3OT
Pierce County back on offense at the 15. McGatha takes it to the 8. He takes it in for the score and the Bears win the state title in the third overtime, 48-45.
WHAT!
Review of the play showed McGatha was out just shy of the goal line! Back to Jackets up, first and goal from the one.
Bears this time punch it in as McGatha goes for the keeper and makes it across. 48-45 for real this time.
Rockmart to get the ball again as the state title game goes another round. Jackets opening at the 15.
…
JD Davis gets forward progress for a three yard gain. He’s had a tough time in finding running room today.
Incomplete on second down by a good Pierce defensive play.
Rockmart incomplete pass on third down means a fourth down field goal that is good, Alegria through the uprights to take the lead again 45-42.
2OT
Thompson incomplete to Anderson on the Jackets opening offensive play of 2nd overtime. Anderson gets the second pass, and Thompson keeps it on the scramble for first and goal.
…
Washington stuffed at the goal line, but video evidence changed the play and made it a touchdown!
PAT is good, but I feel like we should have gone for two and ended this.
Pierce gets the ball back to open the second overtime.
McGatha somehow still has legs under him, gets a good gain on first down. Then another for first and goal…
BIG STOP by Nate Davis for a solo stop, then another for Davis and Washington!
Rockmart stops McGatha at the one, fourth and goal.
Sloan in the wildcat scores for Pierce, TD Bears. They have to go for 2. Rockmart gets the ball back before all is said and done. 42-35 Pierce County.
OVERTIME
Pierce County gets the ball at the 15 for their OT possession. Bears must score a TD to keep it alive.
Jackets come up with a huge hit on first down.
But the defense can’t hold, and Pierce ties it back up 35-all.
Jackets get the first possession for OT after the coin flip.
…
1st and 10 ball going for the end zone to Tristan Anderson comes up incomplete.
Third and short after Anderson catches one on the sideline.
First and goal Rockmart.
…
WASHINGTON PUNCHES IT IN! TOUCHDOWN JACKETS! PAT GOOD!
Rockmart takes the lead for the first time in the game.
4th Quarter
FIELD GOAL BLOCKED! ROCKMART TAKING IT TO OVERTIME!
Pierce County is finally lining up for the chance for a win with a 49-yard field goal try.
Sophomore kicker and with opportunity to get a few more yards, Pierce tries to line up before Rockmart takes a timeout. Five seconds left.
Field goal try, 49 yards out. Rockmart tries to ice the kicker. No more timeouts for either team.
Pierce has it with less than two to go, and 28-all on their own 40.
McGatha is the third player in state history to get 2,000 yards passing and rushing in a single season.
Pierce gets a first… and another… and another as Pierce burns their final timeout. 5 seconds on the clock to kick a field goal.
Jackets moving the ball, Pierce defense looks tired.
I’m going to stop making statements like that after that sack for 15 yard loss.
…
That was a big play. Third down, but gotta get third and long to keep this one alive.
Second sack of the series is going to force timeout and a punt.
JD Davis just saved a touchdown on the kickoff return. Pierce ball. 7:30 left in the game.
…
Third down for Pierce again as McGatha’s is definitely looking fatigued. Washington came up with the finishing tackle to force a four-and-out.
Rockmart getting a good drive going and on the move, call the first timeout of the half.
…
3rd & 18 pass interference was a bit of a gift for Rockmart’s offense. We’ll replay third down.
Additionally, thank goodness Tristan got back up and walked off the field. Washington followed it up with the first down.
…
CALLIYON THOMPSON RUNS IN HIS SECOND TD OF THE DAY! He’s a huge factor in this quarter so far. Alegria PAT good, tied ball game 28-all.
McGatha throws a touchdown on second down to score to open the final quarter of the game. PAT good.
28-21 Pierce.
3rd Quarter
Last play of the quarter ends with a questionable pass interference call going against Rockmart. One untimed down in the third.
…
And then apparently not.
Rockmart recovered a McGatha fumble, but there is a flag on the play! Which went against Rockmart, so first down Pierce. Ouch! Didn’t grab anything from the looks of it to me.
Coach Parson is challenging the play since video evidence is showing otherwise.
Back shortly.
Turns out the foul is not reviewable… So the refs are just messing up then.
WHAT JUST HAPPENED?
A wildly high snap to Washington that is being reviewed but it looks to me like Pierce County came up with a crazy turnover.
Punt return by Tristan Anderson is HUUUUUGE! 54 yards, and then Pierce gets a late hit call. Half distance to the goal. This one might be a game changer.
McGatha tried for the homerun ball, but overthrew it. 3rd and 8, overthrew it again into coverage dangerously. Bears forced to punt, still tied up.
