Eight state champions, each with its own story, were crowned over the weekend at the Georgia Dome in the final act of the high school football season.

Grayson (AAAAAAA) and Eagle’s Landing Christian (A private) won in overtime and ended the season where they began it – No. 1 in the rankings.

Grayson defeated Roswell 23-20, and ELCA beat Fellowship Christian 34-27. Those were the third and fourth overtime games ever played in state finals, which were allowed to end in ties as recently as 2006.

Cartersville (AAAA) also started and finished the season at No. 1. The Purple Hurricanes defeated Thomson 58-7 and became the 11th Georgia school to complete back-to-back 15-0 seasons and the 19th to achieve a 30-game winning streak.

Rome (AAAAA) and Cedar Grove (AAA) won their first-ever state titles, each by defeating No. 1-ranked opponents. Rome beat Buford 16-7, and Cedar Grove beat Greater Atlanta Christian 30-19.

Valdosta (AAAAAA) won its 24th state title, but first since 1998, with a 17-7 victory over Tucker.

Benedictine (AA) and Macon County (A public) won their second state titles. Benedictine, which beat Fitzgerald 49-26, had won in 2014. Macon County, which beat McIntosh County Academy 35-0, had won in 1996.

AAAAAAA
1. Grayson (14-1)
2. Roswell (14-1)
3. Mill Creek (13-1)
4. McEachern (11-2)
5. Colquitt County (8-5)
6. Westlake (10-4)
7. Lowndes (10-3)
8. Norcross (11-1)
9. North Cobb (10-3)
10. Brookwood (8-4)

AAAAAA
1. Valdosta (14-1)
2. Tucker (13-2)
3. Dalton (13-1)
4. Northside-Warner Robins (11-3)
5. Mays (11-2)
6. Harrison (10-2)
7. Glynn Academy (11-2)
8. Lee County (8-3)
9. Coffee (7-6)
10. Alexander (10-2)

AAAAA
1. Rome (13-2)
2. Buford (13-2)
3. Stockbridge (13-1)
4. Carrollton (11-2)
5. Kell (11-3)
6. Ware County (8-4)
7. Woodland-Stockbridge (10-3)
8. Griffin (11-2)
9. Grady (10-2)
10. Loganville (9-3)

AAAA
1. Cartersville (15-0)
2. Thomson (14-1)
3. Woodward Academy (11-2)
4. Jefferson (12-2)
5. Mary Persons (11-3)
6. Cairo (11-2)
7. Blessed Trinity (10-3)
8. Burke County (9-3)
9. Spalding (8-5)
10. Sandy Creek (8-4)

AAA
1. Cedar Grove (13-2)
2. Greater Atlanta Christian (13-2)
3. Peach County (12-2)
4. Westminster (10-3)
5. Calhoun (10-3)
6. Crisp County (13-1)
7. Liberty County (11-2)
8. Lovett (8-4)
9. Pace Academy (6-5)
10. Jackson (8-4)

AA
1. Benedictine (15-0)
2. Fitzgerald (13-2)
3. Callaway (13-1)
4. Rabun County (11-1)
5. Screven County (11-2)
6. Hapeville Charter (10-4)
7. Pepperell (10-2)
8. Jefferson County (10-2)
9. Rockmart (9-3)
10. Vidalia (9-3)

A private
1. Eagle’s Landing Christian (14-0)
2. Fellowship Christian (13-1)
3. Prince Avenue Christian (12-1)
4. Tattnall Square (12-1)
5. Calvary Day (10-1)
6. Landmark Christian (10-2)
7. Wesleyan (9-3)
8. Mount Paran Christian (10-2)
9. Stratford Academy (8-4)
10. Darlington (8-4)

A public
1. Macon County (12-2)
2. McIntosh County Academy (10-3)
3. Clinch County (11-2)
4. Emanuel County Institute (11-1)
5. Manchester (10-2)
6. Irwin County (8-5)
7. Commerce (9-3)
8. Greene County (9-4)
9. Mount Zion (9-2)
10. Taylor County (10-2)

Eagle's Landing Christian wins football state title

It took two overtimes and a late offensive drive to set a game-tying field goal in regulation for Eagle’s Landing Christian Academy (ELCA) to claim its second-consecutive Georgia High School Association (GHSA) Class A Private State Championship, defeating Fellowship Christian 34-27 at the Georgia Dome Dec. 9.

The victory gave the Chargers (14-0) their third GHSA state title (2012, 2015 and 2016) and fourth overall including a Georgia Independent Schools Association championship in 1996. The win also extended ELCA’s winning streak to 22 games dating back to last season.

“I said all week long that Fellowship Christian had a bunch of winners,” Chargers’ coach Jonathan Gess said. “I’m proud of how our guys fought. It’s a pleasure coaching those boys. Our goal is never to start off and win a championship but to be the best we can possibly be. The satisfaction win or lose is that our kids did that.”

