GHSA Flag and Tackle Football State Championship Updates - Day One

The opening day of the GHSA Football championship features two flag football contests and three tackle games.

See the results below.

Creekside 42, Benedictine 39

Perfect. That’s what the 2025 Creekside Seminoles football team will be remembered for as they defeated the Benedictine Cadets 42-39 to take home the program's second state championship, and its first under Creekside head coach Maurice Dixon.

In his first season as the head coach back in 2017, the Seminoles finished 0-10. Tonight, the Seminoles completed the first-ever undefeated season in program history as Creekside finished 15-0 and won Dixon his first state championship. Creekside finished as the highest-scoring team ever in GHSA history, compiling 845 points on the season to set the record.

The Seminoles were propelled by 21-points unanswered in the third quarter, erasing a 24-21 lead held by the Cadets at the half.

The high scoring offensive first half of the GHSA Class 4A state championship began with a Creekside touchdown run from 45-yards out from junior running back Gary Walker as he found the endzone for the 20th time this season on the ground to give the Seminoles an early 7-0 lead over Benedictine.

On the first possession for the Cadets, five-star edge rusher LaDamion Guyton came in on offense on fourth down and a yard to keep the Cadets drive alive before Benedictine’s Parker Lewis nailed a 28-yarder to cut the deficit to 7-3 with just under three minutes left in the first quarter.

Creekside’s Walker finished the first quarter with 64 rushing yards on six attempts. Creekside quarterback Cayden Benson didn't attempt a pass in the first quarter as the Seminoles totaled 75 rushing yards on 10 attempts.

The second quarter is where both teams woke up.

Benson ran for a 49-yard rushing touchdown on a quarterback keeper to give the Seminoles a two-score lead at 14-3 with over seven minutes left in the first half.

On the ensuing possession for Benedictine, a costly fumble from Benedictine quarterback Stephen Cannon gave the Seminoles possession inside the Cadets five-yardline where the other half of the Creekside rushing attack, senior running back Cedric Kelly punched it on the following play from four-yards out to give Creekside a 21-3 lead with 6:22 left in the second quarter.

The final seven minutes of the first half was all Benedictine.

Following the Cannon fumble, the three-star Texas Tech commit responded with a massive one-play drive that saw a 74-yard touchdown pass to junior Eron Mallard to cut the Creekside lead to 21-10. Cannon continued to make the right play on the next drive finding junior wideout Stanley Smart for a 14-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 21-17 with four minutes left in the first half.

On Creekside’s following possession, Benson threw only his sixth interception of the season as the Cadets took over inside Creekside territory on the Seminoles 49-yardline. Benedictine was able to capitalize on their possession as future Texas Tech Red Raider, Guyton threw a one-yard jump pass to senior tight end Bennett Conaway, giving the Cadets a 24-21 lead after trailing by as many as 18 in the first half.

To close out the half, the Seminoles were able to drive down the field on Benedictine, but a costly fumble from Damien Henderson inside the opponents five-yard line ended the scoring threat from Creekside as the Cadets took a 24-21 lead into the half, scoring 21-straight.

Cannon finished the first half with 153 yards through the air and two passing touchdowns while Benson finished with 76 yards through the air and 73 yards on the ground with a rushing score.

The third quarter was all Seminoles as Creekside answered Benedictine’s 21-straight points with 21-straight of its own to take a commanding lead into the fourth quarter.

The Creekside offense found its stride early in the third quarter as Benson found the endzone for the second time tonight using his legs, this time from 45-yards out to retake the lead at 28-24. The Seminoles defense continued to do its job forcing back-to-back three and outs, giving the ball back to their offense who continued to capitalize.

Benson found Kelly for his second touchdown of the night, this time through the air on a -yard touchdown pass on the Kelly wheel route to extend the Creekside lead to 11 points at 35-24.

The following Benedictine drive was more of the same as the Seminoles made it difficult for the Cadets to find the same offensive success as they did in the second quarter, forcing him to make throws on the run due to their relentless pressure getting in the backfield.

Creekside capped off its 21-point third quarter with Kelly’s third touchdown of the night, his second on the ground on fourth down with just two yards to gain as he took it all the way for a score to extend the lead to 42-24.

