarterback led Calhoun to its first state title since 2017 by engineering two impressive offensive drives to start the game, putting the Yellow Jackets in front by two touchdowns. Hawkins and his teammates went on to win the 2024 GHSA Class 3A football state championship game 20-7 over the Jefferson Dragons.
While Hawkins and the Calhoun offense put the team out front early, staking it to a 17-7 halftime lead, their defense took over in the second half, holding Jefferson scoreless over the final two quarters.
Although Hawkins is a ninth-grader, his performance in this year’s Class 3A championship game is drawing comparisons to Trent Seaborn, who led his team to the Alabama Class 7A state title in 2022 as an eighth-grader.
Having a freshman QB lead your team to a state championship is a rarity because it’s difficult to do, which is why it’ll be fun keeping an eye on Hawkins as he returns to lead Calhoun’s offense for the next three seasons.
Gess the Best Active Georgia High School Football Coach
Who is the best active Georgia high school football coach? If I tell you his name, there’s a really good chance most of you have no idea who I’m talking about.
I’ll give you a hint: Remember Eagle’s Landing Christian Academy?
Jonathon Gess was the head coach of the Middle Georgia private school powerhouse when they dominated the GHSA’s 1A-Private classification. ELCA even went toe-to-toe against teams from all classifications under Gess during his 15-year career with the Chargers.
Gess won six state championships with ELCA before leaving in 2021 to take over at Hebron Christian Academy. Since then, ELCA has not played for a state championship.
In Gess’ fourth season as the Hebron Christian head coach, he made his way back to a familiar spot, winning the 2024 GHSA Class 1A-3A Private football state championship. This is Gess’ seventh overall football state title and the first for the Lions.
Hebron Christian rose up during the 2024 season in the GHSA’s Class 1A-3A Private state playoffs. During the regular season, they lurked in the shadows of front-runners Savannah Christian and Prince Avenue Christian. When North Cobb Christian upset Savannah Christian in Round 3 of the playoffs, the door opened for other contenders to battle for the top spot.
Hebron Christian made their way into the state title game, which was a rematch against Prince Avenue Christian, who many thought were the team to beat. Prince Avenue Christian and head coach Greg Vandagriff were looking for their third straight state title and had defeated Hebron Christian back on November 1 in regular-season play. The rematch went to Gess and the Hebron Christian Lions.
Is Hebron Christian now set to become another dynasty under Gess? Will a team from one of the state’s larger classifications go after them?
We’ll be watching.
It’s All About the Coaching
Great players are a big reason why teams win state titles, but if you take a look at the teams playing for a state championship, chances are you’ll find great coaches.
It’s no surprise that Burke County and Carver (Columbus) had 13 wins each headed into the state championship game. It’s no surprise that Burke County and Carver were each playing for their second football state title. One look at the two head coaches tells you all you need to know.
Burke County head coach Franklin Stephens led the Bears to the 2024 GHSA Class 2A football state championship game in just his second season with the team. The last time the Bears had appeared in a state championship game was in 2011, when they won it.
This is the third different team Stephens has led to a state championship game. He also took Lamar County to the finals in 2013, and he won state titles with Tucker in 2008 and 2011.
Pierre Coffey returned to Carver as the head football coach in 2023 after previously serving under the legendary Dell McGee at Carver from 2011 to 2014.
In just his second season leading the Carver Tigers, Coffey brought them back to the state championship game for the first time since 2021, when they lost to Benedictine for the Class 4A title under previous head coach Corey Joyner.
Prior to 2024, the last time Carver had won a state championship was in 2007. It was a long, 17-year wait, but they are once again champs.
2 Major Takeaways From the Class 1A-Division II State Title Game
I have two big takeaways from the 2024 GHSA Class 1A-Division II football state championship game.
First, Brooks County head football coach Josh McFather doesn’t have to worry about walking in anyone else’s shoes.
Brooks County was my preseason pick to win the Class 1A-Division II state championship. I picked McFather’s team to finish 12-3, including a win in the state title game.
That didn’t happen, but I have no doubt Brooks County will be back. I think McFather is one of the best young coaches in the state, and taking his team to the state title game in his first year as head coach is remarkable in and of itself.
Following up behind a head coach like Maurice Freeman, who is an institution in Georgia high school football, means McFather was walking in some mighty big shoes this season. Add to that having an “interim” tag hanging on him like a couple of 50-pound dumbbells, and you can imagine the pressure of it all becoming pretty heavy.
Well, McFather has now officially taken off the “interim” tag, and the only shoes he’ll be walking in going forward are his own.
Second, head coach Rich Fendley leading the Red Devils to their third straight state title is only part of the story when it comes to the Bowdon football team.
Remember when Bowdon finished 1-9 under Fendley? It was in 2018. Fendley had just been hired to take over the struggling program, and he had 27 players to work with.
Fortunately, the memories of that season were short lived, and the very next season, Fendley’s team won eight games with just three losses.
Bowdon then won consecutive region titles in 2020 and 2021, followed by consecutive state titles in 2022, 2023, and, now, 2024.
Do you know what the secret sauce was and still is? Winning five straight state championships in weightlifting.
In our football preseason look at the Red Devils, Fendley shared with me how much time and energy had gone into developing Bowdon’s competitive weightlifting program, crediting much of the football team’s success to what first took place in the weightroom.
“There’s nothing better for building their confidence,” Fendley said in our preseason interview about the weightlifting program’s effect on his football players.
The Agony of Defeat, the Agony of Waiting
One team ended their agony this season, and the other now waits another year to try to end theirs.
The 2024 GHSA football state championship games will be known for many firsts, including the battle for a first state title between Toombs County and Northeast in Class 1A-Division I. Entering the game, the two programs had been waiting for a combined 87 years to win a football state championship.
Toombs County High School opened its doors in 1987, but had never hoisted a state championship trophy until now. Toombs County’s 38-18 win over the Northeast Raiders in the 2024 state title game ended a 38-year wait for the Bulldogs.
Northeast’s drought of consecutive seasons without a football state championship is even longer. The Raiders have been waiting just one year shy of five decades. Yikes.
It’s no secret that football teams from Bibb County public schools have struggled over the past few years… well, make that decades. The last time a public school from Macon won a football state championship was in 1975, when Central won in Class 3A under head coach Gene Brodie.
The streak continues.
