Final: GHSA State Football 5A Championship

North Gwinnett 6 Lowndes 34

Lowndes defeated North Gwinnett 34-6 on Saturday night in Valdosta to win the Class 5A state football championship. Lowndes is 5-0 all-time in title games.

For the Vikings of Lowndes, along with leaning on their stifling defense, it was riding the backs of their running game with the efforts of Greg Reid and Darriet Perry. Reid rushed for 184 yards on the night, including a 91-yard touchdown romp early in the 1st quarter. He later added a 15-yard TD run. Perry ran for 100 yards, and touchdown scores of 3 and 22 yards.

Lowndes finished the season with a 14-1 record. The Bulldogs of North Gwinnett wrapped their campaign going 13-2.

Final: GHSA State Football 2A Championship

Lovett 0 Buford 50

The Buford Wolves on their home field rolled to an easy 50-0 win over Lovett to take the crown as 2A state football champions in 2007.

Buford's Cody Getz scored 3 early touchdowns to set the tone, while Demetris Murray ran for 150 yards and a score in the game.

Buford's Wolves earned their 5th football title, to add to their collection of crowns from the 1978, '01, '02, and '03 seasons. Buford this season went perfect at 15-0.

The Lions of Lovett ended their season with a 12-3 record.

Final: GHSA State Football 3A Championship

Carver-Columbus 16 Cairo 13

The Tigers of Carver-Columbus won the 3A state football championship Saturday night in Cairo, knocking-off the homestanding Syrupmakers.

Carver quarterback DeRon Furr scored a 24-yard touchdown with 1:01 remaining to propel the Carver Tigers to the 16-to-13 victory.

The Tigers found themselves trailing with 3:11 to go after Cairo's Reginald Bryant scored a one-yard touchdown to give the Syrupmakers a 13-to-9 advantage. Furr and the Tigers responded with a 10-play, 80-yard game-winning drive. Furr passed for 38 yards and rushed for 36 on the game-winning drive.

It was the first football state championship for Carver-Columbus and capped a perfect 15-0 season.

Final: GHSA State Football 1A Championship

Emanuel County Institute 41 Wilcox County 21 (played in Cordele)

ECI won the Class A football title Friday night, the school's first championship in any sport in GHSA competition.

ECI set the tone early with scores on its first 3 possessions. It was another big evening for talented ECI running back Washaun Ealey. The junior ran for 261 yards and 3 touchdowns. Ealey finishes the 2007 season with 2,971 yards and a state-record 58 touchdowns.

The matchup was the first championship game appearance for both schools. The game was played on the campus of Crisp County High in Cordele, in order to handle the overflow crowd. Wilcox County was the host school, and had received permission to move the contest to a bigger venue by outselling their own stadium's capacity by 3-thousand tickets.

Final: GHSA State Football 4A Championship

Northside (Warner Robins) 20 Ware County 14

Northside's Eagles won their 2nd straight championship in Class 4A Friday night in Waycross.

Trailing 14-10 late in the 4th quarter, Northside tailback Tijuan Green took a direct snap, and hit Nick Bass on a 40-yard touchdown strike and the go-ahead score with 5:23 remaining. The Eagles would add a field goal with just over 2-minutes left to close the scoring.

Green finished with 232 yards of total offense to help lead Northside to victory. The Eagles were able to comeback and win, overcoming 4 turnovers. Ware County's Gators weren't able to muster much on offense, with only 98 total yards on the night.

Northside is the 7th team in Georgia history to finish back-to-back 15-0 seasons.

GHSA Football Semifinals Summary

Wilcox County heads to its first Class A Championship next week against the Emmanuel County Institute Bulldogs with their state touchdown record-breaker Washaun Ealey. Lovett and Buford dominated their semifinal games and will pair up to fight for Class AA championship.

Class AAA teams Carver-Columbus and Cairo will face off after both teams pulled out late wins in the semifinals. The Northside-Warner Robins Eagles also pulled out a late win and will play in the Class 4A finals against the Ware County in the Bulldogs first finals appearance in nearly half a century. First-time Dome visitors North Gwinnett will travel south to play Lowndes for the 5A championship.

All semifinal games and band performances will be available for free on-demand viewing at the Georgia Public Broadcasting web site within the next few days. Copies of the games can also be purchased on VHS or DVD from gametapes.com.

