McEachern capped off its undefeated season with its first state championship after losing in the quarterfinals the past three seasons. “We finally finished the mission,” coach Jake Burgdorf said. “That’s been our motto this season - unfinished business - and we found a way to get it done.”

Once a star running back at Thomson High and Georgia Tech, Jerry Mays will be among 30 former players inducted into the Georgia High School Football Hall of Fame on Saturday night. As with the other 29, it’s easy for Mays to recall that thrill of running down the football field with his team’s name written across his jersey.