ATLANTA (WRCB) -- Hal Lamb knew from experience that beating Buford to win a state championship wouldn't be easy.
But the Calhoun coach never dreamed it would be this hard.
The four-time defending state champion Wolves erased a 14-point deficit in the final two minutes to force overtime, but the Yellow Jackets forced a turnover in the extra session to set up Adam Griffith's 32-yard field goal to seal a thrilling 27-24 win over Buford in the Class AA state final Friday night in the Georgia Dome.
The championship is the first for the Yellow Jackets since 1952, and snaps a string of three straight losses to the Wolves in the title game. The loss also prevents Buford from becoming the first team in GHSA history to win five straight state titles.
"I'm proud of our kids," an emotional Lamb told Georgia Public Broadcasting after the win. "We almost gave it away, but we hung in there and won it in overtime.
"We were the underdog going in, but I just always had a feeling about our kids. These kids are really special."
Ten minutes earlier, Lamb couldn't help but feel it was all slipping away.
Trailing 24-10 late in the fourth quarter, Sam Clay drove the Wolves more than 80 yards and hit Paris Head on a 24-yard touchdown pass to slice the deficit to seven with 1:19 to play.
After Calhoun went three-and-out on the ensuing possession, punter Zane Rhodes couldn't corral a bad snap and Buffo's Dillon Lee recovered his fumble and rumbled 40 yards for the tying score with 39 seconds left on the clock.
"I told them they had to regroup," Lamb said of the huge swing in momentum. "I just told them we had to get back in the game, because we looked out of it."
Like it had all game, the Jackets' defense answered the call.
On Buford's first offensive play of the overtime period, Hunter Knight jarred the ball free from Andre Johnson and Heath Everett snatched it out of the air to end the Wolves' drive. Calhoun's defense forced and recovered four fumbles in the game and also stopped the Wolves on one fourth down.
Lamb wasted no time on the change of possession, sending out Griffith on first down to hammer home a final 32-yard nail that was four years in the making.
"Fourth time was definitely the charm," said senior lineman/linebacker Gabe Freeman. "I knew before the game, before we even came out here, that something felt different.
"We just found a way to execute and we came out with the win."
Griffith, who is committed to play for Alabama next year, finished with four field goals despite missing his first attempt in the opening quarter.
The Jackets finally came alive early the second quarter after Donnell Anthony forced a Buford fumble inside the Calhoun five-yard line. The Jackets' offense went 97 yards in just a few plays, capping the drive with a short Taylor Lamb screen pass that Darius Washington turned into a 63-yard touchdown for a 10-3 lead.
C.J. Moore answered quickly for the Wolves, scoring on their next offensive play from 68 yards out to send the game into intermission tied at 10.
Lamb scored on a 15-yard run midway through the third and Chattanooga commitment Alex Kirby added the two-point conversion for an 18-10 lead. Griffith's then added two field goals early in the fourth quarter to set the stage for Buford's late rally.
Lamb finished the game 16-of-35 passing for 198 yards and one score while also adding 59 yards rushing. His Calhoun offense did not commit a turnover in winning the Northwest Georgia area's first state championship since Trion in 1974.
"It's awesome," said receiver Clay Johnson. "This community, this team, we're just all bonded together. I can't even begin to describe this feeling."
Calhoun linebacker and UTC commitment Alex Kirby celebrates the Yellow Jackets' first state championship since 1952 (Photo Courtesy: Jason Getz/Associated Press/AJC)
Calhoun running back Darius Washington celebrates after his 63-yard touchdown catch in Friday's state championship game (Photo Courtesy: Jason Getz/Associated Press/AJC)
