VALDOSTA — Justin Gainey was a dominant player this season.

Few sights were more enjoyable for Clinch County fans than Gainey carrying the ball. Few sights were worse for opposing teams than Clinch’s star running back carrying the ball.

The 5-foot-10, 220-pound Gainey helped carry the Panthers to the state championship game, and a 12-3 record. He rushed for 1,814 yards and 25 touchdowns, both of which ranked among the most in the state in any classification.

For his efforts this season, Justin Gainey has been named the Class A Offensive Player of the Year. He earned his second berth on the All-State team, having also made the team in 2004 (he was an honorable mention selection in 2005).

“Justin Gainey is a player. I would hate to have to defend Justin Gainey,” Clinch head coach Jim Dickerson said during the season. “He’s 220 pounds and he looked fast.”

Having 4.5 speed to go with his 220-pound frame enabled Gainey to run around, by and over defenders.

“I try to be an all-around back, try to do it all,” Gainey said during the season. “(Speed) is what I had to work on after my sophomore year, and I got faster.”

In the state quarterfinals, Gainey rushed for 200 yards and three touchdowns against Warren County in a 42-15 win. The week before, against Wilcox County (a 19-7 Clinch win), he scored the game-winning touchdown with 3:58 left in the game, and all but sealed the win with a fourth-down sack four plays later.

In a 47-0 blowout of Pelham the third week of the season, Gainey ran for 158 yards on 11 carries despite sitting out the entire second half.

Gainey was probably the best running back in Class A football this season. But he also played linebacker on defense some of the time, and made 26 tackles. Dickerson said he had the potential to be as good at linebacker as he was at running back.

Clinch has used a run-based offense for decades. For the past three years, the Panthers have been able to give the ball to Gainey in that offense, and more often than not, he has gotten the job done.

“It’s great to play in this offense, because you get a lot of love,” Gainey said. “The Clinch County offense is built on the running game. It’s real fun. We like running the ball.”

Gainey began his career as a fullback for Clinch in 2003. Early in the 2004 season, Clinch’s top two backs were injured, and he was moved to tailback in the Panthers’ pro-I offense. The move turned out to be a brilliant one, both for Gainey and the Panthers. Gainey practically carried Clinch’s offense to the state championship, rushing for over 1,600 yards.

In Gainey’s four years playing for Clinch, the Panthers won a state championship, had one state runner-up finish and one third-place finish. In 2005, the made it to the second round of the playoffs. They also won three Region 1-A titles.