Georgia high school football state championships recap: Results, final scores

Sandy Creek, which was an 8-point favorite according to the Maxwell Ratings,  leads Jefferson at the half.

Sandy Creek has held Jefferson to just 17 yards of offense and zero first downs.

Due to delays in previous games, the 3A state championship matchup has been pushed back to approximately 5:30 p.m.

Hebron Christian repeats as state champion, defeating Calvary Day 28-21. 

Pope senior quarterback Abbey Bensman lay face down in the doctor’s office on Tuesday, sick with the flu and unwilling to eat.

On Wednesday, she hoisted the GHSA Class AAAAA flag football state title after leading the Greyhounds over the McEachern Indians 14-13 in a fourth-quarter comeback at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

“It was really tough, even just waking up this morning because I was so sick,” Bensman said. “I have such great teammates and they’re my best friends and we were picking each other up the entire game. Once we scored our first touchdown, I knew we could do this.”

Despite having to ride to the stadium separately from the rest of the team, Bensman finished the afternoon 18-for-27 for 147 yards, two interceptions and a touchdown as Pope rallied to score 14 points in the game’s final four minutes. The win secured the team’s third state championship in four years.

Head coach Kevin Fraser emphasized the team’s knack to rally, as evidenced by a tough opening stretch of the season.

“We started out 2-3. So it was easy, it's easy to give up. So the message before the game was give it all you got. And man, did we ever in that last five minutes,” Fraser said following the win.

Bensman’s mother, Melissa, and sister, Riley, were also in attendance to watch the win. Riley played quarterback for Pope and won a state title during the 2023 season with Abbey before the younger of the two took over last year.

“It really makes me choked up, because with these girls we’ve been throwing the football on the beach their entire life, since they were like six years old” Melissa said. “For them to actually have the opportunities to use those skills and do it at this level, we never thought that was a possibility.”

Riley’s support as Abbey’s “number-one cheerleader” was evident.

“We’re just super proud of her, she’s just great at everything does and she gives 100% at everything.

McEachern entered the game not having surrendered a single point throughout its entire playoff run. Pope appeared incapable of bucking that trend through much of the game, as both of Bensman’s turnovers came in the first three quarters and the offense repeatedly stalled out in the red zone.

When the fourth quarter arrived, though, Pope flipped the switch.

“I think throughout the first half we were trying to play it kind of safe and we were doing shorter passes,” Bensman said. “And then he (Fraser) at the end was like we’re just gonna play straight ball. Like just throw it, let it fly – and we did that.”

For Fraser, Abbey and the team just continue to bring surprises.

“I’m a little emotional,” Fraser said on the sideline after the win. “I can’t really believe it, like they shocked me every time that I thought I couldn’t be shocked anymore, you know? The way they just fight, it's really unbelievable. It’s a credit to their character and their parents that raise them so well.”

The promotion to Division 5 proved no issue for the Pope Greyhounds, who won their third flag football state championship in a row Wednesday against the McEachern Indians 14-13 with a dramatic extra-point conversion as time expired.      

Pope has been in three divisions in the past three years and won the state championship in each.  The Greyhounds finished the year 20-3, and look right at home in the higher division. With under two minutes remaining, Pope took possession trailing 13-7. Quarterback Abbey Bensman quickly moved the Greyhounds down the field. After an illegal contact foul at the 1-yard line extended Pope’s drive, Kourtney Kalman scored on a one-yard rush to tie the game with five seconds remaining. 

Bensman completed the one-point conversion to Lily Joswick for the win. The McEachern Indians, who also were defending state champions, had outscored their playoff opponents 127-0  entering the title game.

Buford and Carrollton traded blows during the second half of the much-delayed state championship on Tuesday. But Buford earned its 15th title with a fourth quarter 82-yard touchdown run by AJC Super 11 selection Tyriq Green.

In what may amount to a national championship game, Carrollton leads Buford 7-0 at halftime. Below are the halftime stats.

Former UGA standout Jarvis Jones, in his first year as a high school head coach, earned a state championship with his alma mater Carver-Columbus. 

Below are the stats from halftime of the Class 2A state championship game.