Class A-Public Irwin County vs. Marion County

By Craig Sager II Class A-Public Irwin County vs. Marion County Saturday, December 14 | 10:00 AM

Top seed Irwin County is in the finals for the fifth time in the past six seasons, but will be looking for its first championship victory since 1975 when it takes the field. The Indians have been on a mission this season, compiling a flawless 12-0 record that includes a whopping 35.9 average margin of victory. The Indians did all their scoring in the second half in the semifinals as they ran away with a 36-0 win over two-time defending state champion Clinch County. Defensively, Gabriel Benyard returned an interception for a touchdown and Jordan Payne had a fumble recovery touchdown. The two scores gave the Irwin County defense a combined 62 points scored on the year and the group has only allowed 56 points, a statistic indicative of how dominant the Indians’ defense has been all year long. BERRIEN......................................................42-7 W FITZGERALD.................................................35-8 W MT. PARAN CHRISTIAN............................CANCELED CLINCH COUNTY..........................................14-0 W TELFAIR COUNTY.........................................45-7 W CHARLTON COUNTY......................................56-0 W LANIER COUNTY...........................................41-0 W WILCOX COUNTY..........................................16-0 W ATKINSON COUNTY......................................52-0 W TURNER COUNTY .........................................49-0 W CHATTAHOOCHEE COUNTY.........................47-22 W MANCHESTER............................................54-12 W CLINCH COUNTY..........................................36-0 W 2019 RESULTS IRWIN COUNTY 12-0, REGION 2 NO. 1 SEED

Photo courtesy of Irwin County Indians

Marion County is making its first championship appearance since 2013 when the program topped Charlton County 12-3 for its first-ever state crown. The Eagles carry an eight-game winning streak into the finals and are fresh off a 42-25 comeback victory over Pelham in the semifinals. Marion County roared back from a 25-14 third-quarter deficit with 28 unanswered points to top the Hornets. Brandon Thomas and Trice McCannon each rushed for Marion County touchdowns in the first half to keep the Eagles in striking distance and then dominated the second half. McCannon’s 45-yard touchdown pass to Thomas with 6:34 left in the third quarter brought Marion County within 25-20 heading into the final frame. McCannon found Thomas on a 9-yard touchdown reception early in the fourth quarter to give the Eagles a 28-25 lead. Thomas added a 67-yard rushing touchdown with five minutes left and then McCannon capped the scoring with a 3-yard run. SCHLEY COUNTY..........................................14-0 W CHATTAHOOCHEE COUNTY...........................41-8 W PACELLI.......................................................47-0 W BLECKLEY COUNTY.....................................43-28 L MANCHESTER.............................................43-14 L GREENVILLE..............................................47-22 W BROOKSTONE.............................................32-13 W CENTRAL-TALBOTTON ...............................42-14 W TAYLOR COUNTY ..........................................43-7 W MACON COUNTY ........................................37-20 W SCHLEY COUNTY........................................35-27 W LINCOLN COUNTY......................................28-21 W PELHAM.....................................................42-25 W 2019 RESULTS MARION COUNTY 11-2, REGION 4 NO. 1 SEED

This will be the first-ever meeting between the two programs, which is an interesting dynamic considering the postseason success that the two have shared over the last decade. The combination of Marion County’s Trice McCannon and Brandon Thomas will be key if the Eagles are going to find success against the Irwin County defense. As for the Indians, they beat Clinch County 36-0 in the semifinals in a game that concluded with neither team completing a pass. Marion County will have to stop Irwin County’s rushing attack in addition to avoiding turnovers and losing the battle of field position if they are going to spoil the Indians’ bid for a perfect season. IRWIN COUNTY VS. MARION COUNTY CLASS A-PUBLIC SKINNY

IRWIN COUNTY INDIANS (Ocilla, Ga) • Red & Black # Name Gr. Pos. 27 Bernard Herring 10 RB,

