The Wilcox County offense was barely on the field long enough to work up a sweat in the first 40 minutes of Saturday’s Class A championship game at the Georgia Dome.
But after watching Savannah Christian go on one time-consuming drive after another, quarterback Nick Marshall and the Patriots (13-2) finally took control, scoring 16 points in the final eight minutes for a 30-21 victory to capture the first football state championship in Wilcox County history.
“Bringing it home to Wilcox, our first one ever,” coach Mark Ledford said. “Man, it doesn’t get any better than this.”
Marshall, a junior, accounted for all but eight of Wilcox County’s 339 total yards, completing 14 of 23 passes for 244 yards and rushing for 87 on 13 carries. He ran for two touchdowns, passed for another and completed three passes on two-point conversions.
“Their QB is something special,” Savannah Christian coach Donald Chumley said. “He’s the best I’ve ever seen, simply the best we’ve ever played.”
After Marshall’s 5-yard run cut Savannah Christian’s lead to 21-20, he passed to Jatarius Jackson with the go-ahead two-point conversion with 7:58 remaining in the game. The Patriots’ drive covered 48 yards in three plays, including a spectacular 47-yard reception by Tay Porter, who juggled the ball as he was going down and made the catch lying on his back at the 1-yard line.
After forcing Savannah Christian (14-1) to punt on its next possession, the Patriots put the game away with a 40-yard touchdown drive that took 5:27 off the clock. Marshall capped the drive with a 12-yard touchdown pass to Marcus Griffin and a two-point conversion pass to Jonathan Howard with 36 seconds left.
“That’s what Nick does,” Ledford said. “All the people that got to see him for the first time tonight, they saw what he’s capable of doing. It’s not surprising to me that he was able to put the team on his shoulders and do what he did.”
Wilcox County was efficient when it got its opportunities, scoring on four of its seven possessions and outgaining Savannah Christian 339-275, despite having possession of the ball for just 16:42 of the game’s 48 minutes.
Chris Barnwell led Savannah Christian with 143 rushing yards on 37 carries. Quarterback Harrison Curry had 13 carries for 67 yards. The Raiders did not attempt a pass until the final three plays of the game.
The first two possessions of the first quarter gave an indication of what type of game this would be. Savannah Christian drove 74 yards on 15 plays and took 8:05 off the clock. Wilcox County answered with a seven-play, 64-yard drive that took 1:20.
“I knew that was going to be their game plan,” Ledford said. “That’s what they do. They were going to keep the clock. They did on the first drive of the game. That was not surprising that that happened. It was just that at some point, when they got down there, we had to have a few stops.”
Savannah Christian-7-0-7-7—21
Wilcox County-6-0-8-16—30
S – T.J. Franklin 3 run (Timothy McCarthy kick)
W – Jamaal Holmes 2 run (kick blocked)
S – Harrison Curry 2 run (McCarthy kick)
W – Nick Marshall 1 run (Marshall pass to Quez Mahoganey)
S – Franklin 15 run (McCarthy kick)
W – Marshall 5 run (Marshall pass to Jatarius Jackson)
W – Marcus Griffin 15 pass from Marshall (Marshall pass to Jonathan Howard)
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