To start the fourth quarter, Benedictine stopped the bleeding as they picked off Benson on fourth down to set up its own offense on the Creekside 32-yardline. The Cadets were able to capitalize on the turnover with a touchdown strike to Mallard from deep to cut the Seminoles lead to 42-31 with over 11 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.

Benedictine forced an incomplete pass on fourth down inside their own territory to force a turnover on downs as Guyton and the defense continued to ramp up the pressure on Benson and the Seminoles offense.

While the defense continued to make plays for the Cadets, Creekside went for a fake punt on fourth and three with just over five minutes left to keep its drive alive all while burning clock. The Seminoles were unable to take advantage following the fake punt, giving Benedictine the ball back with just over three minutes in the game after a failed fourth and nine that was a yard short.

Creekside’s defense continued to do more of the same as they applied pressure, making it difficult for Cannon to run through his progressions. Though the Cadets offense struggled in the fourth a pair of penalties including a pass interference and a late hit on Cannon gave Benedictine the ball inside the Creekside red zone with 1:27 left in the game.

With just over a minute left on fourth down and two yards to go, Cannon scrambled out  to his left to escape the Creekside pass rush, getting all the way to the Seminoles one-yard line before being ruled down, adding to an eventful final two minutes.

After a review, a one-yard touchdown run by Cannon and a two-point conversion, complete to Frazier, cut the lead to 42-39 with 1:04 left.

An unsuccessful onside kick by the Cadets on the following possession turned out to be the deciding factor as the Seminoles took home the schools second state championship.

Benson finished the state championship with 161 yards through the air and a touchdown pass along with 144 yards on the ground. The combination of Walker and Kelly combined for 211 yards on the ground and four scores.

Cannon threw for 213 yards and three touchdowns while Mallard led the team in receiving with 140 yards and two touchdowns.

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Class A-Division II - Bowdon 35, Lincoln County 31

Bowdon defeated Lincoln County 35-31 in the Class A Div. II finals and became just the fourth team in state history to win four-straight state titles. The first half saw six lead changes before Bowdon entered the locker room with a 21-17 lead. Lincoln County got on the board (3-0) on its opening drive with a career-long 50-yard field goal by Fortson Partridge. After a nice return on the ensuing kickoff, Bowdon responded a few plays later with a Josh Hopkins touchdown pass to Mykah Patterson (7-3). Lincoln County capped a long scoring drive with a Jonathan Norman touchdown run that put the Red Devils up 10-7 early in the second quarter. Bowdon reclaimed the lead at 14-10 moments later with 9:24 left in the half on a Hopkins touchdown pass to a wide open Berkley Perkins. Lincoln County answered with an Aiden Jones touchdown run with 6:50 left in the half to go back up 17-14. After back-to-back defensive stops, a 20-yard punt set Bowdon up in Lincoln County territory and Kaiden Prothro hauled in a deep jump ball touchdown from Hopkins over two defenders to put Bowdon up 21-17 heading into the half. That touchdown was Prothro’s first reception of the game and resulted in his 68th career touchdown reception—adding to his own state record in that category.

Bowdon’s opening drive of the second half spanned 14 plays and ate up 7:28 of the clock and ended with a critical play at the goal line when running back Joshua Chandler dove towards the goal line. Lincoln County defender Jonathan Norman met Chandler as he was in the air and the original call was a fumble. After a careful review, the play was overturned and Chandler was awarded the touchdown after video evidence showed the ball narrowly crossing the goal line before coming loose to extend Bowdon’s lead to 28-17. On the ensuing possession, Bowdon senior Marcus Harper came up with a clutch tackle for loss to set up third and long and then Patterson intercepted the next play for the first turnover of the game. Lincoln County head coach Lee Chomskis challenged the ruling on the field, however, the call stood and Bowdon took over at its own 35-yard line with 3:01 left in the third quarter and an 11-point lead.

Lincoln County’s defense forced Bowdon to punt and the Red Devils regained possession at their own 23-yard line with 1:22 left in the third quarter. Bowdon’s Marcus Harper stopped Lincoln County on a 3rd and 4, but was flagged for an unsportsmanlike penalty to keep the drive alive heading into the fourth quarter and give the Red Devils their only first down of the third quarter. After rushing for 211 yards in the first two quarters, Lincoln County was limited to just 12 rushing yards in the third quarter as Bowdon dominated time of possession.