“Hardin was more special than I thought he was coming into the game,” Gess said. “A guy like that can will his team to a lot of success.”

On the Chargers’ first possession of the third quarter, running back Trevor Gear fumbled the ball on a carry which was forced by Fellowship’s Ryan Reid and recovered by Ethan Minkert.

The Paladins took advantage and produced another lengthy drive with over seven minutes in time of possession. The 16-play, 50-yard drive culminated with a 25-yard field goal by Garrett Depew at the 11:23 mark of the fourth quarter, giving Fellowship its first lead of the game, 17-14.

“We got down, made errors and mistakes with turnovers and penalties,” Gess said.

ELCA responded quickly on its next possession as Jelan Pearson’s 45-yard touchdown run down the middle of the field while dodging numerous Paladins’ defenders allowed it to retake the lead 21-17 midway through the fourth quarter. Pearson finished the day with 60 rushing yards.

“This is a great feeling and we want to come back next year and do it again,” Pearson said after the game. “I knew that I had to make a big-time play for my brothers and wanted the ball in my hands. We live for these moments and our coaches train us for this.”

The Paladins, who were the third seed in the playoffs, showed their resolve on their next possession which produced another touchdown, this time on a two-yard run by Marrick Haigler, making the score 24-21 in favor of Fellowship with 2:08 left in regulation. ELCA’s defense had two personal foul penalties during that drive.

Down three points and the season on the line, the Chargers took possession of the ball on its own 23-yard line with exactly two minutes left in regulation. After two incomplete passes by Brayden Rush, it was fourth down and 8 for ECLA. Rush connected with Tre’ Douglas on a 13-yard pass on the left side to extend the drive and season for the Chargers. The two players would connect four more times in the drive before Alex Usry’s 34-yard field goal with six seconds remaining in regulation tied the score at 24-24. Rush had 78 passing yards while Douglas caught six passes for 69 yards.

“Our thoughts were to go down the field and get a field goal,” Gess said. “We had tremendous faith in Alex who has been waiting for a situation like that. Tre’ came in there and played receiver for us while Brayden did a tremendous job getting him the ball.”

The Paladins started the first overtime period with possession of the ball and Depew’s 30-yard field goal gave them the 27-24 lead.

ELCA responded with a 27-yard field goal of its own from Usry, tying the game up once again at 27-27.

The Chargers started the second overtime with the ball. Trevor Gear, who had a game-high 102 rushing yards, had a 6-yard run to start their possession. After an 8-yard run by Josh Mays got ELCA down to the one-yard line, he got the ball again on the next play and barreled into the end-zone for a touchdown.

Fellowship had its own possession in the second overtime period but turned the ball over on downs after Hardin’s pass attempt to Haigler was incomplete, sealing the victory for the Chargers.

“This victory means so much to our team,” Gear said. “We’ve faced adversity through the season. I had a bad play but we came back from it and got the win. We’ve fallen behind before but we had to keep pounding and execute. We worked hard for this.”

Fellowship outgained ELCA in the contest in total yardage, 346-297, and had more first downs, 20-14. The Paladins also led in time of possession 33:04 to 12:56. Reid had a game-high 80 receiving yards on seven catches for the Paladins who were making their first appearance in the state championship game.

Defensively, George Shockley had a game-high 13 tackles for the Chargers while teammates John Youngblood and Caleb Dallas had nine and eight tackles, respectively.

ELCA scored the only points in the first quarter on a 21-yard touchdown run by Gear. Fellowship tied the score early in the second quarter on a 2-yard touchdown run by Hardin. On the next kickoff, Justin Menard returned it 90 yards for a touchdown and gave the Chargers the 14-7 lead with they took into halftime.

By Mike Blum

Fellowship Christian School was one play away from a Class A private school championship at the Georgia Dome.

The Paladins needed one defensive stop in the late going to knock off Eagle’s Landing Christian Academy, the state’s No. 1 team in Class A. But the Chargers converted a fourth-and-8 from their 23 and went on to send the game into overtime on a field goal with six seconds on the clock.

After the teams swapped field goals in the first overtime, ELCA scored a touchdown on their second OT possession and stopped the Paladins on fourth down to score a dramatic 34-27 victory, its third state title in the last five years.

It was a heartbreaking setback for Fellowship Christian, who lost for the first time this season after 13 straight wins. The Paladins entered the playoffs as the No. 3 seed among the state’s Class A private schools after posting just the second winning record in 13 seasons of varsity football.Fellowship reached the state quarterfinals in 2007, but suffered through eight straight non-winning seasons before coming up just short of taking home a state title this year.

