Season recap: A look back at the highlights

The Class 2A season ended Tuesday with the Pierce County Bears defeating the Rockmart Yellow Jackets, 48-45, in triple overtime. The game was one of the most memorable Class 2A championships since the late 2000s, early 2010s, when Calhoun and Buford played in the title game four years in a row, the last two games reaching overtime.

The Bears claimed the first 2A championship decided in overtime since the 2011 Buford-Calhoun matchup, and have their second championship in four years under coach Ryan Herring.

The season produced a number of other highlights as well:

• For the second year in a row, an unranked Spencer Greenwave Owls team beat a ranked Northeast Raiders team to win the Region 2 championship, and this time the Owls won their first playoff game since 2015 under third-year coach Joe Kegler.
• The Laney Wildcats notched their first playoff win since 2013 with a season-high in points scored, beating Worth County 67-31. They finished 8-3 for their third straight winning season under third-year coach Ronnie Baker after going 1-8 in 2020.
• The Columbia Eagles reached the quarterfinals for the first time since 1997, finishing 9-4 under fourth year coach Greg Barnett, who’s never had a losing season with the program. It’s the first time since 1992-97 that they’ve finished with at least three consecutive winning seasons.
• The Fellowship Christian Paladins advanced to at least the quarterfinals for a sixth consecutive year, won their fifth straight region title and finished 10-3 under first-year coach John Thompson.
• The Union County Panthers advanced in the playoffs in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1972-73, giving the ELCA Chargers their first opening-round exit since 2007. The Panthers finished 8-4 for the second year in a row under third-year coach Michael Perry.
• The North Cobb Christian Eagles won their first region title in a program founded in 2007, reaching the playoffs for a sixth year in a row. They finished 9-3 under third-year coach Matt Jones.
• The Callaway Cavaliers finished 9-3, won their second straight 5-2A title and reached at least the quarterfinals an eighth consecutive year in coach Pete Wiggins’ 19th season.
• Region 3 became a three-headed monster of the Appling County (9-3), Pierce County Bears (14-1) and Toombs County Bulldogs (11-2). All finished the regular season as top five teams, and they finished in a three-way tie for first place, with the Bears winning the tiebreaker to claim the No. 1 seed. All three advanced, with Appling County beating No. 7 Northeast 49-0 in Round 1, and Toombs County reaching the quarterfinals for the first time since 2008 under first-year coach Buddy Martin.
• Cook, under second-year coach Byron Slack, won their first region title since 2014 and reached the semifinals for the first time since 2007, finishing 11-3 for their most wins since 2010. They won Region 1 with a 14-7 win over Fitzgerald after the Purple Hurricane reported what they thought was an ineligible player. The GHSA agreed with Fitzgerald until the Hornets took legal action, which resulted in a state court-issued temporary restraining order. At that point the GHSA backed down, with its board of trustees overturning the organization’s initial ruling on an appeal by Cook.
• The Cane also reached the semifinals and were a game away from a rematch with Cook that wasn’t to be. They still finished 10-4 and reached at least the Final Four a fourth consecutive year under seventh-year coach Tucker Pruitt.
• The Rockmart Yellow Jackets won their seventh consecutive region title and followed up last year’s quarterfinals appearance by playing in their first championship game since 2018 under eighth-year coach Biff Parson, finishing 12-3.

This season marked the last of 2A as we know it, with reclassification ushering in an entirely different lineup and playoff format, which we’ll discuss further as the 2024 football season nears. Until then, we say goodbye to the 2023 season as this space transitions to basketball season, already in progress.

Happy holidays!