Lincoln County converted a 4th and 1 to sustain the drive early in the fourth quarter and then a reverse to Jonathan Norman broke loose for a 27-yard gain to set up a first and goal from the 8-yard line. Two plays later, senior Kelby Glaze spun his way into the endzone to cut the deficit to 28-23 with 10:09 left in the fourth quarter. Coach Chomskis called a timeout to design a two-point conversion and Glaze hurdled a defender and reached the endzone to put Lincoln County down 28-25.

Bowdon was forced into a 4th and 5 at midfield and a false start pushed them back and the punt was downed at the Lincoln County 13-yard line. Trailing by a field goal with left 7:32 left, Lincoln County scored four plays later on an 84-yard touchdown run by Glaze. The point after was tipped and Lincoln County’s lead remained 31-28 with 5:34 left.

Bowdon kept its go-ahead drive alive with a conversion on 4th and 1 and then facing a critical 3rd and 14 play, Hopkins found a diving Berkley Perkins in the endzone to put Bowdon up 35-31 with 2:34 left—resulting in the eighth lead change of the game and Hopkins’ fourth touchdown pass. Lincoln County mishandled an attempted hook and ladder that would have set up a first down without the attempted lateral, but instead it forced the Red Devils into a 3rd and 6 with 1:49 left and no timeouts remaining. Quarterback Mekhi Wade scrambled to pick up the first down at the Bowdon 48-yard line. Aiden Jones picked up 16 yards on Lincoln County’s next play and went out of bounds at the 32-yard line with 1:20 left. Glaze was stopped on a short gain on the next play to bring up 2nd down and an incomplete pass stopped the clock with 46 seconds left and a 3rd and 8 situation. Lincoln County committed a false start to push them back, but then Bowdon returned the favor with a pass interference call on junior linebacker Connor Daniel. Glaze picked up five yards to put Lincoln County on the 15-yard line with 30 seconds left and the Red Devils faced a 3rd and 4 with 30 seconds left after an injury to Glaze stopped the clock. A shot completion set up 4th and 1 and then Lincoln County converted the play and spiked the ball to set them up at the 10 yard line with seven seconds left. On the next snap, Norman was brought down short of the goal line near the 2-yard line to seal the victory for Bowdon.

Harris County 32, Washington County 0 (Flag)

Madalynn Cauley had a hand in each of Harris County’s scores to cap her senior season and high school career with a state championship victory in a romp of Washington County.

Cauley, the state’s passing leader, scored on runs of four and 10 yards while passing for three touchdowns for Harris. She was 15-of-22 passing for 183 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Tigers.

Her 10-yard run opened scoring and a 31-yard pass to Pearson Pettit expanded the lead. Cauley ran in from four yards with 6:23 left in the second half to put Harris ahead 18-0. She passed to Aubrey Mertz just before halftime to give Harris County the 25-0 lead. Cauley’s two-yard pass to Mertz with 27 seconds left in the third quarter capped scoring.

Cauley earned the most valuable player award for her performance in bringing Harris County its first-ever flag football championship.

Greenbrier 20, Jenkins 13 (Flag)

Greenbrier continued its streak of championship victories and has a chance to make history after winning the past three Division 2 championships. Southeast Bulloch won titles from 2021-2024, that’s four-straight and a state record, and after upending Jenkins, the Wolfpack need one championship to tie Bulloch.

Against Jenkins, an 18-yard pass from Addisen Odom to Abby Lester with five minutes remaining proved the game-winner for Greenbrier.

Mamie Cate Pangle caught a 22-yard pass from Odom with 2:55 left in the first quarter to put Greenbrier ahead. Jenkins took the lead on a short run from Angelique Fleming and a 73-yard pass from I’yarna Lee to A’Niyah Browner as time expired in the first half. Greenbrier tied the game at 13 on a short run from Carrington Meyers with 5:58 left in the third quarter, setting up Odom’s game-winning pass to Lester.

Jenkins was trying for the team’s first-ever championship.

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