By: Kenneth Harrison

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

The GHSA Championships are over and we have champions for each division. Let’s take a look at each one.

AAAAAAA Marietta 17, Lowndes 9:  I said before the season started the Blue Devils are loaded with talent. Despite that, they lost two games during the season. Lowndes (14-1) was undefeated before the game and nationally ranked in the top 10.

Marietta scored all of their points in the first half. Five-star tight end Arik Bailey dropped a pass in the end zone before halftime and the Blue Devils had to settle for a field goal. Bailey had a big game with 11 receptions for 146 yards.

The season is not over though because they will play in the GEICO State Champions Bowl Series against Eastside Catholic from Sammamish, Washington.

AAAAAA Harrison 20, Allatoona 7: The No.2 Hoyas (15-0) converted two blocked field goals and an interception into 17 points and turned what otherwise had been a tight game into a win.

Both teams are from Cobb County and in the same region so this was a rivalry game. The two games against Allatoona were Harrison’s two closest games of the season.

The No. 7 Buccaneers, playing in its second state final in five seasons, finished 11-3-1.

AAAAA Buford 17, Warner Robbins 14: The win gave No.5 Buford (14-1) its 12th state championship and first since 2014. It marked the third straight season that No. 2 Warner Robins (13-2) has fallen short in the title game.

The game went to overtime and Jamarius Isaac got an interception on Warner Robbins first possession.

The Wolves ran two plays and advanced the ball to the 7 before calling on Hayden Olsen, who drilled the ball through the uprights for the winning 24-yard field goal.

AAAA Blessed Trinity 17, Oconee County 14: The Titans (14-1) won their third consecutive championship in a very tough game. Tailback Elijah Green, a North Carolina commit rushed 21 times for 203 yards and two touchdowns. Both scores came in the final two minutes of the first half.

Green’s most important carry may have been his last. On fourth-and-2 at the 6 late in the game, Green plowed off tackle for a first down, which enabled BT to run out the clock.

AAA Cedar Grove 21, Crisp County 14: The Saints (13-2) defended their 2018 title. This is their third championship in four years. This is coach Miguel Patrick’s first year, replacing Jimmy Smith, who became an assistant at Georgia State.

Running back Chavon Wright finished with 20 carries for 140 yards and two scores.

AA Dublin 42, Brooks County 32: The No. 5 Fighting Irish (14-1) won a slugfest without attempting a pass and scoring six rushing touchdowns spread across three running backs and their QB. This is Dublin’s first title since splitting AA with Charlton County.

A Private ELCA 33, Wesleyan 13: Behind the four-touchdown performance of running back Keaton Mitchell, the No. 3-ranked Eagle’s Landing Christian Academy Chargers won a record fifth straight state championship on Friday, a 33-13 victory over No. 5 Wesleyan in the Class A Private championship at Georgia State Stadium.

ELCA (13-1) became the first GHSA team to win five straight titles, breaking a tie with West Rome (1982-85) and Buford (2007-10). ELCA’s graduating class finished with a 54-2 record and the team’s record over the last five seasons is 65-5.

A Public Irwin County 56, Marion County 14: The Indians (13-0) won their first title since 1975. In six seasons coach Buddy Nobles, who is battling Stage 4 stomach cancer, has led the Indians to the state finals five times.