In a game where both teams made plays when they had to, Oconee County made one more.
Down 20-14 to Greater Atlanta Christian, and facing fourth-and-16 in the second overtime period, the Warriors (12-0) converted, scored on the next play, and nailed the extra point kick to claim a 21-20 win and a spot in the Class 3A finals for the second consecutive season.
The difference in emotion between the two schools and their crowds was as dramatic as the all-white uniforms sported by Oconee County and the all-red worn by the Spartans (12-1). The several hundred Warrior supporters who made the trip from Watkinsville erupted as sophomore Nicholas Silva’s kick sailed through the uprights, and his teammates rushed the field.
Meanwhile, the GAC fans, who had been roaring at full throat to distract Silva, fell silent as their players stood, kneeled or lay on the field, stunned. It was a feeling that has become all-to familiar to the Spartans, who have advanced to the semifinals in seven of the past nine seasons, but have yet to win a state title.
The teams played to a 7-7 tie in regulation as Spartan senior quarterback Deymon Fleming, Jr. scored on a 1-yard run in the first quarter, and Warrior senior linebacker/fullback Justin Coleman scored on a 2-yard run at the end of the third quarter.
Oconee County needed just two plays to score a touchdown in the first possession of overtime. The Warriors came out in a power look they hadn’t shown all game, with a tight bunch formation to the left and Region 8-3A Player of the Year, senior athlete West Weeks, in the wildcat. Weeks ran off left tackle and bulled his way to the 1-yard line. On the next play, he went over the right side, behind senior guard Rob Boswell, to give the Warriors a 14-7 lead after Silva’s successful extra point kick.
GAC’s possession was a lot more treacherous as wildcat quarterback Will Hardy lost seven yards when he was sacked on third down, leaving the Spartans with a fourth-and-goal from the 9-yard line. But the junior made up for it on the next play when Fleming hit him with a dart in the back of the end zone. Junior Branan Rountree’s extra point kick was good, and the game went into a second overtime.
This time GAC went on offense first, and the Spartans scored in just three plays as Fleming hit senior Brooks Miller at the front pylon on a speed out in the far flat from 3-yards out. But Rountree never got a chance to kick the extra point as a high snap forced junior holder Ford Hallock out of his crouch. He rolled to his right but couldn’t find an open receiver as he was forced out of bounds, leaving the Spartans to settle for a 20-14 lead.
Still, it looked as if GAC would take another step toward playing for the state championship for the first time since 2016, when the Warrior offense sputtered. A holding penalty and three consecutive incompletions had them facing fourth-and-16 from the Spartan 21-yard line. But Coleman, the Region 8-3A Defensive Player of the Year, was once again pivotal on offense.
He waited in the backfield as two Warrior receivers split wide to his right ran go-routes, taking two GAC defenders with them. Coleman snuck out of the backfield and junior quarterback Jacob Wright found him in the void on the right side. Coleman was finally tackled at the 1-yard line, but scored on the next play to tie the game at 20, setting up Silva’s dramatic PAT kick.
Oconee County will attempt to win its first state title since 1999, when the Warriors face Region 1-3A champion Pierce County (12-1), Dec. 30 at Georgia State’s Center Parc Stadium.
