It always comes down to the little things. And in Jefferson’s frustrating 20-7 loss to Calhoun in the Class 3A championship game Wednesday night at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the little things definitely were the difference.

It all comes down to one game.

There are probably few coaches that understand more the challenge of winning a state title than Jefferson’s Travis Noland.

For both Jefferson coach Travis Noland and Calhoun coach Clay Stephenson, a pair of very rare middle school home-and-home contests in 2022 and 2023 between the two programs, who are hours apart, may have been a sign of things to come.

Well, the end of the 2024 GHSA football season is almost over, and with that, the fall sports season comes to a close.