Omari Arnold joined some elite company with his performance in the final game of his high school career and helped Brooks County end a 27-year championship drought.
Arnold carried 21 times for 320 yards and five touchdowns and the No. 2 Trojans defeated No. 1 Irwin County 56-28 to win the Class A Public title. The victory gave Brooks County a measure of revenge from last year, when Irwin County beat the Trojans in the championship game. It also prevented their biggest rival from winning their third straight state championship.
The last player to run for 300 yards in a championship game is believed to be Herschel Walker, when he led Johnson County to the title in 1979. Not bad company.
“(Brooks is) a hellluva football player,” coach Maurice Freeman said. “Everybody that didn’t recruit him, they’ll regret it. He’s a tough guy. He doesn’t talk much, but he’s a warhorse.”
Arnold, who has not made a decision on college, finished the season with 2,524 yards and ended his career with 6,558 yards. He wasn’t surprised by going out with a big performance.
“It means a lot,” Arnold said. “We haven’t had a championship for 27 years and it just feels great, knowing that we’re going back home with a ring and a trophy.”
Brooks County (12-2) suffered its only two losses at the hands of rival Thomasville, who is playing for the Class AA championship and Irwin County. Irwin had beaten Brooks the last three times they’d played.
“Irwin has had my number,” Freeman said. “So it means a lot to finally figure that thing out and figure out what they did well and counter it,”
Brooks quarterback Jamal Sanders completed 5 of 9 passes for 85 yards one touchdown and ran for 45 yards and one touchdown. The defense was led by Lawrence Holsendolph and Amar Thomas with 10 total tackles each and Christian Edgerton with nine.
Irwin County (12-3) was led by Demarkas Lundy, who ran 17 times for 106 yards and two touchdowns, and Shane Marshall, who carried 16 times for 58 yards and one touchdown. Quarterback Casey Soliday completed 6 of 16 passes for 66 yards. Irwin’s top tackler was Bryce Clements with 10 and Marcus Edwards with five, three of them for loss.
Brooks County scored on the second play of the game when Arnold took it up the middle for a 69-yard touchdown. The Trojans built the lead to 21-0 before the end of the first quarter on Arnold’s second touchdown, a 3-yard run, and a 23-yard keeper by quarterback Jamal Sanders.
After forcing Irwin to punt, the Trojans appeared to be on cruise control. But Sanders pass was intercepted by Malachi Hadden, who took it 23 yards for a pick-six. The turnover changed the momentum and got the Indians back in the game.
Arnold scored his third touchdown on a 36-yard run, but Irwin scored twice in the final four minutes, a 5-yard run by Lundy and a 2-yard run around the right end on fourth down by Shane Marshall with eight seconds left in the half. Brooks led 28-21 at halftime.
Brooks added a touchdown midway in the third quarter. The Trojans overcame three procedure penalties and scored on fourth-and-16 when Sanders hit Tramine Demps in stride for a touchdown.
Irwin trimmed the lead to 35-28 when Lundy scored his second touchdown on a 6-yard run, but Brooks got it back immediately when Arnold scored on an 86-yard run on the first play of the drive to regain a two-score lead.
Irwin had no answer, turning it over on downs thanks to some impressive pass defense coverage. That’s when Arnold scored on a 56-yard run down the right sideline to put it away. Jeremiah Henderson closed it with a 69-yard interception return.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Freeman said. “We’ve had some great football teams, a lot of battles. We’ve always come up short. This group of seniors did everything … working and working and working. And the dream came true tonight.”
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