Joshua Wood stuns Collins Hill with last-second magic: 'I am just so impressed with their quarterback'

If you thought you had seen all of Joshua Wood’s magic tricks - well, the best one came out Saturday.

LAS VEGAS - If you thought you had seen all of Joshua Wood’s magic tricks - well, the best one came out Saturday.

He made Georgia powerhouse Collins Hill’s nationally-ranked program disappear.

As if Wood’s go-ahead 57-yard touchdown pass to Julian Mason with three minutes to go wasn’t dramatic enough, the reigning Gatorade state player of the year finished his 20-0 stint as the Eagles’ starting quarterback in mind-blowing fashion.

GAME STORY | PHOTO GALLERY

He rifled a 32-yard touchdown pass across his body to a streaking Stephen Mars for the game-winning score in Graham-Kapowsin’s 40-36 victory over Collins Hill in the final game of the 2021 GEICO State Champions Bowl Series at Bishop Gorman High School.

Wood led the Eagles 63 yards in 27 seconds for the winning score, prompting coach Eric Kurle to calmly proclaim, “That dude is so calm. He was ready to roll.”

Indeed, he was.

All day, Wood was escaping pressure to complete 15 of 24 passes for a game-high 274 yards and four touchdowns. He also rushed for 78 yards on 12 carries.

"I am just so impressed with their quarterback," Collins Hill coach Lenny Gregory said. "I know why is the Gatorade player of the year in Washington. He played his butt off."

When Graham-Kapowsin took the huddle before its final drive, Wood noticed a few players with doubt in their eyes. He had to spice up the conversation.

"They scored, and everybody started having doubts," Wood said. "I told them to keep their heads up, that the game isn’t over - and that all we had to do was go down and score."

Calmly, he found Myles Haywood for completions of 12 and 5 yards to get the drive rolling. Then, he hit hit favorite target Julian Mason in the right flat for a 14-yard gain, down to the Collins Hill 32-yard line with eight seconds to go.

On the scoring play, Wood rolled to his left, saw that both his first and second reads were not open - and then caught the gaze of Mars.

"At that point, I knew the ball was coming to me - and I knew I had to make this play," Mars said.

Initially, Mars wanted to run a fade pattern on the scoring play, but Wood redirected him to a back-side post.

"I saw he beat the safety over the top, and I just let it go," Wood said.

Mars noticed he had only a slight lead on the closing safety.

"The craziest part about it was I was looking at him and the ball. And I am thinking, ‘Hey, it’s me and you, and I’ve got to win this one,'" Mars said. "And I did for my guys. I went up and grabbed it."

After the game, Mason gave a glimpse on what Wood’s final theme-based message was before driving the offense to the winning score.

"Josh told us in the huddle, ‘There is no better group of guys to face this type of adversity with, so let’s go do it,'" Mason said.

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More GEICO Bowl Series coverage

Read:Underdog Graham-Kapowsin shocks No. 7 Collins Hill, 40-36, with final-second touchdown in GEICO State Champions Bowl Series thriller

Read:Top recruit Travis Hunter has big final game, but Graham-Kapowsin spoils his GEICO bowl victory bid

Photos: Graham-Kapowsin (Washington) stuns Collins Hill (Georgia) 40-36 in GEICO State Champions Bowl Series in Las Vegas

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(Featured photo by Jann Hendry)