1 Jamorri Colson 12 WR, CB

2 Donivan Thomas 11 FS, RB, OLB

3 Jordan Payne 11 RB, CB

29 Lane Stephens 11 RB, CB

32 Patrick Hicks 12 WR, CB

33 Matthew Payne 10 RB

4 DJ Lundy 12 FB, MLB, RB

5 Michael Cleveland 12 WR

6 Zach Smith 12 QB, P

44 Nathan Roberts 12 WR, FS, TE

50 Toby Brown 10 G, MLB

52 Jalen Billingsley 11 G, DE

7 Garland Benyard 11 RB, OLB

8 Kam Ward 11 MLB, FB

54 Antawii Deans 10 G, MLB

55 Asaiah Tyson 11 DE, DT

9 Dj Searcy 12 WR, FS

10 Cody Soliday 9 QB

11 Eli Roberts 10 TE

58 Harmon Smith 11 T, C

61 Bobby Collins 11 C, DT

61 Jalen McTear 12 C, DT

12 Gabriel Benyard 11 CB, RB

14 Bryce Clements 10 TE, DE

16 Bo Payne 9 RB

63 Ethan Apperson 11 T

66 Marquez Johnson 12 DE, DT

67 Jailen Laster 12 DT, MLB

17 Nehemiah Mccoy 10 MLB

18 Marcus Edwards 10 RB, CB

74 Jose Mejia 12 T, DT

76 Noah Brown 10 C, T

19 Jordan Dunlap 10 RB, CB

21 JyQuez Marshall 12 TE, DE

22 Eric Anderson 12 OLB, RB

78 Ethan Adkison 11 T

79 Ramont Edge 12 DT

80 Roland Williams 10 DE

24 Ricky Smith 9 RB, FS

25 Derrick Taylor 11 RB, WR, CB

26 Evan Ross 9 WR

81 Gregory Hall 11 WR, FS

86 Blake Underwood 12 WR

90 Kevin Carver 12 DT, DE

Head Coach: Buddy Nobles Assistant Coaches: Casey Soliday, Jared Luke, Luke Roberts, Clayton Sirmans, Drew Tankersley, Troy Fletcher, Kasey Nobles, Dewayne Vickers, Pete Snyder, Tim Talton, Chip Rankin, Howard Jordan

MARION COUNTY EAGLES (Buena Vista, GA) • Red & Black # Name Gr. Pos. 35 Dayterious Chinn 12 LB, RB

2 Tyleak Broadway 12 DE, TE

3 Trent Waycaster 11 DB, WR

4 Markevious Kelley 10 DB, WR

6 Trice McCannon 12 DB, QB

7 Joel Jones 10 WR, DB, QB

8 Jarvis Evans 12 DE, TE

10 Jabin Vincente 9 K

11 DeChristian Hollis 11 DB, WR

12 AJ White 12 TE, DE

14 Caleb Minard 12 K, P

15 Brandon Thomas 12 RB, LB

17 Johnny Walker 12 WR, DB

18 Carmello Phillips 10 WR, SS

19 Roderick Dixon 12 LB

21 Calvin Josey 9 RB, LB

22 Jamal Sampson 11 RB, DB

23 Corey Smith 10 DL, LB

25 Kendrick Hawkins 12 LB, WB

26 Myles Jorden-King 9 WR, DB

24 Ricky Smith 9 RB, FS

25 Derrick Taylor 11 RB, WR, CB

26 Myles Jorden-King 9 WR, DB

30 C.J. Way 10 QB, LB

31 Colby Howard 11 LB, TE

33 Jaden Long 11 WR, DE

34 Lawrence Crowell 12 RB, LB

37 My’Keveon Blackshear 11 QB, DB

40 Ky’Shaun Blackshear 9 LB

45 Fred Alridge 10 G, MLB

50 Corey Wimbush 11 OL, DL

52 Hunter Hemingway 11 OL, DL

53 Jonathan Ramirez 9 OL, DL

55 A.J. Wooddell 10 DL

56 Michael Armour 9 OL

58 Will Allen 9 OL, DL

59 Brennen Welch 10 TE

60 Ronald Romero 12 DL

62 Austin Duffey 11 OL, DE

63 Alan Almeida 10 OL, DL

64 Parker Satterwhite 12 OL, DL

65 Michael Romero 10 OL

67 Alberto Contreras 9 OL

70 Jamarkus Johnson 10 DL, OL

72 Luke Ogan 12 OL

74 Qutavious Jackson 10 DL, OL

75 Lawson Scott 10 OL

76 Alberto Hernandez-Chavez 9 OL

77 Bryce Houston-Dye 12 OL

81 Jamil King 12 WR

84 Jaden Benefiel 10 TE, DE

87 Dominic Briggs 10 LB

88 Will Penoncello 10 WR

Head Coach: Chris Kirksey Assistant Coaches: Billy Law, Richard McCorkle, Wayne Johnson, Harry Jaynes, Luke Jernigan, Scott Colter, Willie Williams, Trey Reeves, Perry Smith, Alex King, Andrew Satterwhite