Kendrick Neloms of Colquitt County stops North Gwinnett's DJ Turner on the kickoff return of Friday's GHSA Class 7A championship.

SUWANEE – Last-second heartbreak? Try no-second. That’s when just three such seconds stood between Colquitt County High’s football Packers and the positive culmination of what may have been considered an improbable championship run.

It will instead go down as the untimed down of all time. The sting of all stings, one that is going to hurt for months and months.

With no time on the clock, the season on the line, and following so many twists and turns in a fourth quarter that probably had to be seen to be believed, North Gwinnett High’s Cameron Clark made a 38-yard line drive field goal to give his school the 2017 GHSA Class 7A championship 19-17 over the Colquitt County High Packers Friday.

How could it happen, because the Packers had the third championship in four years under head coach Rush Propst settled on Josh Hadley’s 13-yard touchdown catch from quarterback Steven Krajewski with 49 seconds left in regulation? Ryan Fitzgerald made the PAT breaking a 16-16 tie. The home Bulldogs only led by six because Clark missed his PAT try of 25 yards (due to movement) when North Gwinnett scored a one-yard rushing touchdown by Cameron Butler with 5:50 remaining.

Colquitt County, starting from the 20, went 12 plays with four first downs, one of which was a do-or-die conversion of its own miraculous sort. Running back Daijun Edwards fought his way for two first downs to the Bulldog 42, and Krajewski – under pressure from a linebacker named Jayden McDonald he got to know real well on Friday – fired a strike to Cam Singletary for 20 yards to the 27. Edwards, on fourth down, made a low catch on the 15 to move the chains one more time.

The Hadley catch, with Krajewski getting the time from his offensive line, was on 3rd-and-8. The tight end was open and made the diving grab flat on his stomach.

But in those 49 seconds, so much happened in what seemed to take 49 minutes of real time. Bulldog quarterback Jimmy Urzua threw two completions up to Colquitt’s 45, and that took the clock down to 26 seconds. At the 18-second mark senior Packer linebacker JJ Peterson sacked Urzua authoritatively back on the North Gwinnett side of the 50. Even though there was a fumble on the play, the football went out of bounds and thus stopping the clock.

On third down and forever, officials first called defensive holding on Colquitt. When it’s fourth down, and just three seconds need to go away for a Moultrie championship celebration, the unimaginable happens. With a prevent set, there are more than 11 players on the field for two lineups. So that’s 10 yards for the Bulldogs up to the CC 36. Urzua threw a deep Hail Mary towards the end zone, and officials found pass interference on the defense. That play naturally took up all the allotted time, but a game cannot end on a defensive penalty.

From the 21, Clark became a local hero.

Before all of that, it was a defensive struggle on a bitterly cold night, one that was six days overdue thanks to circumstances caused by even colder weather all of northern Georgia last weekend. The oft-repeated story is that this Colquitt County-North Gwinnett matchup was set to take place at the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Dec. 9 at 8 p.m. But not only did the snow and ice of Dec. 8 bring about the cancellation of two other state final contests, but all four games scheduled for the following day. Per the GHSA ruling, North Gwinnett, as a region champion, hosted the Packers, the third-place team from Region 1-7A.

But even hitched with each and every playoff round on the road, Propst saw his predominantly junior-sophomore roster knock off three straight region champions, all on double-digit winning streaks, on three successive Fridays. The North Gwinnett Bulldogs were in prime position to be No. 4 as they were on a 13-game unbeaten run.

The first thing different for the Packers in Suwanee is that North Gwinnett won the pregame coin toss. In taking the first possession, the Packers had to start from the CC 9 via a holding call. Junior running back Ty Leggett accounted for two first downs catching the football and running the jet sweep 13 yards to the NG 48. Krajewski hooked up with Singletary for the first time on the 38 for first down, which for the Packers meant field-goal range.

Fitzgerald made a 49-yard field goal at 8:16. The Packer offense had just five first downs the rest of the half.

The Bulldogs sputtered trying to move the football as they ran into linemen Brian Merritt and Kyante Rivers plus linebacker Marcus Anderson. There was also the matter of two dropped footballs out of Urzua’s first three passes.

The initial first down for the Bulldogs came on their third series when back Tyler Goodson received a backwards pass that appeared to be halfback option. Peterson broke that up, but Goodson got away for 14 yards to the Packer 36. They got no further than the 19, and Clark missed his first field goal try of 36 yards wide left.

Early in the second, Clark nailed the tying trey from 29 away. Fitzgerald was delivering more quality punts for Colquitt, and to start the new period he pinned the Bulldogs back to the NG 5. On this drive, North Gwinnett backs Goodson and Devin Crosby shot through the middle for huge gains. Crosby, on his first tote of the night, went for 52 yards from one 24 to the other.

Camari Louis, Packer linebacker, stopped a reception on the 7 for third down, and as Goodson bobbled a wildcat snap, Peterson and Anderson dropped him for a loss. Clark made it a 3-3 game at 8:26.

Dante Moore, one more Colquitt linebacker, tackled receiver Josh Downs for a loss as the last Bulldog drive of the half. With 3:56 remaining, cornerback Jay Ward picked off Urzua and carried the entire home team for about 15 yards before falling on the CC 49.

Propst went to Leggett and Edwards on the ground for six plays up to the 26. The clock shrunk under a minute, but then McDonald sacked Krajewski on the final play at the 42.

The Bulldogs had the football first to start the third quarter, and Urzua completed a big third-down conversion to William Goldring in the flat on his 39. Three plays and one personal foul later, Goodson rushed around right end for an 18-yard touchdown. It was 10-3 Bulldogs at 9:35.

Colquitt’s answer came with 4:14 remaining. First, Moore and Nathan Bell keyed a defensive stand with tackles for lost yards. The punt went to the visitors on the 40 at 5:26. The big play was Edwards’ outside catch from Krajewski, and he stayed on his feet to rumble 47 yards to the Bulldog 7. Edwards then scored the one-yard TD run to go with Fitzgerald’s tying PAT.

Bell and Merritt on defense had North Gwinnett’s outside run stopped, and with 1:13 left in the third the Bulldogs punted again. Colquitt had a big chance as the period ended from North Gwinnett’s fumble of a punt return on the Bulldog 48. But the home defense got another sack out of McDonald early in the fourth. Merritt returned the favor on Urzua setting up the game’s 12th and final overall punt. The Packers had the field position on its 44 but lost possession on a fumble.

Butler went to work with three rushes up to the 24, and Crosby broke an ankle tackle for a spot on the 18. Downs caught two passes in a row up to the 1 before Butler scored the go-ahead touchdown (16-10).

Krajewski was 14-for-26 passing for 165 yards. Edwards rushed for 55 yards on 12 carries and Leggett had 51 on 11 totes. They had 78 combined receiving yards. Singletary had 61 yards receiving on six catches.