JOHNSTON - Kevin Ginn always gives his best, no matter the playing field.

But it just so happens that his best night of football came when his teammates needed it most.

It was a magical night that ended with another state title, with a championship medallion placed around his neck and plenty of memories the Wardlaw senior will never ever forget.

In the Patriots' 36-30 win over Andrew Jackson Academy in the SCISA 8-Man title game, Ginn put up some incredible numbers - even for a Wardlaw standout. He rushed 15 times for 127 yards and three touchdowns and caught a school-record nine balls for 105 yards and two more scores.

His second touchdown reception with seconds left before the half would prove the game-winner.
He didn't realize it at the time, but he'd just played the game of his life.

"Not at all, I wasn't really concentrating on (individual numbers) at the time," Ginn would say later. "I just wanted to pull it out. I had to throw it all out there. Everyone stepped it up that night."

His cumulative season statistics were equally as impressive.

Ginn posted 86 tackles on defense with three interceptions, with 1,578 yards of offense (18 total touchdowns) in being named to The Augusta Chronicle All-Area Independent Team as a First Team defensive back.

"I thought he caught the ball extremely well (in the title game)," said Ginn's head coach, Wardlaw's Hubert Morris. "He had been doing that all year, but he had some phenomenal catches that night. He had some lanes to run in but that was the best game he played in high school ball. He just kept getting better each season. He was not all that fast and quick. He just got the job done. He just had that determination and never quit. He pulled a hamstring early in the season and couldnÕt run, but you never knew he was hurt and finally he got it worked out. He ran the hardest that I had ever seen him run in his career."

Ginn also set another Wardlaw school mark in career receiving yards with 1,429 (the old record was 1,351 yards set by Will Bryan from 1999-2002) while obliterating the career receptions record with 120 (the old mark was 70, also set by Bryan from 1999-2002).

But it's not school records he will most remember.

He'll remember scoring touchdowns - all five of which his team needed - and one big catch.

"I just wanted to keep finding the end zone that night," Ginn said. "The ball (just before the half from quarterback Stephen Balentine) was supposed to be there in the end zone and it was. It was perfect."

Ginn and his teammates were also determined to alter the game on the other side of the ball.

"We knew that we had to some on strong defensively," Ginn added. "We were pretty upset at halftime because having (AJA) score 24 points on us in the first half was just unacceptable."

The Patriots would only allow six points the rest of the way.

Ginn, looking now toward prep school or perhaps the Naval Academy, knows the future looks extremely bright beyond his senior year.

But that final high school football game will always be difficult to beat.

"I just tried to go out on top," Ginn said. "It felt great."