Superfan Vernon Wilson knew it was going to happen and was the first (again) to show off a t-shirt heralding the victory. “The LC Grinch will steal Christmas from Clinch!” read one of the Cheer Devils’ famous sideline banners that adorned a section of fence at Buddy Bufford Stadium Saturday night and graced the knees of several of the hundreds of standby spectators. At the end of the evening’s brutal struggle, the banner’s prophecy proved correct – the Red Devils left their home turf with a second straight Georgia Class A state championship, having beaten rival Clinch County 21-14.

The Homerville team came to Lincolnton on a mission. They’d been there before to brawl for the1991 state title, and had succeeded in delivering the Devils a heart-wrenching 11-8 defeat and a break in a 44- game winning streak. They had another chance to embarrass their long-time rivals and were planning to capitalize.

But Devil players and fans alike were thirsty for a win after being denied bragging rights against Clinch for the past eight years (the Panthers also beat the Red Devils at the two clubs’ last two meetings, in 2002, 28-14, and in 2004’s semifinal 26-6). This mission would prove impossible for the Panthers.

Clinch’s team suffered two major setbacks following the December 9 close call against Athens Academy. Clinch County’s starting quarterback, Shane Burns, who is an excellent signal caller, was suspended from play due to “disciplinary reasons.” Then, Clinch lost the coin toss which would decide the location of the finals, not only losing home-field advantage (or even the opportunity to play on neutral ground), but being handed a nearly five-hour trip from near the Georgia Florida border to Lincolnton. Needless to say, the Red Devils took advantage.

The game began slowly as both teams had a possession during which they faltered against the opposing defense. Then, Lincoln rendered the Clinch wall, which was maintained primarily by Travis Clark, the Panthers’ 6-1, 260-pound brute of a defensive lineman, ineffective, picking up an early touchdown as senior Devils quarterback Brandon Barden dove over the line into the end zone.

During Clinch County’s next possession, the Panthers’ unusual direct snap offense (due to Burns’ absence) left them with a touchdown scored on a long run by senior running back Dexter Reeves to match Lincoln’s early effort. The first quarter ended abruptly

DARELL NORMAN WAS THE GAME’S LEADING RUSHER He was also the only Devil with over 1,000 yards for the season. soon thereafter. Almost too abruptly, noted many Lincoln County fans vocally. The announcer finally explained that there had been a scoreboard malfunction and that just over two minutes would be returning to the clock. Despite the new lease on life, each team came up emptyhanded Champs at the end of the first quarter.

Clinch County’s first possession of the second quarter fell apart at the seams with a third down fumble that, after its fortunate recovery by quick-thinking Panther Ronnie Hill, left the struggling offense in a punting situation. Lincoln was charged a 15-yard personal foul penalty on its next drive, leaving the Devils to punt also.

After Devil defenders Jatheus Jones and Jamareon Green ruined another Clinch drive, senior Red Devil running back Darell Norman ran sixty-six yards for Lincoln’s second touchdown, skillfully evading senior Panther defensive back Don Cobb.

Jatheus Jones caught this pass for the Red Devils’ second touchdown against Clinch County. Tyler Beale, DeTravis Hearst, and Ronell Ferguson crippled the Panthers on their next two-set drive, finally removing any scoring chance with a massive plow on senior running back Justin Gainey.

Lincoln County then proceeded to muscle down the field and Barden completed a quick toss to Jatheus Jones who carried it the rest of the way to the end zone for the Devils’ third and final touchdown of the game.

After an incomplete pass from Panther Justin Gainey to Justin Beard that spelled failure for Clinch, Lincoln attempted a complicated reverse play. Barden was successful in passing the pigskin off to Rontae Norman, who shot it to receiver Alex Bradford in the end zone. Bradford missed the catch by a hair in a heart-wrenching ending. Barden then completed a similar pass on second down to Rontae Norman, but Norman had stepped out of bounds. Two ten-yard holding penalties finally shut down Lincoln’s drive, and time ran out on the first half.

Halftime saw disappointed Clinch fans during the Marching Panther Band’s decidedly anticlimactic halftime show. The Lincoln County Red Devil Pride Marching Band then took the field, the seniors for the final time, to play a new arrangement of this season’s favorite tunes. They opened with their rousing rendition of “Waiting for Tonight,” then played a medley of sideline favorites heard from the stands throughout the season. Meanwhile, Georgia High School Association event staff members tried desperately to sell off the stacks of programs they were left with. “They could have made a lot more money if they had had our cheerleaders selling those,” remarked a fan jokingly.

The third quarter lasted as a fierce defensive battle, with neither team relenting or giving up any points, as official timeouts were called for everything from further clock trouble to Brandon Barden losing a shoe. Unnecessary roughness abounded, and countless Lincoln fans became disgruntled with the very tolerant officials.

The Red Devils drove steadily down the field, taking up most of the fourth quarter, but their efforts ended fruitlessly. Clinch then proceeded to pick up a touchdown that never should have been. Senior Panther Jaquan Wrice completed a pass to Reeves, who was near the end zone. Devil defender Rontae Norman was all over Reeves, but let go too soon, allowing Reeves to glide across the goal line.

With ample time left, Lincoln began a new drive, but was placed in jeopardy when an effort by Darell Norman was ruled just inches short of a first down. The Devils then slyly fooled the Panthers into an illegal motion penalty and took the first down. Barden ran two more plays before taking a knee twice to end the ball game. With that, the mighty Red Devils of Lincoln County won their second straight and fourteenth all-time state title.

What Red Devil fans had waited 15 weeks and multiple hours in the unusually warm December sun for had finally taken shape. Red Devils head coach Larry Campbell commented that Lincoln County football is nothing without its fans. “I just don’t know anywhere else where

Devils vs. Clinch County

(statistics compiled by Johnny Walton)
                                LC           CC
First Downs                 10             8
Yards Rushing           185         175
Yards Passing             22           75
Passes                     1-4-0       5-9-0
Total Yards               207         250
Yards penalized           50           18
Fumbles/lost             0/0         1/0
Punts/avg.           3/40.7     8/30.6
Return yards               66           45

Score by quarters
  Red Devils         7 14   0   0   - 21
  Clinch Co.         7   0   0   7   -14