Georgia state football champions star at Georgia Dome

It was not the best year in high school football for many of the old dynasties in Georgia.

Camden County and Northside of Warner Robins, teams that were nationally ranked at times this year after playing for the Class AAAAA title in 2009, were gone by the second round this season. So was North Gwinnett, the only unbeaten team through the regular season in AAAAA. Brookwood, a team that finished 6-6 in 2009, was the new AAAAA champion. Chattahoochee, which finished 4-6 in 2009, won AAAA, becoming the first school in 10 seasons to go from a losing season to state champion in one year.  

MaxPreps' Georgia football playoff brackets

Here’s a look at Georgia’s five state finals played last weekend at the Georgia Dome:  

CLASS AAAAA
Brookwood (Snellville) 52, Colquitt County (Moultrie) 38
History: Brookwood (14-1) won its second state title and first since 1996. The 90 points were the most in state finals history, beating the record set in 1973 when Thomasville beat Wheeler 40-35.
Pivotal moments: Trailing 38-28, Colquitt County had a third-and-3 at the Brookwood 20 early in the fourth quarter, but a bad snap in the shotgun for a 13-yard loss and a false-start penalty forced a punt. On Colquitt's next possession, Brookwood lineman Reeves Blankenship returned an interception 22 yards to the Colquitt 26. Three plays later, Jamaal Cole scored his third touchdown of the game, a 10-yard run, for a 45-28 lead. Colquitt also had a bad snap to its punter in the first half that led to an easy Brookwood touchdown.
Worth noting: Colquitt County's 38 first downs and 606 total yards and quarterback Tyler Brown's 354 passing yards are believed to be state finals records. ... Tevin King's 205 yards rushing gave him 2,047 unofficially for the season, and Tommy Hudson's 11 catches gave him 102 overall. … Brookwood had 380 yards of total offense and averaged 7.5 yards per play to Colquitt’s 6.3. … Brookwood linebacker Cameron Lynch had 11 tackles, forced a fumble and intercepted a pass. Kicker Eric Yang had nine touchbacks on nine kickoffs.

GAME STATISTICS  
Colquitt County - 7-14-7-10 - 38
Brookwood - 14-14-10-14 - 52  
First quarter
C - Damien Bentley 1 run (Rich Tyndall kick)
B - Nick Tompkins 8 run (Eric Yang kick)
B - Jamaal Cole 4 run (Yang kick)
Second quarter
C - D'Amonte Ridley 8 run (Tyndall kick)
B - Nathaniel Minor 21 pass from Ben McLane (Yang kick)
B - Cole 9 run (Yang kick)
C - Tommy Hudson 6 pass from Tyler Brown (Tyndall kick)
Third quarter
B - Andre Sims 87 kickoff return (Yang kick)
B - Yang 41 field goal
C - Tevin King 6 run (Tyndall kick)
Fourth quarter
B - Cole 10 run (Yang kick)
C - Rich Tyndall 20 field goal
B - Tompkins 10 run (Yang kick)
C - Tevin Brown 15 pass from Tyler Brown (Tyndall kick)  

Rushing: Colquitt County - Tevin King 20-205, D'Amonte Ridley 17-91, Devin Hadley 1-9, Damien Bentley 1-1, Tanner White 1-(-25), Tyler Brown 9-(-26); Brookwood - Nick Tompkins 23-144, Jamaal Cole 9-96, Cameron Faulkner 1-2, Ben McLane 2-0.
Passing: Colquitt County - Tyler Brown 33-46-2-354, D'Amonte Ridley 0-1-0-0; Brookwood - Ben McLane 8-13-1-144.
Receiving: Colquitt County - Tommy Hudson 11-127, Ty Flournoy-Smith 7-84, Octavius Little 2-60, Tevin King 6-48, Tre Cooper 4-23, D'Amonte Ridley 3-12; Brookwood - Andre Sims Jr. 1-34, Nick Moore 1-22, Nathaniel Minor 1-21, Jamaal Cole 1-19, Cameron Faulkner 1-15, Michael Gouge 1-14, Jonathan Brown 1-11, Nick Tompkins 1-8.  

