Nick Marshall came to the Georgia Dome on Saturday hoping to win his school’s first state football championship. The Wilcox County quarterback got more than that.
Many of those who witnessed his performance – 251 yards passing and 91 rushing – came away believing this under-the-radar junior was the best player in the state.
It wasn’t just his statistics, though. One had to witness Marshall's scrambling ability and arm strength to appreciate the difference he makes for a South Georgia school of only 386 students.
Marshall was almost impossible to tackle in the pocket, and his arm strength was stunning. His coach, Mark Ledford, says Marshall can throw a football 80 yards on the fly. In a game last season, he completed a pass that traveled 73 yards.
"A lot of times when a kid is from a small town, when we (as coaches) know they’re a really good player, they’re still not respected unless they’re at a big-time school,’’ Ledford said. "On Saturday, Nick was in front of a big audience and on television, and I think he proved that he could be successful at any level. Saturday was his coming-out party.’’
Marshall threw two touchdown passes in the 30-22 victory over Savannah Christian. He also completed three two-point conversion passes.
"Their quarterback is something special," Savannah Christian coach Donald Chumley said. "He’s the best I’ve ever seen, simply the best we’ve ever played."
Ledford said Marshall has no written scholarship offers but that Georgia, Georgia Tech, Florida State and Mississippi State have spoken with him, two since Saturday. Marshall is a hot topic on local high school and college football message boards.
The only catch is that football might not be Marshall’s best sport. He’s a 6-foot-2, 188-pound guard who led his high school basketball team to the Class A semifinals as a sophomore last year. But no decision on his sport is imminent.
The question now is whether he’s Georgia’s all-class player of the year in football. The Associated Press and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution will make those choices later this month.
Two of the other frontrunners – Calhoun’s Da’Rick Rogers (committed to Georgia) and Gainesville’s Blake Sims (Alabama) – performed well in their teams’ finals, but neither was outstanding, and their teams lost close games.
Marshall’s season statistics match up with anyone’s. He was 192-of-323 passing for 2,956 yards and 32 touchdowns. He also started on defense and returned two interceptions for touchdowns, one in a 20-15 victory over defending Class A champion Wesleyan in the quarterfinals. He threw for at least 200 yards in four straight playoff games.
"He’s a kid that you feel like you can win any game with,’’ Ledford said. "We took on some good opponents. We beat three undefeated teams in the playoffs. If Nick was in the Atlanta area, everybody would have known about him. But the only way for us to get recognition is to do what we’ve done.’’
State finals wrapup
Camden County 31, Northside 3: Ean Days returned the opening kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown, and Steven Murphy ran a punt back 62 yards later in the first quarter for Camden County, which won its third state title this decade. The others came in 2003 and 2008. Camden won 12 straight after losing early games to Grayson and Hoover, Ala. Camden finished the decade 121-13.
Sandy Creek 29, Clarke Central 15: Jarrett Davis, who has committed to Louisville, caught two long touchdown passes in the fourth quarter from Ronnie Bell and set a Georgia finals record with 180 yards receiving. Sandy Creek became the first Fayette County school to win a state championship. Sandy Creek coach Chip Walker and father Rodney Walker became the first father-son pair to win state championships as head coaches. Rodney was with West Rome in 1984.
Peach County 13, Gainesville 12: Blake Sims threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to Michael Lorentz with no time on the clock, but Gainesville’s try for two was stopped when linebacker Luke Crowell batted down Sims’ pass to Tai-ler Jones. Crowell also intercepted a pass and scored a touchdown for Peach County, which won its third state title since 2005. Peach County coach Chad Campbell and brother Lee Campbell became the first brothers to win state championships as head coaches. Lee was with Hawkinsville in 2003 and 2004.
Buford 13, Calhoun 10: Buford won its sixth state title during a decade in which the Wolves were 139-7. Jessel Curry, who has committed to Auburn, scored both Buford touchdowns and also forced a fumble. Calhoun’s Rogers had nine catches for 81 yards and finished with 1,647 receiving yards for the season, breaking a record set in 2007 by Tavarres King of Habersham Central. King had 1,641.
Wilcox County 30, Savannah Christian 22: Nick Marshall threw for 251 yards and two touchdowns as Wilcox County won its first state championship. Mark Ledford became one of the few Georgia coaches to win a state title at his alma mater.
Todd Holcomb is editor of Georgia High School Football Daily, a free email newsletter. To subscribe, click here.
