The 2025 GHSA football state championships are over, putting the final touches on what was one of the most exciting high school football seasons in the history of the state of Georgia.
The three-day event at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, which also included the GHSA flag football state championships, began on Dec. 15 and ended late on Dec. 17 with eight football state champions and five flag football state champions crowned.
The football state title winners included a couple of repeat champions and a four-peat state champ. One winning team not only won a state championship, but also laid claim to a national No. 1 ranking. Six of the championship-winning teams finished the season undefeated, and four of the winning head coaches won their first ever state titles as head coaches.
Class 6A State Championship
Final Score: Buford 28, Carrollton 21
The Buford Wolves won the Class 6A state championship over Carrollton with a strong second-half performance led by Tyriq “Ty Boogie” Green. In the process, they captured not just the state championship, but a national No. 1 ranking and championship as well.
The first half was a defensive battle between the Trojans and the Wolves, resulting in just one touchdown and leading to a 7-0 Carrollton lead at intermission.
It was truly a tale of two halves.
The second half was all offense, mainly from Buford’s Green. Showing why he is the state’s best all-around player (something I’ve been saying all year long), the athlete scored two touchdowns, including the game-clinching, 83-yard run with less than three minutes remaining in the game. That broke a 21-21 tie and gave the Wolves the lead, the win, and the state title, their first since 2021.
Class 5A State Championship
Final Score: Thomas County Central 62, Gainesville 21
The Thomas County Central Yellow Jackets faced the Gainesville Red Elephants in the Class 5A state title game, winning by 41 points to put an exclamation point on an undefeated season.
The Yellow Jackets had one of the most dominant team and individual performances of the three-day finals in the Class 5A title game. TCC running back Christian “Deuce” Lawrence set the GHSA championship game record with 380 yards rushing. He also ran for five touchdowns.
It was the second straight record-setting game for Wake Forest-bound Lawrence. A week earlier, he had set the Thomas County Central single-game rushing record with a 349-yard rushing effort and four touchdowns against Roswell in their Class 5A semifinals contest.
The Yellow Jackets took control early, scoring the game’s first two touchdowns to jump out on top 14-0 before the Mercedes-Benz crowd had a chance to find their seats.
Gainesville finally got their offense going, scoring on a screen pass to cut the lead to 14-7.
The Yellow Jackets answered with another touchdown of their own as Lawrence scored his first touchdown of the night to expand the lead back to 14 points at 21-7. That was the score at halftime.
TCC went to work with a 40-yard touchdown pass from Jaylen Johnson to Gary Pringle for their second touchdown connection of the game to make it 28-7 right out of the gate to start the third quarter.
Gainesville tried making a game of it with a Kareem Hughley touchdown run, making it 34-14, but a quick response from the Yellow Jackets’ potent offense made it a blowout that only got worse the rest of the way.
It was Thomas County Central head coach Justin Rogers’ second state championship in his four years leading the TCC program.
Class 4A State Championship
Final Score: Creekside 42, Benedictine 39
The Creekside Seminoles held off two Benedictine comeback attempts to hang on and win by 3 points. This gave Creekside head coach Maurice Dixon his first state championship and an undefeated 15-0 season.
Creekside jumped out to a 21-3 lead to start the game, and it appeared that the Seminoles were about to enjoy an easy day at the office.
That’s when Benedictine quarterback Stephen Cannon began leading a comeback attempt for his team. His efforts brought the Cadets back from the 18-point deficit to actually take the lead 24-21 heading into the locker room at halftime.
Creekside reassumed control of the game, coming out with three straight touchdown drives to go back up 42-24.
That’s when Cannon and Benedictine began comeback number two, climbing back to within 3 points with a 15-0 run in the fourth quarter and with just over a minute left in the game. They tried an onside kick, but Creekside recovered and ran out the final few seconds of the game to win.
Creekside was led by quarterback Cayden Benson, who rushed for 133 yards, along with running back Gary Walker, who rushed for 149 yards.
