Pierce County edges Rockmart in a 3OT thriller for Georgia 2A football state championship

ATLANTA – Three overtime periods were needed to crown a Georgia Class 2A high school football state champion, Tuesday afternoon between Pierce County and Rockmart.

After both teams scored two touchdowns apiece in the first two OT periods, Rockmart took a brief three-point lead on a field goal in the third OT period before Pierce County quarterback Caden McGatha won the game with a 1-yard touchdown run.

McGatha, who rushed the ball 53 times for 244 yards and four touchdowns, secured a thrilling 48-45 win for the Bears and their first state championship since 2020.

For a Pierce County offense that has relied heavily on the legs of 6-foot, 190-pound quarterback Caden McGatha all season long, it was the junior’s arm that made the first big play of the afternoon for the Bears.

Just two plays into their first offensive drive, McGatha dropped back and tossed down the left hash to senior tight end Carson Sloan for a gain of 39 yards.

In Yellow Jackets territory, three consecutive McGatha runs got the Bears into a first-and-goal from the 10 before they were eventually stopped one yard shy of the end zone three plays later.

Facing a fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line, the Bears kept their offense on the field, and McGatha bulldozed his way into the end zone for the score to give the Bears an early 7-0 lead with 4:44 remaining in the opening quarter.

The Yellow Jackets’ offense struggled to get anything going in the early stages and were forced to punt on each of their first two drives.

Things changed, however on their third drive when senior quarterback Calliyon Thompson found some running room and used his speed and elusiveness to out-run the Bears defense for a 63-yard touchdown early in the second quarter.

With the game tied up at 7-7, McGatha and the Bears got back to work running the football through the heart of the Yellow Jacket defense.

McGatha converted a big fourth-and-1 again, this time from their own 39-yard line to keep the chains moving, and three plays later, McGatha was off to the races after breaking through the middle untouched for a 42-yard score.

That gave the Bears the lead back 14-7 with just under six minutes remaining before halftime.

The game appeared to be headed to halftime with the Bears in possession of the ball with 2:36 remaining and leading by a touchdown, but a quick three-and-out gave the ball back to the Yellow Jackets near midfield with 1:24 remaining.

A JD Davis 14-yard run and two facemask penalties - one on Davis and one on Nahzir Turner - gave the Yellow Jackets a first-and-goal from the six with under a minute on the clock.

Thompson then dropped back and threw a strike into the hands of Tristan Anderson on a quick slant to knot the game at 14-all heading into halftime.

After a pair of punts from each team to open up the second half, Pierce County drew first blood when it caught the Rockmart defense off guard with a long pass play.

McGatha looked deep for Sloan again, and this time the big tight end caught the ball, broke a tackle and raced down the middle of the field for a 66-yard touchdown.

Their lead didn’t last for long, however.

On Rockmart’s ensuing possession, Anderson dropped back and rolled to his right before finding a wide-open Davis streaking down the left sidelines for an easy 62-yard score with just over four minutes remaining in the third quarter.

Anderson and the Yellow Jackets soon found themselves with a prime opportunity to take their first lead of the game after a quick punt by the Bears set up a 42-yard punt return from Anderson down to the Pierce County 7.

But two plays later, a high snap sailed over the head of Anderson and it was recovered by the Bears.

The botched snap proved to be a devastating turn of events for the Yellow Jackets, who then found themselves on the wrong side of two 15-yard penalties on Pierce County’s ensuing drive, including a fumble recovery that was negated.

The drive eventually ended with a 19-yard touchdown pass from McGatha to Sloan to give the Bears the lead back 28-21 with 11:50 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Rockmart found itself in a similar position once again trailing Pierce County by a touchdown, and things soon went from bad to worse after back-to-back sacks of Thompson forced the Yellow Jackets into a long third-and-18 from their own 33.

But after being on the wrong side of several penalties throughout the game, the Yellow Jackets were finally the benefactors of one, a pass interference call against the Bears that gave them new life and a fresh set of downs near midfield.

The Yellow Jackets took advantage of that new life and went on to score a touchdown when Thompson made a man miss near the end zone for an 11-yard score. The drive spanned 11 plays and 86 yards and tied the game at 28-28 with 7:37 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Rockmart’s defense stood tall following their game-tying touchdown drive and forced a quick three-and-out to set up a potential game-winning drive, but it went nowhere.

That gave the Bears a chance to win the game in the closing seconds, and they very nearly did after McGatha moved the ball into Rockmart territory and helped set up a potential 49-yard game-winning field goal with five seconds remaining.

The kick was blocked as time expired, however, to send the game into overtime tied 28-28.

In overtime, the Yellow Jackets started with the ball at the Pierce County 15 and promptly found the end zone in just four plays.

Thompson hooked up with Anderson on back-to-back plays to set up a first-and-goal from the 4-yard line before Brent Washington pounded his way into the end zone to give the Yellow Jackets their first lead of the game, 35-28.

Needing to match Rockmart’s touchdown to keep hopes alive, the Bears answered.

McGatha picked up a first down to the Yellow Jackets' 5-yard line before scoring two plays later from the 3 to knot the game back up at 35-35 following a successful point after.

The Bears then started with the ball to start the second overtime period looking to put the pressure back on the Yellow Jackets, but they did not make things easy.

After picking up a quick first down to the Rockmart 3, McGatha was stopped short on three consecutive runs, setting up a fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line.

The Bears elected to go for it, just like they did to start the game, and it worked once more. Sloan lined up in the wildcat and stretched his way over the goal line for the score to put them back out in front 42-35.

Needing a touchdown and an extra point to force a third overtime, the Yellow Jackets needed just four plays to score. Thompson scrambled down to the Bears 1-yard line on third-and-3 before Washington punched it in.

The Yellow Jackets were finally stopped in the third overtime period and were forced to settle for a short 28-yard field goal that was booted right down the middle.

Needing a field goal to tie, or a touchdown to win, the Bears chose touchdown.

McGatha ran the ball three times and punched the ball in from the 1-yard line to win the game in thrilling fashion 48-43.

PIERCE COUNTY 48, ROCKMART 43

Rockmart: 0 14 7 7 7 7 3 – 45

Pierce Co: 7 7 7 7 7 7 6 – 48

(All photos by Colin Hubbard)