ATLANTA — Charles McClelland ran for 183 yards and one touchdown to carry Clinch County to a dominating 24-7 win over Irwin County to win the Class A Public state championship Friday at the Georgia Dome.
It was the first state title for the Panthers (13-1) since winning it all in 2010 and was the sixth overall in the school's history.
Clinch County had advanced to the title game with a come-from-behind 26-19 win over Commerce last week in the semifinals.
In the title game, the Panthers pounded out 292 yards on the ground. Shannon Young had 60 yards on 14 carries, including the first two touchdowns for Clinch County. Young gave the Panthers a 6-0 lead midway through the first quarter on 1-yard run to cap a short 29 yard drive.
Irwin County (10-3-1) took its only lead of the game on a 93-yard toss sweep to the right by Ziaire Andrews with just 15 seconds left in the first quarter. The Indians finished with 254 yards rushing but managed just 132 yards after Andrews's big run.
Clinch County retook the lead for good on its next possession driving 63-yards in 9 plays, capped by Young's second score from 2-yards out for a 12-7 lead.
The Panthers got going quickly in the third quarter taking the opening drive 68-yards, with Trezman Marshall's 5-yard scoring run pushing the lead to 18-7. McClelland help Clinch County put things away midway through the fourth blasting through a host of tacklers for a 36-yard touchdown run for the final score.
Andrews finished with 132 yards to lead Irwin County but had just 39 on 8 carries after his long touchdown run.
