ATLANTA — For the second time in six years, the Bulldogs of Emanuel County Institute are state champions.

The Bulldogs (13-1) jumped out to an early lead and never looked back, pouring it on in the second half to defeat Dooly County (11-3) by a score of 47-7 for the Class A public school state championship Saturday afternoon at the Georgia Dome.

"I’m so happy for all of our coaches and players and for our community," said ECI coach Chris Kearson. "What an incredible feeling to just watch the smiles come on to everyone’s faces when they hit the field for the first time. Then, to go and play like we did and win a state title. That’s special. That’s a once-in-a-lifetime feeling."

Greg Purcell and James Brown both topped the century mark in rushing yards and Caleb Pressey’s sole pass completion — one was all he needed — went for a 53 yard touchdown strike to Brown.

The Bobcats, who held No. 1 Lincoln County to just seven points in their semifinal upset win, had no answer for the Bulldogs’ rushing attack.

ECI ran roughshod over the Dooly defense to the tune of 362 total yards while the Bobcats were only able to squeak out 131 yards against a relentless Bulldog defense.

One of the few Dooly stops came on the opening drive when ECI was forced to punt after picking up just one first down.

The Bobcats looked to seize momentum by going deep on their first play, but Brown intercepted an A.J. Smith bomb at the ECI 33 and returned it the whole way to the Dooly 23. ECI drove to the 3 yard line, where Purcell (23 carries, 146 yards) converted on fourth and inches. Two plays later, Purcell dove in from a yard out for the game’s first score.

"That interception and drive was huge for us," said Kearson. "In 14 games that we’ve played, I think that was one of only two times that we didn’t score on our first drive. To be able to get that turnover and score the first points of the game gave us some momentum and confidence."

After forcing a Dooly three-and-out on the next drive, Purcell electrified the crowd at the Georgia Dome.

Purcell took a handoff to the right, cut back against the grain, and found a gaping hole in the Bobcat defense. He sidestepped one tackler and outran the rest for a 50 touchdown and a 14-0 ECI lead.

Chanin Hamilton (21 carries, 83 yards) struck back for Dooly to cut the lead in half on the next drive.

The Bobcats’ 1,400 yard rusher broke off three runs of 10 or more yards, capped by a 19 yard scoring romp.

But from there, it was all ECI.

The Bulldogs drove quickly into Bobcat territory, but faced a 3rd-and-6 just outside of the 30. Brown (14 carries, 119 yards) took a big hit after just two yards, but spun off of it and dove for the first down. On the next play, there were no hits to avoid as he went 26 yards untouched for a 20-7 lead after a botched extra point.

Dooly threatened another comeback late in the first half, reaching the ECI 11, but some errant throws and a costly false start caused the Bobcats to turn the ball over on downs just before the half.

In the second half, the Bulldog defense was a brick wall. ECI forced three-and-outs on all three of Dooly’s third quarter possessions, keeping the Bobcats off the scoreboard and allowing the ECI offense to go to work.

"We changed some things up at halftime," said Kearson. "I thought we did an outstanding job of stopping the run and making plays in the second half."

A long, grinding first drive of the second half for ECI set up a 2 yard run by Pressey. Renaldo Williams ran in a two-point conversion to push the lead to 28-7.

Another quick defensive stand for ECI forced a Dooly punt and set up the game’s most spectacular play.

Going for the kill, Pressey went with a play-action fake and looked deep.

He slightly overthrew Brown on a crossing route, but the lanky senior reached out his long left arm and hauled it in. Brown then shook off his defender and easily won a footrace against the rest of the Dooly secondary.

"I didn’t really think about it," said Brown. "I just saw the ball coming and went for it."

"At first, I thought he had dropped it," said Kearson. "When I didn’t see a ball on the ground, I thought that it was intercepted. The next thing I know, James is going downfield with it."

With the Bulldogs pulling away, insult started piling up on top of injury for the Bobcats.

A squib kick following Brown’s touchdown catch was bobbled and ECI pounced on the loose ball.

ECI made short work of the 33 yard field it was handed as Purcell took one in from 6 yards out to make it 40-7 and start up the running clock for the final quarter.

One more Dooly turnover — this time on a fumble by Cortney Clark — set up the Bulldogs’ final strike as Williams plunged in from 2 yards out.

The enthusiastic Bulldog crowd counted down the final minutes and bedlam erupted on the sideline as the clock hit 0:00.

"It’s hard to describe it," said Kearson. "This was such a great effort from our guys. I want to thank all of the staff, the players and all of our fans. This was a very special season and it’s something I hope our players will remember."