Staff Photo by Dan Henry/Chattanooga Times Free Press – December 3, 2010 – Calhoun cheerleader Maci Beaver, left, crys with her brother Chance Beaver (22) after loosing the Georgia class AA championship football game to Buford for the third straight year with a final score of 31-24.ATLANTA – For once, Hal Lamb would love to admit he was wrong. Unfortunately, in the aftermath of Friday’s epic 31-24 Georgia Class AA championship loss to nemesis Buford, the Calhoun football coach’s pregame key proved prophetic.
The Yellow Jackets (14-1) fought back from a 24-7 second-half deficit to tie the game on Adam Griffith’s 45-yard field goal with 10 seconds remaining, overcoming a 3-0 turnover margin in doing so. However, the Wolves prevailed over Calhoun for the third consecutive year when the Buford defense, after Dominique Swope’s 9-yard touchdown run, stuffed the Jackets on four downs in overtime.
Lamb, whose team committed four turnovers in losing 13-10 a year ago, lamented the mistakes and the points they cost his team earlier.
“The turnovers really hurt us, and they had zero,” he said through tear-stained cheeks. “That was the difference in the game, and I believed coming in that would be the difference. But I can’t be more proud of any football team. Not many people gave us a chance to be here, and I’m sure there were plenty of doubters when we were down 24-7, but our kids kept fighting and fighting and showed a lot of heart and character.
“I really thought that when Adam kicked that field goal it was finally our night. But it just got ripped away from us in a matter of 10 minutes.”
A nightmarish start found the Jackets down 14-0 barely four minutes into the game. After Buford took its opening possession 80 yards in just eight plays to take a 7-0 lead on Seon Jones’ 4-yard run, Darrien Smith scooped up a Dustin Christian fumble three plays later and sprinted 60 yards untouched for a 14-0 lead.
The lead was 17-7 at the end of the first half, which ended on a Landon Curtis interception after a Calhoun receiver slipped at the Buford 30 with just under two minutes remaining. The second half didn’t start any better, with a Calhoun three-and-out and a quick Buford score on a 24-yard pass from Alex Ross to Kurt Freitage for a 24-7 lead. Ross was 10-for-10 on passes at the time.
Calhoun, though, took advantage of a short field and scored in just four plays, with Christian (90 yards on 15 carries) getting his second touchdown on an 8-yard run. Momentum, slowly, began to turn.
“There is just something about these kids that won’t allow them to quit,” Lamb said. “That’s what we preach here. It’s a very, very special bunch. The character here at Calhoun is different, I guess you could say. They love to fight.”
That fight was evident, even after the third turnover, an interception in the end zone, sat them back in the final quarter. A quick defensive stand and facemask penalty set up Calhoun at the 38, and two plays later Curtis avoided pressure and hit a wide-open Chase Rierson for a 31-yard touchdown pass, cutting the deficit to three with 7:44 remaining.
After the teams exchanged punts, Calhoun got the ball back with 2:35 remaining at the Buford 43, close to Griffith’s range. The drive stalled at the 28, but the junior kicker split the goal posts from 45 yards out to send the game to overtime with momentum clearly on the Jackets’ side.
“I knew he was going to make it,” Lamb said. “He’s a tremendous kicker and a great kid. I just wish we could have given him a chance to win it in overtime. It just wasn’t mean to be, I guess.”
On the Buford sideline, junior quarterback Ross took control of his rattled team. He could sense a different attitude when they took the field for their overtime possession from the Calhoun 15.
“In overtime we just had to stick it in there and play our game,” said Ross, who ended 12-of-15 for 151 yards. “We knew that if we didn’t score we didn’t deserve to be a championship football team. Just get it in the end zone and let our defense do their thing. We had faith the whole time. This is what football is all about.”
In overtime, fate again frowned on Calhoun. On second-and-4, Ross was caught in the backfield by two Jackets, but in trying to secure the sack one grabbed the quarterback’s facemask. Instead of third-and-15 from the 20 it was second-and-4 at the 9. Swope then broke off left tackle, shook two defenders and danced into the end zone.
“That was a huge play, and it’s an effort play,” Lamb recalled. “It has nothing to do with kids doing the wrong thing. I’m going to think about this for a long time. … Why does it have to happen to us? It’s just hard to understand.”
Calhoun netted 7 yards on two runs, but then Christian was trapped in the backfield on a pitch play, losing 7. Curtis’ desparation fourth-down pass as he was being tackled was caught by Christian at the 15, but he quickly was brought down to end the game.
“If you look back, there was a bunch of stuff we could have done differently, but there’s no reason in worrying about that now,” said Curtis, a senior. “The heart of this team is outrageous. We never quit; we never gave up. Unfortunately they came out on top. I’m disappointed, but I gave it my all and that’s all anyone could ask.”