Story byWake Forest signee running back Christian Lawrence; Courtesy of Thomas County Central Football/XAndy VillamarzoThu, December 18, 2025 at 2:46 PM UTC·2 min readATLANTA, Ga.- Thomas County Central cruised to their seventh state championship in program history and did so behind the spectacular play of their Wake Forest signee running back. Christian Lawrence, a Wake Forest signee, rushed for 380 yards on 39 carries and scored five touchdowns, breaking a Georgia state championship rushing record on the night, in the Yellow Jackets 62-21 win over Gainesville for the GHSA Class 5A state championship on Wednesday night. Lawrence shattered the previous mark held by Omari Arnold of Brooks County (2021) of 320 yards for a single championship game. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe senior tailback rushed for what was then a school-record 349 yards in last week’s 49-28 victory over Roswell in the Class 5A state semifinals. Lawrence over the last two weeks has been on an absolute tear for the Yellow Jackets in making the case that he’s the state’s Player of the Year. The running back in the last two games against Gainesville and Roswell has rushed for 729 yards and scored nine touchdowns. The Wake Forest signee has been a terror for opposing defenses throughout the 2025 season, as Lawrence finished rushing for 2,198 yards (9.6 yards per carry) on 229 carries and scored 28 touchdowns.