Calhoun upsets Jefferson to win Georgia 3A state championship

The Calhoun Yellow Jackets again stand atop Georgia 3A high school football.

A year after missing the GHSA playoffs for the first time in more than two decades, they knocked off Jefferson 20-7 to hold the crown as state champions at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

The Yellow Jackets, who had been on an offensive roll in the past three games, used a stifling defense to beat Jefferson, which came into the game as more than two-touchdown favorites, according to the On3 Massey Ratings.

Calhoun jumped out to an early 14-0 lead in the first quarter on touchdown runs from Hudson Chadwick and freshman quarterback Trace Hawkins. Jefferson tried to strike back, but after a big catch and run, Calhoun stripped wideout Kam Penny and recovered the fumble near its own 20-yard line.

After getting the ball back, Jefferson drove inside Calhoun’s 5-yard line before quarterback Gavin Markey notched his 24th rushing touchdown of the season. The Yellow Jackets responded at the end of the half with a drive of their own, capped off by a 40-yard field goal to go up 17-7.

Dominant defense leads the way for Calhoun

They added to that lead again after halftime, this time on another field goal from 48 yards away to extend the lead to 20-7. Jefferson’s offense, which came into the game averaging better than 37 points per contest in the playoffs, could never get off the ground.

Markey, the leader of the Dragons’ offense, struggled with injury for much of the contest, limiting his playmaking ability. Coming into the game, he’d rushed for nearly 1,600 yards while adding another 1,424 through the air. He accounted for the offense’s lone touchdown, but they couldn’t muster up much more.

After a key stop by Jefferson’s defense midway through the fourth quarter that kept them alive, Markey threw an interception that all but sealed the win for the Yellow Jackets.

The title is the fourth in school history for Calhoun, which also won at the 3A level in 2014 and 2017.