Class 3A: Calhoun 20, Jefferson 7

Recap: Calhoun scored on its first two possessions for a 14-0 lead and held Jefferson to 225 total yards while forcing four turnovers. Freshman quarterback Trace Hawkins passed for 184 yards and scored a touchdown, and senior cornerback Jake Jordan intercepted two passes and forced a fumble. Jefferson cut the lead to 14-7 on Gavin Markey’s 3-yard run early in the second quarter, but Calhoun's defense took over the game from there, forcing five three-and-outs and intercepting passes on Jefferson’s final three possessions. Jordan got two of the interceptions, and Hunter White got the other. Calhoun’s Carlos Lopez made field goals of 39 and 48 yards, kicked four touchbacks and averaged 43.2 yards on six punts. Calhoun won its final 11 games after starting 1-3 against schools from higher classifications. 

History: Calhoun won its fifth state championship, first since 2017. It was Calhoun’s first state title under sixth-year coach Clay Stephenson, who was an assistant on Calhoun’s 2011, 2014 and 2017 state winners. Calhoun, at No. 7, was the lowest-ranked of the 16 finalists and the only one that did not make the playoffs last season. Jefferson, the preseason No. 1 team and the No. 3 team entering the playoffs, finished 11-4 and fell short of its second state title. It was coach Travis Noland’s third runner-up finish in six seasons, the others coming at Oconee County in 2019 and 2020.

Game Statistics

Jefferson - 0-7-0-0 - 7

Calhoun - 14-3-3-0 - 20

First quarter

C - Hudson Chadwick 23 run (Carlos Lopez kick), 9:35

C - Trace Hawkins 21 run (Lopez kick), 5:11

Second quarter

J - Gavin Markey 3 run (Taylor McCall kick), 11:56

C - Lopez 39 field goal, 0:00

Third quarter

C - Lopez 48 field goal, 2:15

Rushing: Jefferson - Gavin Markey 20-91, Dallas Russell 6-14, Rett Hemphill 1-3, Team 1-(-6). Calhoun - Hudson Chadwick 16-50, Trace Hawkins 9-47, Adrian Mashburn 1-8, Justin Beasley 2-7, Emaree Winston 1-(-1), Isiah Nalls 2-(-6), Team 3-(-8).

Passing: Jefferson - Gavin Markey 6-18-3-123. Calhoun - Trace Hawkins 16-25-0-184.

Receiving: Jefferson - Dalton Dye 3-32, Logan Edmunds 1-55, Talan Childress 1-23, Dallas Russell 1-13. Calhoun - Emaree Winston 6-57, Justin Beasley 4-77, Jaxon Moore 2-23, Makadan Griffin 2-6, Isiah Nalls 1-13, Hudson Chadwick 1-8.