CLASS AAAA
Chattahoochee (Alpharetta) 24, Starr's Mill (Fayetteville) 0
History: Chattahoochee won its first state title and became the first school since Americus in 2000 to win state following a losing season. Chattahoochee was 4-6 in Class AAAAA last season.
Turning point: Chattahoochee executed a 99-yard, 14-play drive - with Timmy Byerly completing two key third-down passes - for a 10-0 lead in the second quarter. That would be plenty because Starr's Mill, held to nine first downs, would never run a play inside the Chattahoochee 25-yard line.
Worth noting: Byerly, a state player-of-the-year candidate, finished the season unofficially with 1,504 yards rushing and 2,665 yards passing. ... Chattahoochee assistant Scott Carmichael has been offensive coordinator for three schools that won state championships, including 1999 Oconee County and 2003 Camden County. ... Starr's Mill had not been held to less than 20 points this season. ... Ammon Lakip's 50-yard field goal was tied for longest in state finals history.  

GAME STATISTICS  
Chattahoochee - 3-7-7-7 - 24
Starr's Mill - 0-0-0-0 - 0  
First quarter
C - Ammon Lakip 50 field goal
Second quarter
C - Tim Byerly 3 run (Lakip kick)
Third quarter
C - Chase Nelson 1 run (Lakip kick)
Fourth quarter
C - Kane Whitehurst 12 Run (Lakip kick)  

Rushing: Chattahoochee - Timmy Byerly 26-108, Chase Nelson 14-73, Josh Gregory 3-13, Kane Whitehurst 1-12; Starr's Mill - Adam Holley 14-46, Zach Laskey 10-19, Davis Aasen 3-15, Alex Riddle 2-3.
Passing: Chattahoochee - Timmy Byerly 7-12-0-112; Starr's Mill - Adam Holley 8-20-1-112.
Receiving: Chattahoochee - Kane Whitehurst 4-83, Hunter Thomas 2-27, Chase Nelson 1-2; Starr's Mill - Jeff Greene 3-54, Zach Laskey 4-51, Randon Ruff 1-7.  

CLASS AAA
Sandy Creek (Tyrone) 14, Carrollton 7
History: Sandy Creek won its second consecutive state championship and ran its winning streak to 29 games.
Turning point: Trailing 14-7, Carrollton had the ball inside the Sandy Creek 10-yard line on two possessions in the second half but failed to score. On the first, Sandy Creek stopped a third-and-1 from the 8 and a fourth-and-2 from the 9. In the final two minutes, Carrollton had a second-and-goal from the Sandy Creek 5-yard line. Telvin Brown ran to the 1, but Jamal Ware made a jarring hit and forced a fumble that Sandy Creek's Quinteze Williams recovered at the 9.
Worth noting: Sandy Creek took a 14-0 lead in the first half, and there was no scoring by either team in the second half. After the late fumble recovery, Sandy Creek drove to the Carrollton 1-yard line and took a knee. ... Ware finished with 15 tackles, the most of any player in the five state finals. … Sandy Creek led in total yardage 289-239.  

GAME STATISTICS  
Sandy Creek - 7-7-0-0 - 14
Carrollton - 0-7-0-0 - 7  

First quarter
S - Ronnie Bell 3 run (Mitchell McMillin kick)
Second quarter
S - Derrick Alexander 7 run (McMillin kick)
C - Josh Barge 37 pass from A.J. Barge (Joseph Ingui kick)  

Rushing: Sandy Creek - Derrick Alexander 27-131, Ronnie Bell 5-52, Mike Hilton 2-2; Carrollton - Broderick Snoddy 17-65, Devin Watts 10-37, A.J. Barge 8-34, D.J. Johnson 2-10, Dallas Dickey 2-9, Telvin Brown 5-6, Marcel Manago 1-4.
Passing: Sandy Creek - Ronnie Bell 8-14-1-108; Carrollton - A.J. Barge 4-11-2-74.
Receiving: Sandy Creek - Alex Chisum 6-72, Bruce Dukes 1-29, BJ Trimble 1-7; Carrollton - Telvin Brown 3-38, Josh Barge 1-36.  

