ATLANTA — Greg Purcell gained 142 yards on 25 carries, running 50 yards on one of his three touchdowns, as Emanuel County Institute won the Class A public school state championship with a 47-7 rout of Dooly County on Saturday.
James Brown had a 26-yard touchdown run, caught a pass for a 53-yard score and returned an interception 48 yards to set up a touchdown for ECI, which also won a state title in 2007. Brown carried 14 times for 135 yards.
The victory was the 12th straight for ECI (13-1) and the margin was the largest in a state championship game since Buford defeated Lovett 50-0 for the Class AA title in 2007. The Bulldogs’ only loss was to Class AAA Washington County in the second week of the season.
Dooly County (11-3) had a six-game winning streak snapped. The Bobcats scored on a second-quarter 19-yard run by Chanin Hamilton.
Class A was split into private and public divisions by the GHSA for the first time this year after rural public schools, mostly in the southern part of the state, complained about the perceived competitive advantage of private schools in more populated areas.
Eagle’s Landing Christian (13-1) routed Prince Avenue Christian 33-0 on Friday to win the Class A private school title.
Brown’s interception and return of a long pass by A.J. Adams on Dooly’s first play set up Purcell for a 1-yard score. Then Purcell, who had 118 yards on 17 carries in the first half, made it 14-0 with his 50-yard TD run late in the first quarter.
Hamilton’s touchdown run early in the second quarter got Dooly on the scoreboard, but Brown gave ECI a 20-7 halftime lead with a 26-yard TD midway through the quarter.
The Bulldogs drove 85 yards in 11 plays the first time they got the ball in the third quarter, going up 28-7 on Caleb Pressey’s 3-yard run and a two-point conversion by Renaldo Williams. Then Pressey’s short pass was turned into a 53-yard score by Brown on ECI’s next play, and it would soon get worse for Dooly.
The Bobcats fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Purcell scored on a 6-yard run to make it 40-7 late in the third quarter. ECI’s fourth-quarter TD came on a 2-yard run by Michael Sutton.
Dooly, opened in 1981 with the consolidation of Vienna and Unadilla high schools, also lost state championship games in 1983 and 2002.
JEFFERSON 31, CALHOUN 14
ATLANTA — Bryant Shirreffs gained 310 total yards and rushed for three touchdowns to lead Jefferson to its first state title with a victory over Calhoun in the Class AA championship game.
Shirreffs, who was of 12 of 18 passing for 171 yards, carried 24 times for 139 and scored on runs of runs of 2, 1 and 1 yards as Jefferson won its 14th consecutive game after an opening loss to Commerce.
The victory snapped a 29-game winning streak by Calhoun, which was trying for a second consecutive 15-0 season after beating Buford 27-24 in overtime last year for the Class AA championship.
Calhoun’s Taylor Lamb completed 26 of 39 passes for 279 yards, connecting with Tydus Curtis for a 75-yard TD and hitting Logan Walraven from 17 yards out.
LATE FRIDAY
GAINESVILLE 49, WARE COUNTY 13
ATLANTA — Record-setting junior quarterback Deshaun Watson accounted for five touchdowns and more than 400 yards to lead Gainesville to its first state title, 49-12 over Ware County in the Class AAAAA championship game Friday night.
Watson threw three touchdown passes, two to Caleb Hayman, to raise his season total to 50, and his two touchdown runs gave him 24 for the season. He is the state career leader in touchdown throws (108) and passing yardage (4,031).
Watson completed 28 of 36 passes for 324 yards against Ware (13-2) and ran 14 times for 90 more yards as Gainesville (12-3) moved up and down the field at will.
Gainesville scored at least 40 points in all except one of its five playoff victories and went over 60 twice.
The Red Elephants had made it to the title game six times previously, the most recent a 13-12 loss to Peach County in 2009. Their 18 previous trips to the semifinals was a record for a school without a GHSA state championship.
Ware came in allowing just 8.6 points per game — the best in Class AAAAA. But the Gators were no match for Watson and Gainesville.
The Red Elephants set the tone on their first possession, going 78 yards on 10 plays as Watson — 7-for-7 on the drive — hit Hayman for a 17-yard score.