North Gwinnett Bulldogs Win State Championship
On Friday, December 15th, the North Gwinnett Bulldogs defeated the Colquitt County Packers in the Class AAAAAAA championship football game at North's Tom Robinson Stadium in Suwanee. With 5:50 left in the game, North took the lead with a touchdown, but kicker Cameron Clark missed the extra point. The Packers wasted no time driving down field for a touchdown and taking the lead, making it a 17-16 game and setting them up to win their third potential state championship in four years.
With only 0:49 seconds left to play and three timeouts, North quickly marched down the field into Packer's territory. The Bulldogs got some help when a defensive holding call, two illegal substitution penalties and a pass interference call against Colquitt County kept them in the game as time was expiring. This gave North the opportunity to kick a field goal with no time left on the clock. After missing a previous extra point, Clark was given the chance to redeem himself and did. He made a 38-yard field goal for the win, setting off a huge on-field celebration. "There wasn't much going through my mind," Clark said. "I was just trying to focus as much as I could. My kicking coach, he tells me every day that it might come down to a game-winning kick and he puts me in those scenarios, so he was a big part of it." This is the first state championship won in North Gwinnett's history. The team finished the season (14-1), while Colquitt County finished (11-4).