2007 Georgia High School Football Semifinals Summary
CLASS A
Wilcox County 32		Athens Academy 14
ECI at Wilcox County Friday, December 14 - 8:00 pm
Clinch County 14		ECI 35
. . .
CLASS AA
Buford 48		Dublin 0
Lovett at Buford Saturday, December 15 - 6:00 pm
Lovett 29		Cook 16
. . .
CLASS AAA
Carver-Columbus 26		Chamblee 24
Carver-Columbus at Cairo Saturday, December 15 - 3:00 pm
Cairo 42		North Hall 21
. . .
CLASS AAAA
Tucker 28		Northside-Warner Robins 31
Northside-Warner Robins at Ware County Friday, December 14 - 7:30 pm Live on Georgia Public Broadcasting and online at gpb.org
Thomas County Central 7		Ware County 10
. . .
CLASS AAAAA
Walton 28		North Gwinnett 31
North Gwinnett at Lowndes Saturday, December 15 - 7:30 pm Live on Georgia Public Broadcasting and online at gpb.org
Lowndes 10		Camden County 0

North Gwinnett Wins In First Dome Visit

The North Gwinnett Bulldogs are headed to the AAAAA finals next week after defeating the Walton Raiders today in the GHSA Football Semifinals. Going into the second half, the Bulldogs led the Raiders 24-0. Both teams picked up a single touchdown in the last half, for a final score of 31-7. This was the first trip the Georgia Dome for North Gwinnett.

Next week, North Gwinnett will play the winner of the Lowndes - Camden County game.

Cairo Third Quarter Surge Earns Team AAA Finals Spot

After a slow first half, the Cairo Syrupmakers beat the North Hall Trojans 42-21. The first half belonged to the Trojans, with the Syrupmakers only picking up 7 points to the North Hall's 14. Twelve seconds into the third quarter, the Syrupmaker's Reginald Bryant ran 80 yards for the first touchdown, followed quickly by another 48 and 62 yard run touchdowns by Cairo's Ronnie Wooten. By the end of the third quarter, Cairo had added 35 points. It held the lead and only allowed North Hall another 7 for the last half.

The Syrupmakers next week will face the Carver-Columbus Tigers, who pulled out a late win yesterday against the Chamblee Bulldogs, in the AAA finals.

Lovett Lions To Face Buford Wolves

The Lovett Lions bested the Cook Hornets 29-16 in second AA semifinal game this afternoon at the Georgia Dome. The first half belonged entirely to the Lions, and included a 67 yard intercepted touchdown by linebacker Campbell Wilson. The Hornets rallied in the 4th and picked up 16, but couldn't overcome the Lions lead.

The Lovett Lions will face the Buford Wolves next week in AA finals.

Buford Wolves Headed to Finals

The Buford Wolves dominated the Dublin Fighting Irish today at the Georgia Dome, winning 48-0. The Wolves had already racked up 35 points by halftime, with player Tyler King taking three touchdowns. With the strong lead, the clock automatically ran down at the beginning of the 3rd and 4th quarters to bring the game to quick finish.

The Wolves will be watching the game at noon between the Lovett Lions and Cook Hornets to see who they will face next week in Class AA finals.

GHSA Football Semifinals Friday Wrap-up

Wilcox County heads to its first Class A Championship next week against the Emmanuel County Institute Bulldogs with their state touchdown record-breaker Washaun Ealey. Class AAA Carver-Columbus will be watching the match at 3 pm today to see who they will face next week after pulling out a win in the last six minutes of the game over Chamblee. The Northside-Warner Robins Eagles also pulled out a late win to play in the Class 4A finals against the Ware County in the Bulldogs first finals appearance in nearly half a century.

GHSA Football Semifinals Summary - Friday 7 December 2007
A	Wilcox County 32	Athens Academy 14
A	ECI 35	Clinch County 14
AAA	Carver-Columbus 26	Chamblee 24
AAAA	Northside-WR 31	Tucker 28
AAAA	Ware County 10	Thomas County Central 7

The GHSA football semifinals start up again today at 9 am to settle who will be headed to the Class AA finals next week. The games continue throughout the day to settle the who will face Carver-Columbus in the Class AAA finals. By midnight, we will know which of the Class 5A semifinalists have made all the way through to play in the much-watched finals next week.

GHSA Football Semifinals Schedule - Saturday 8 December 2007
9 am	AA	Buford Wolves vs. Dublin Fighting Irish
12 pm	AA	Lovett Lions vs. Cook Hornets
3 pm	AAA	Cairo Syrupmakers vs. North Hall Trojans
6 pm	AAAAA	Walton Raiders vs. North Gwinnett Bulldogs
9 pm	AAAAA	Lowndes Vikings vs. Camden County Wildcats

All games will broadcast live all day starting at 9 am on Georgia Public Broadcasting television and online at the GPB web site.