Trailing 14-7 at the half, the Paladins scored on all three of their offensive series in the second half, putting together three sustained drives that produced 17 points. Fellowship went 80 yards on 15 plays to take a 24-21 lead with 2:08 to play, but ELCA went down the field for a tying field goal.

After three straight lengthy, time-consuming drives in the second half, the Paladins could not muster any offense on their two overtime series, managing just seven yards in seven plays. The Chargers scored on their last two possessions of the second half, taking a 21-17 lead with 8:38 to play before the Paladins chewed up more than six minutes of clock to go back on top.

After settling for a tying field goal in the first overtime, ELCA went 15 yards on three straight running plays in the second OT before stopping the Paladins on fourth-and- 5 from the 10 to secure a victory in a very competitive game.

The Fellowship defense limited the explosive Chargers to one touchdown in the first three periods, with ELCA taking a 14-7 halftime lead on a 90-yard kickoff return, capping a 3-minute stretch that featured all the first half scoring.

After tying the game 14-14 on an 80-yard drive to start the second half, the Paladins quickly got the ball back on a fumble recovery and put together a sustained drive to take the lead on Garrett Depew’s 25-yard field goal on the second play of the fourth quarter.

The Paladins settled for the field goal after having first down at the ELCA 10-yard line. It was one of five times Fellowship was inside the 30 without scoring a touchdown, twice kicking field goals and three times failing to convert on fourth down.

The one time Fellowship was successful on fourth down -- a 7-yard catch and run by Ryan Reid on fourth-and-7 from the ELCA 17, they managed just three yards on three runs up the middle before Depew’s field goal made it 17-14.

Fellowship was stopped twice on fourth down inside the ELCA 30 in the first half, and those two defensive stands by the Chargers turned out to be critical. The Paladins amassed 350 yards of offense in regulation before a talented ELCA defense clamped down in overtime. The Chargers took away the inside running of Fellowship’s Andrew Minkert, and contained FCS quarterback Jack Hardin other than a 19-yard scoring run that tied the game 14-14 in the third period.

Hardin finished with 66 yards on 18 carries, with Andrew Johnson leading the Paladins with 88 yards on 20 attempts, 46 of that total on a burst to the ELCA 1 early in the second period. Hardin scored on a sneak on the next play. The Paladins finished with 213 yards rushing.

Through three quarters, Hardin was 12 of 15 passing for 137 yards, but the 7-yard completion to Reid that led to the go-ahead field goal represented all of Fellowship’s passing yardage in the fourth quarter and overtime. Reid caught five passes for 71 yards in the first half, but had just two receptions for seven yards after that, as Hardin was pressured by ELCA’s pass rush, with the Chargers’ secondary blanketing the Fellowship receivers.

Reid also came up with one of the Paladins’ two interceptions in the first half, and forced a fumble recovered by Ethan Minkert in the third quarter with the score tied 14-14. Trey Robinson had the other interception in the second period, as the Paladins stopped the Chargers on four of five first half series. ELCA needed to go only 43 yards for their first touchdown after a 21-yard punt return, and drove 80 and 60 yards for scores in the second half. The Chargers managed 287 yards, 218 on the ground.

A 26-yard pass to Johnson set up Hardin’s tying TD in the third period, and some tough running by several FCS backs keyed a 15-play field goal drive that put the Paladins ahead.

The Chargers broke a 45-yard reverse to go ahead 21-17, and finally got their passing game going on the final drive after having five yards through three quarters. ELCA’s sophomore quarterback completed five passes for 58 yards on the tying drive, including a 14-yarder on third-and- 8 and a 27-yarder to get the Chargers into field goal range.

The Paladins went 80 yards in 15 plays to take their final lead, aided by two 15-yard penalties. Fellowship did not complete a pass on the drive, with the team’s wing-T offense grinding out the rest of the yardage. Merrick Haigler plowed into the end zone from the 2.

By Darius Goodman

ATLANTA — When Fellowship Christian took a 24-21 lead over Eagle’s Landing Christian Academy with two minutes to play in the Class-A Private state championship game Friday at the Georgia Dome, the Chargers’ hopes of a second straight state title looked dim.

But those hopes weren’t yet dead. The Chargers marched down the field to kick a game-tying field goal with six seconds left before claiming a 34-27 victory in double-overtime to win their 22nd straight game and repeat as state champs.

Brayden Rush, who threw two interceptions in the first half, led a game-tying drive after Jack Hardin marched the Paladins down the field to take a 24-21 lead. A 28-yard pass to Tre Douglas put ELCA inside the Fellowship 15-yard line. After a completion made up yardage from an intentional grounding penalty, senior Alex Usry nailed a 34-yard field goal with six seconds remaining to send the game to overtime.

“Our kids have so much resolve, it just is,” said ELCA head coach Jonathan Gess. “They fight and they work and they don’t quit. They never accept defeat. This junior class and this senior class is a group of guys in 2014 that started off 0-6. But that same group, started off 0-6 and made it to the state championship game. I think they learned something, probably something you can never pay enough money for in life.”