Jackets respond with a 62-yarder as Calliyon Thompson connects with JD Davis for a score! PAT Good. Tied 21-all.
Will the commentary team please stop with the Nahzir Turner headgear comments?
Ouch. Defenses have definitely adjusted.
Then after stuffing McGatha a few times on the run, a 66-yarder in the air from McGatha to Sloan just stung the Jacket defense. Only the fourth time Pierce has passed in the game.
Pierce takes the lead midway through the third 21-14.
Pierce County is getting the kickoff to start the second half. Adjustments will matter a lot (as the GPB Sports commentators are saying) but also ensuring that you get back to the game you play, not just playing to the opponent.
The Jackets need to take control on defense and force the Bears on a four and out in this opening series in the third.
…
Commentator: Turner lost his helmet more than Rockmart had penalties in the first half.
Considering Rockmart’s history with penalty flags, I’ll take that as a win.
Rockmart was able to what they needed: keep McGatha contained, and force a punt early.
Nahzir gets great yardage heading into first Jackets series. Back in a minute.
2nd Quarter:
Jackets score! Thompson to Anderson 7 yard pass! WHEW! Going into half tied up, just what Rockmart needed!
14-all with the PAT.
Back after halftime.
…
The last minute of the half… Thompson knocked out for two plays, JD Davis gets facemasked “unintentionally” (sure…) and an incomplete pass. Nothing doing so far with 54 ticks left on the clock. 2nd & 15
McGatha looks like the hits from the Jacket defense on the ground are starting to take a toll.
Rockmart takes their first timeout of the game, then another on the third down stop.
Flag on the reception from the punt “disregarded.” Mkay.
Rockmart needed that big gain on the Thompson run… unfortunately it didn’t get us much. Good news? That punt is going to help us a lot… until the illegal formation flag on the punt erased it.
What is going on with Nahzir Turner’s helmet?
Block in the back call along with a short return on the ensuing kickoff has Pierce starting at the 4 yard line.
…
It wouldn’t be fun if we didn’t have a reason to yell at the refs on TV. The moment he caught the ball in the air it was live. The defense has got to stop McGatha.
Which they finally do on a big third down run that came up short for Pierce. Bears didn’t get the offsides jump they were hoping to have. Timeout PC.
…
The drive continues… Pierce got the first.
McGatha scores, Pierce 14-7.
WHAT A WAY TO START THE SECOND QUARTER!
Calliyon Thompson hit a 60+ yard quarterback keeper for the touchdown!
Jose Alegria’s kick is good! 7-7 ball game!
1st Quarter
First quarter comes to a close with the Jackets down 7-0, but they enter the second with the ball.
Rockmart is getting beat up front on offense, and they still haven’t found a way to stop McGatha on defense… until that big third down stop! Pierce forced to punt as time winds down in the first.
Another big play by Nahzir Turner! Great second effort, but not ruled a first down as it should have been. Jackets punt again, 3 minutes left in the first.
Bears get the first score on a fourth down goal line stand as Tristan Anderson attempted to stop McGatha taking the snap, but the Pierce QB was able to get in for the touchdown on the second effort. 8 plays and 66 yards, PAT was good. 7-0 Bears.
Rockmart forced to punt on the first drive after making it up to the 30 yard line. Pierce defense is fast, Jackets will have to make adjustments. Tristan Anderson took the opening kickoff, got a short gain.
Bears ball with 9:30 and counting to go in the first.
… To add: Nahzir Turner on defense just grabbed the Pierce receiver to save a touchdown.
Update #1:
Kickoff is coming up soon! GPB has been chatting with RHS Principal Dr. Bo Adams and the principal from Pierce County ahead of the start of the state title game.
Check back in after the start of the game for more updates.
Don’t forget if you want to share items, send them to polktoday@gmail.com.
Previously posted:
The Rockmart Yellow Jackets left this morning to head down to the Benz for the 2023 State Title Game, which is set to start at 1 p.m. (The Flag Football state title is underway currently… We should look at that PSD!)
Since PSW isn’t eligible for credentials to cover the state title game (it’s a long story…) I’ll be watching the game with fans here from the comfort of home. Before the game gets started, here’s a few items from social media this morning as the team took off for Atlanta to face Pierce County:
Chick-fil-A of Rockmart shared a video:
And so did the Sheriff’s Office:
Loving these photos from PSD:
That’s a few to get us started. I’ll be back on around 12:45 as the game is set to get going.
Want to share items to include on the Live Blog? Email them to polktoday@gmail.com.
Check out this morning’s post on Pierce County to learn a bit more about the team.