CLASS AA
Buford 31, Calhoun 24 (OT)
History: Buford won the first overtime game ever played in the state finals and captured its fourth consecutive state title, tying a record set by West Rome from 1982 to 1985. Buford also became the second school to win seven state titles in 10 seasons, joining Valdosta (1960-69). Calhoun became the first school since Adairsville (1969-72) to lose three straight state finals. All of Calhoun's have been to Buford.
Pivotal moments: After Dominique Swope's 9-yard run on Buford's overtime possession, Calhoun had a third-and-3 at the Buford 8. Buford's Kurt Freitag tagged Calhoun's 1,500-yard rusher Dustin Christian for a seven-yard loss. Calhoun threw incomplete into the end zone on fourth down.
Worth noting: Ryan Dillard returned a fumble 57 yards for a touchdown and a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, and Buford led 24-7 in the third quarter, but Calhoun scored 17 points to tie, the final ones coming on a 45-yard field goal by Adam Griffith in the final seconds. … Buford led in total yardage 327-259 and in first downs 20-12.  

GAME STATISTICS  
Calhoun - 0-7-7-10-0 - 24
Buford - 14-3-7-0-7 - 31  
First quarter
B - Seon Jones 4 run (David Petroni kick)
B - Ryan Dillard 57 fumble return (Petroni kick)
Second quarter
C - Dustin Christian 3 run (Adam Griffith kick)
B - David Petroni 28 field goal
Third quarter
B - Kurt Freitag 24 pass from Alexander Ross (Petroni kick)
C - Christian 8 run (Griffith kick)
Fourth quarter
C - Chase Rierson 31 pass from Landon Curtis (Griffith kick)
C - Griffith 45 field goal
Overtime
B - Dominique Swope 9 run (Petroni kick)  

Rushing: Calhoun - Dustin Christian 16-79, Darius Washington 1-4, Ben Lamb 1-0, Landon Curtis 3-(-13); Buford - Seon Jones 18-79, Eric Barr 9-53, Dominique Swope 8-33, Darrian Smith 6-19, Andre Johnson 5-16, Alexander Ross 7-(-13).
Passing: Calhoun - Landon Curtis 14-28-2-189, J.T. Palmer 0-1-0-0; Buford - Alexander Ross 12-15-0-142. Receiving: Calhoun - J.T. Palmer 6-86, Chase Rierson 2-50, Clay Johnson 2-38, Dustin Christian 3-9, Ben Lamb 1-6; Buford - Jamal English 4-44, Paris Head 5-42, Kurt Freitag 1-24, Dillon Lee 1-17, Trey Jerkins 1-15.  

CLASS A
Clinch County (Homerville) 24, Savannah Christian 14
History: Clinch County won its fifth state title and first since 2004. It was the second for coach Jim Dickerson, an alumnus of the school. Savannah Christian lost in the final for the second consecutive season.
Pivotal moments: It was 7-7 at halftime, but Savannah Christian lost two fumbles in the third quarter, each giving Clinch possession at the Savannah Christian 21. Clinch turned those into 10 points and a 17-7 lead. Savannah Christian got within 17-14 but never drove into Clinch territory again after that.
Worth noting: Each team had seven first downs. Clinch County led in total yardage 193-190. … Clinch County running back Anthony McNeil (1,526 yards rushing on the season entering the game) and quarterback Tray Dorsey (1,423 yards) were held to 44 yards rushing. ... Savannah Christian linebacker Tanner Burch had 13 total tackles, 4.5 of them for losses totaling 14 yards. ... The game MVP might've been Clinch County wide receiver/defensive back Fred Tiller. He had four catches for 97 yards and a touchdown, seven tackles (one for a loss) and an interception.  

GAME STATISTICS  
Clinch County - 0-7-10-7 - 24
Savannah Christian - 0-7-0-7 - 14  

Second quarter
C - Damian Magby 42 punt return (Dalton Bennett kick)
S - Will Austin 19 pass from Harrison Curry (Mac Miller kick)
Third quarter
C - Bennett 32 field goal
C - Fred Tiller 21 pass from Tray Dorsey (Bennett kick)
Fourth quarter
S - Austin 89 pass from Curry (Miller kick)
C - Dorsey 5 run (Bennett kick)  

Rushing: Clinch County - Tray Dorsey 23-34, Anthony McNeil 11-10, Rashad Grent 1-(-6); Savannah Christian - Andrew Moore 17-36, Will Austin 7-17, Nardo Govan 5-1, Harrison Curry 10-0, Jalen Myrick 1-0.
Passing: Clinch County - Tray Dorsey 7-14-0-155; Savannah Christian - Harrison Curry 4-13-1-140.
Receiving: Clinch County - Fred Tiller 4-97, Rashad Grant 3-58; Savannah Christian - Will Austin 3-121, Taylor Ivey 1-19.