ELCA didn’t look like the team with big-game experience in the early going. The Chargers went three-and-out after receiving the opening kickoff, committing three penalties in the process. ELCA moved the chains for the first time on its next drive, but a false start penalty forced a long pass attempt by Rush on third down. The pass was intercepted by Fellowship’s Ryan Reid.

The Chargers forced a three-and-out on the ensuing possession and after a nice return by Jelan Pearson, proceeded to march 43 yards in five plays to open the scoring. It was Trevor Gear who found the end zone on a 21-yard run, following behind key blocks on the right side of his offensive line.

Trailing 7-0, Fellowship responded on its next drive early in the second quarter. The Paladins executed a trap play to full back Andrew Johnson, who rumbled 46 yards to the ELCA 2-yard line. Hardin capped off the 68-yard, seven-play drive with a 2-yard run to tie the game at 7-all.

The tie held for only 13 seconds. Justin Menard returned the ensuing kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown to put ELCA back in front. Menard rounded several Fellowship defenders on a winding, elusive run for the score.

“The kickoff return felt great,” Menard said. “We practiced it every day for hours and hours and it paid off in the end. I love my guys I really do.”

Fellowship nearly scored on the next drive, but George Shockley came up with a shoestring tackle on Reid after a 28-yard completion. ELCA stuffed runs on second and third down of the next series, and Tre Douglas broke up a pass on fourth down to get the ball back for his team.

Rush underthrew another receiver on the next drive and was intercepted by Trey Robinson. Caleb Dallas sacked Hardin on first down, but the Paladins converted on a third down with a completion from Hardin to Reid. Fellowship eventually faced another fourth down, and Caleb Hudgins intercepted Hardin on fourth down.

“The defensive stops, man, the defense, coach Dallas does such a great job and they never stopped,” said Gess.

The Paladins made the most of their first drive in the second half, moving the ball 80 yards on 11 plays in just over four minutes. Fellowship converted on several third downs, including a 19-yard run by Hardin for the touchdown when he appeared to be bottled up at the line of scrimmage.

Tied at 14-all, ELCA moved the ball effectively on the ground until Gear fumbled following a 10-yard gain. Reid recovered the loose ball for the Paladins, who took over at their own 43-yard line following the turnover.

Fellowship moved the ball methodically into the red zone on a series of runs before converting on a fourth-and-7. The drive carried into the fourth quarter, where the Paladins were forced to settle for a 25-yard field goal by Garrett Depew. The 16-play, 50-yard scoring drive gave the Paladins a 17-14 lead with 11:23 to play.

On the next drive, ELCA converted on a third down with its first passing yards of the day and crossed midfield on consecutive running plays. The Chargers finally recorded an explosive play, as Pearson found the end zone on a 45-yard touchdown scamper to give his team a 21-17 lead with 8:38 remaining.

The Chargers appeared to have forced a three-and-out on the next drive, but a roughing the passer penalty gave the Paladins a first down. Fellowship was aided again by a horse collar penalty two plays later. Merrick Haigler eventually gave the Paladins a 24-21 lead with a 2-yard run with 2:08 to play.

But ELCA’s championship dreams were not to die. Douglas’ 28-yard catch and run gave the Chargers life, although Rush’s spike to stop the clock, which was deemed intentional grounding, backed ELCA back to the 24-yard line on the next play. After a short completion gained a few yards back, Usry was able to convert the 34-yard field goal to send the game to overtime.

Fellowship went three-and-out in the first overtime and had to settle for a 30-yard field goal by Depew. The Paladins held ELCA out of the end zone as well, and Usry tied the game at 27-all with a 27-yard field goal. In the second overtime, Mays capped off a three-play drive with a 1-yard touchdown run for a 34-27 lead. Fellowship gained just five yards on three straight keepers by Hardin on the next drive, setting up a decisive fourth-and-5 play from the 10-yard line.

On the final play of the game, pressure forced Hardin to throw at the feet of his receiver, giving ELCA its second straight title.

Gear rushed for 102 yards to lead the Chargers. Pearson added 62 yards rushing, while Douglas caught six passes for 69 yards. Shockley led the defense with 13 tackles. Hardin accounted for more than 250 yards of total offense for Fellowship, while Johnson rushed for 101 yards.

After the game, Gess reflected on the victory and what it meant for his program.

“When I sit down two days, three days from now, it’ll probably be one of the best games we’ve ever had,” Gess said. “I really thought Fellowship was a really good team. People weren’t talking about them enough, they were 13-0 and had beaten good teams…It’s a great win for our program and our kids. The way they fought and had to struggle, I think that’s what I’m really going to enjoy.”

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