Class 2A: Pierce County 48, Rockmart 45 (3OT)

Recap: Caden McGatha scored on a 1-yard run in the third overtime after Pierce County held Rockmart to a field goal. It was McGatha’s 53rd carry, 244th rushing yard and fourth touchdown. McGatha also passed for 131 yards and two touchdowns and ran or passed on 61 of Pierce County’s 64 plays. Carson Sloan ran the other three plays for 10 yards and a touchdown, had three receptions for 124 yards and two touchdowns and led the Bears’ defense with eight solo tackles and 3.5 sacks for 30 yards in losses. Neither team led by more than seven points, and each of the game’s 13 touchdowns tied the game or put one team ahead. Rockmart’s biggest misgiving was the failure to score after having a first-and-goal from the 7 with 4:05 left in the third quarter after Tristan Anderson’s 42-yard punt return and a Pierce County personal-foul penalty. But on second down from the 3, a bad snap resulted in a lost fumble 29 yards behind the line of scrimmage.

History: Pierce County, which opened in 1981, won its second title in four seasons. Pierce also won in overtime in 2020, beating Oconee County. Rockmart was denied what would have been its first championship since 1950. This was the 11th overtime game in finals history and the second three-overtime game after 2018 Bainbridge vs. Warner Robins. Caden McGatha’s 53 carries set a state finals record, although it’s uncertain who held the previous mark. It might have been Lashon Darby, who rushed 41 times for Cartersville’s winning 1991 team. McGatha is believed to have become the second player in state history, first since Troup’s Taeo Todd last season, to rush and pass for more than 2,000 yards in a season. He finished unofficially with 2,155 rushing and 2,007 passing. This was the first final in history in which both quarterbacks had multiple touchdowns rushing and passing as Callyiyon Thompson also had two of each. Only nine previous quarterbacks had accomplished that feat in a final. It’s a list that includes Gainesville’s Deshaun Watson, Commerce’s Bobby Lamb and Roswell’s Jeff Bower. The game featured four true lead changes, tying a state finals record held by seven others, but ironically, none occurred until overtime, when Rockmart took its first lead, 35-28. Scores that break ties, including the original 0-0, are not counted in this definition.

Game Statistics

Rockmart - 0-14-7-7-7-7-3 - 45

Pierce County - 7-7-7-7-7-7-6 - 48 

First quarter

PC - Caden McGatha 1 run (Garrett Stevenson kick), 4:44

Second quarter

R - Calliyon Thompson 63 run (Jose Alegria kick), 11:47

PC - McGatha 42 run (Stevenson kick), 5:56

R - Tristan Anderson 6 pass from Thompson (Alegria kick), 0:42

Third quarter

PC - Carson Sloan 66 pass from McGatha (Stevenson kick), 5:38

R - J.D. Davis 62 pass from Thompson (Alegria kick), 4:05

Fourth quarter

PC - Sloan 19 pass from McGatha (Stevenson kick), 11:50

R - Thompson 11 run (Alegria kick), 7:37

First overtime

R - Brent Washington 4 run (Alegria kick)

PC - McGatha 3 run (Stevenson kick)

Second overtime

PC - Sloan 1 run (Stevenson kick)

R - Washington 1 run (Alegria kick)

Third overtime

R - Alegria 28 field goal

PC - McGatha 1 run

Rushing: Rockmart - Calliyon Thompson 15-106, Brent Washington 9-24, J.D. Davis 6-15, Nahzir Turner 3-(-3), Team 1-(-29), Pierce County - Caden McGatha 53-248, Carson Sloan 3-10.

Passing: Rockmart - Calliyon Thompson 16-24-0-208. Pierce County - Caden McGatha 5-8-0-66.

Receiving: Rockmart - Nahzir Turner 5-64, Tristan Anderson 5-33, J.D. Davis 3-70, Zion McCrary 1-25, Brent Washington 1-11, Rakaylin Glover 1-5. Pierce County - Carson Sloan 3-124, Jones Herrin 2-7.