The Prince Avenue Christian Wolverines clinched their first state title Monday in the Class A-Private championship game against Trinity, 41-21. And Irwin County defended its title in Class A Public.
Here are the highlights and history by Georgia High School Football Daily:
Class A-Private
Trinity Christian 21 – Prince Avenue Christian 41
Recap: Prince Avenue Christian scored on its first two possessions for a 13-0 lead and never trailed, but the Wolverines weren’t in the clear until a 62-yard drive on six running plays made the score 41-21 with 7:45 left. A turning point came late in the first half when Trinity Christian, trailing 13-7, drove 93 yards on 13 plays to the Prince Avenue 5-yard line but was intercepted by Chas Scoggins in the end zone. Eight plays later, Prince Avenue faced a fourth-and-2 at its 38 and went for it. QB Brock Vandagriff ran 33 yards to the Trinity 29 and threw a 19-yard TD pass three plays later for a 20-7 halftime lead. Prince Avenue had six sacks for 39 yards in losses, with seven players getting at least half credit on one. LB Davis Ridings had one sack and a team-leading eight solo tackles.
History: Prince Avenue (13-1) won its first state title in the 16th season in program history. The title came after the Bogart school’s seventh trip to the semifinals or further. Vandagriff became the ninth Georgia quarterback to pass for 4,000 yards in a season (4,169 unofficially) and seventh to throw for 10,000 in a career (10,097 unofficially) and joined Cartersville’s Trevor Lawrence as the only consensus five-star quarterbacks to win a GHSA championship since 2000. Trinity Christian, a team of only two senior starters, finished 12-3 in only its third season in the Georgia High School Association.
Class A-Public
Brooks County 19 – Irwin County 21
Recap: Gabe Benyard scored three unanswered first-half touchdowns – one receiving, two rushing – to give Irwin County a 20-7 lead that the Indians never relinquished. Benyard and his twin, Garland, finished with 300 all-purpose yards, and Garland added a 12-yard sack on defense. Irwin cornerback Derrick Taylor had a team-leading five solo tackles and intercepted two passes, returning one 34 yards for a touchdown and a 27-13 lead with 7:21 left in the third quarter. His second ended a Brooks drive at the Irwin 12 in the fourth quarter. Brooks had another second-half turnover in Irwin territory when an attempted pass was ruled a lateral and recovered by Irwin’s Marcus Edwards at the 42. Brooks got within 27-19 with 34 seconds left when Ni’Tavion Burrus threw a 13-yard TD pass to Willie Brown, but Irwin recovered the ensuing onside kick.
History: Irwin County (12-3) successfully defended its state title and won its third championship overall after enduring three COVID-19 quarantines. The Benyard twins and the rest of Irwin’s seniors finished their four years with a 50-6 record. Casey Soliday, the interim coach last season under Buddy Nobles, won his first title as the official head coach. Soliday and his brother, Erik Soliday (2000-01 Americus), became the second siblings to win state titles as head coaches. Lee and Chad Campbell were the first. Brooks County (13-2) lost in the finals for the second straight season after falling in the 2019 Class 2A final to Dublin. Both of Brooks’ losses this season were to Irwin.
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