Pierce County Bears quarterback Caden McGatha said one emotion surfaced after his 1-yard score clinched a 48-45 triple-overtime win over the Rockmart Yellow Jackets Tuesday at Mercedes Benz-Stadium.
“Relief,” said McGatha, a junior who accounted for six of his team’s seven touchdowns. “Just relief from the body. It felt great, because we’re champions. We showed what it takes. It wasn’t easy. It took all year. From practice all throughout the summer, it was hard work we put out. And that was a great team we played and that shows with the score an how many overtimes it went.”
With the win, the Bears (14-1), champions of Region 3, have their second state championship in four years, and second overall, both of which have come under fifth-year coach Ryan Herring. It was the first 2A title game that reached overtime since Calhoun beat Buford in 2011, according to GHSFHA.org.
The score was knotted at 28 after regulation, which ended with the Jackets blocking a 49-yard field goal attempt as time expired.
Similar to the overtime format in college, each team started with the ball on the opponent’s 15-yard line. Both teams scored touchdowns on short runs the first two overtimes, but the Bears held the Jackets to a 28-yard field goal in the third, then engineered the game-winning touchdown drive.
It was originally thought McGatha scored from the 7-yard line on 2nd and 3, with the Bears celebrating in the end zone. However, replays showed he was down at the 1, which still gave the Bears a first down and at least three more chances to punch it in. McGatha scored on the next play.
McGatha finished 5-of-8 passing for 131 yards and two touchdowns and carried the ball 53 times for 244 yards and four touchdowns. On the season, he twice eclipsed the 2,000-yard mark, rushing for 2,156 and throwing for 2,011, while totaling 53 touchdowns.
“Caden has been the same, every game, all year long,” Herring said. “He’s steady. He’s going to do whatever we ask him to do. If we ask him to run it 50 times, that’s fine. Throw it 50 times, that’s fine. He’s a true team player.”
Senior tight end Carson Sloan was the only other Bears player to carry the ball, finishing with three for 10 yards and a 1-yard score, which came in the second overtime. Sloan added 124 yards and two touchdowns on three catches to lead all receivers. On defense, he led the Bears with nine tackles and four sacks, also a game-high.
After stopping the Jackets on the game’s opening drive, the Bears drove 56 yards on eight plays, taking a 7-0 lead on a 1-yard McGatha run with 4:44 left in the first.
Early in the second half, Jackets senior quarterback Calliyon Thompson tied the game with a 63-yard rushing touchdown, which came on what appeared to be a busted play. He rolled to the right to pass, tucked the ball at the sight of pressure, then cut up the middle, where he found a seam to the outside and ran down the sideline, diving into the pylon for the score.
McGatha would respond with a 42-yard touchdown run to make it 14-7 with 5:46 left in the half.
The Jackets would tie the game at 14 before halftime, with help from the Bears, who were hit two face-mask penalties on the drive, which ended with a 6-yard touchdown reception by junior Tristan Anderson with 0:42 left in the second quarter.
Each team scored touchdowns in the third quarter. The Bears got theirs with 5:38 left on a 66-yard pass from McGatha to Sloan. Similar to a big pass play on their first scoring drive, McGatha rolled to the right as if to run a bootleg, only to stop and lob a pass across the middle to a streaking, wide-open Sloan, who caught it in stride and raced untouched for the easy score, making it 21-14 Bears.
As would be a trend all game, the Jackets responded, this time with a 62-yard pass from Thompson to senior JD Davis. On the play, Thompson and his line rolled right before Thompson stopped and threw across his body to Davis, who was left alone on a wheel route and ran untouched for the score, tying it at 21 with 4:05 left in the third.
The Jackets had a golden opportunity to take what would have been their first lead of the game, starting their drive first-and-goal from the 7 with 4:05 left in the third. The drive was set up by a 42-yard punt return from Anderson and aided by a Bears personal foul penalty for a late hit out of bounds. It ended two plays later, however, when, from the Bears’ 3, a bad snap sailed 25 yards into the backfield and was recovered by Bears sophomore Nigel Brown.
The Bears took the lead in the fourth on Sloan’s second touchdown, a 19-yard reception with 11:50 left. The Jackets answered with the final score of regulation, which came on an 11-yard run from Thompson with 7:37 left.
For the Jackets (12-3), champions of Region 7, it’s their second title-game loss in six years under coach Biff Parson, in his eighth season with the program.
“The kids played their guts out,” Parson said. “That’s all you can ask for as a head coach. They left it out on the field. Obviously, we played a really good football team, and they just made one more play than we did.”
Thompson was 16 of 24 passing for 208 yards and two touchdowns, adding a team-high 150 yards and two scores on 15 carries. His leading receiver, JD Davis, had 70 yards and a score on three catches. Sophomore Nate Davis had a game-high 16 tackles, and senior Brent Washington had nine tackles, adding 25 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries at running back.
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