Mercedes-Benz Stadium is back to host the GHSA Football and Flag Football State Championships with three must-see days of action on Dec. 16-18. The Championships returned to the Benz last year for the first time since 2018 and this year will be bigger than ever with a four flag football championships and eight football finals to present the first-ever 12-game championship slate. This year’s finalists for football includes three defending state champions. In Class 5A, defending Class 7A state champion Milton will take on Hughes with an opportunity to win back-to-back state titles for the first time in program history. Class A-3A Private finalist Prince Avenue Christian and Class A Div. II finalist Bowdon will each be aiming for a third-straight championship after being the only two defending champs to make it to Mercedes-Benz Stadium last year.
MONDAY’S MATCHUPS
Day 1 will kickoff with Southeast Bulloch versus Columbus in the Flag Division I final and Greenbrier versus North Oconee in the Flag Division II championships, followed by Bowdon’s bid for a three-peat against Brooks County in the Class A Division II finals and a battle between undefeated teams in Class 4A with Marist and North Oconee. Brooks County—led by first-year head coach Josh McFather, scored a 17-14 overtime win against Manchester in the semifinals, while Bowdon held off Irwin County 42-18. North Oconee is in the finals for the first time in school history and defeated Blessed Trinity in the semifinals 27-7 to improve to 14-0. Marist also kept its perfect season alive in the finals and rallied back from a 14-6 halftime deficit to beat a talented Creekside team 27-21.
FIRST-EVER FINALISTS
Class A Division I offers a unique matchup between state-title hopefuls Toombs County and Northeast-Macon. The Toombs County Bulldogs defeated Dublin 42-15 in the semifinals to reach the finals for the first time in 38 seasons, while Northeast earned its first championship berth in its 54-year history. The 54 years it took the Raiders to reach their first finals is the 10th longest span in state history and they also became the first Macon school to reach a GHSA final since Central-Macon’s 1975 run to the Class 3A title. After the Flag Division 3 final with Pope and Pace Academy and Class A Div. I’s showdown between first-ever finalists, Burke County and Carver-Columbus will put it all on the line in the Class 2A championship. Burke County head coach Franklin Stephens joins Jeremy Wiggins of Northeast-Macon as the two coaches that have led their alma maters to the finals this year. Coach Stephens’ Bears are coming off a 35-22 win over last year’s state-runner-up Rockmart. As for Carver-Columbus, the Tigers knocked off two-time defending state champion Pierce County in the quarterfinals and then allowed just 54 yards of offense in their dominant 49-6 win over Appling County in the semifinals.
HISTORY IN THE MAKING
Wednesday’s four-game lineup to conclude both the flag and tackle football seasons, will open with the Flag Division 4 championship between McEachern and Lambert before a triple-header of intriguing championship matchups. The Class A-3A Private finals stages two-time defending state champion Prince Avenue Christian in a rematch of its 34-31 victory over Hebron Christian in a televised thriller back on Nov. 11. The Wolverines are just the seventh program in state history to make five-straight finals appearances and Hebron Christian will be making its first-ever trip to the championship after triumphing in a 24-17 semifinal road victory over Fellowship Christian. After the first-ever Class A-3A Private champion is crowned in the newly formed classification, Jefferson and Calhoun will take the stage for the Class 3A crown. The last time these teams met was in the 2012 championship when T. McFerrin led Jefferson to a 31-14 victory and its most recent state title. Calhoun, meanwhile can win its first state title since 2017 after reaching the finals for the second time in head coach Clay Stephenson’s six seasons at the helm. The 12th and final championship game at the Benz will pair Carrollton against Grayson for the Class 6A state crown. Both teams rallied back from halftime deficits in the semifinals. Grayson overcame a 21-6 halftime deficit to defeat Douglas County 35-28 and Carrollton stormed back from a 17-14 deficit to defeat Buford 30-17.
Loading ...