Creekside broke the Georgia high school football state scoring record for most points this season with 845 points, an average of 56.3 points per game over the Seminoles’ 15-game, undefeated season.
Class 3A State Championship
Final Score: Sandy Creek 27, Jefferson 7
The Sandy Creek Patriots won the school’s fifth overall state championship with a 27-7 victory over the Jefferson Dragons, but it was a first state title for Sandy Creek head coach Darius Smiley. It was also the Patriots’ first state championship since they won the title in 2022 over Cedar Grove 21-17.
Sandy Creek started fast, jumping out to a 14-0 lead on touchdowns from Amari Latimer and quarterback Caleb Hill. Jefferson answered with its first touchdown of the game on the ensuing kickoff with an 82-yard return to cut the lead to 14-7 as the game went into halftime.
Latimer and Hill each scored another touchdown in the second half, while the defense held the Dragons without a point in the third and fourth quarters to win.
Class 2A State Championship
Final Score: Carver-Columbus 24, Hapeville Charter 7
The Hapeville Charter Hornets came in as the decided underdog, but held the Carver-Columbus Tigers to their second-lowest point total of the year at 24 points.
Carver’s stout defensive unit came up with a game-clinching pick six from Jamrcus Davis, who returned the interception 37 yards to give the Tigers a commanding 24-7 lead and their second straight Georgia high school football state championship.
Jacobe Caslin and standout wide receiver KJ Miles scored the first two touchdowns of the game for Carver, and kicker Kendrick Pearce-Spencer booted a 33-yard field goal before Davis added his defensive score with less than seven minutes left to put the game out of reach and make the final score 24-7.
The win clinched Carver’s undefeated 15-0 season and gave new head coach Jarvis Jones his first Georgia high school football state title as a head coach. Jones replaced Pierre Coffey, who led the team to the 2024 Class 2A state championship before stepping down to accept the role of principal at Stewart County, which serves grades K-12.
Class 1A-Division I State Championship
Final Score: Worth County 17, Toombs County 13
The Worth County Rams found themselves in a rare position to start the game against the Toombs County Bulldogs: trailing.
Worth County has played a dominant style of football all season long, using a prolific offense led by quarterback Lyndon Worthy to jump out to early leads on opponents this year.
In the state title game, however, the Rams fell behind 10-0. Worth County head coach Jeff Hammond kept his cool and kept his team focused, and they went to work, scoring their first touchdown late in the first quarter to cut Toombs County’ lead to 10-7.
A field goal by Worth County kicker Brody Hancock tied the game at 10 points apiece before Toombs County regained the lead with a field goal of its own to make it 13-10.
A Worthy to Jayden Farley touchdown made it 17-13 Worth County with just over seven minutes left in the game.
It became a battle of defensive units, with each holding the opposing offense out of the end zone. In the end, an interception by the Rams’ Deshaun Rockwell sealed the win and Worth County’s first Georgia high school football state championship since 1987. It was Hammond’s first state championship as a head coach.
Class 1A-Division II State Championship
Final Score: Bowdon 35, Lincoln County 31
Winning a state title is hard. Try winning four Georgia high school football state championships in a row.
That’s the magic that Bowdon head coach Rich Fendley and his team accomplished with their fourth straight state title in an exciting 35-31 win over Lincoln County. That first football final of the three-day event set the tone for what would be a memorable 2025 GHSA state championship event.
“It’s such a great feeling,” Fendley said after his team’s dramatic come-from-behind win. “To have a group of seniors go 20-0 in the playoffs is special. Our coaches have done a great job getting player buy-in, and our players have bought into the standard here at Bowdon.”
While senior Kaden Prothro got most of the well-deserved attention for his standout play this year, which included setting the Georgia high school football state receiving record for most touchdowns in a season, a couple of other Bowdon players came up with huge performances of their own to help Bowdon get its fourth straight state title.
Bowdon quarterback Josh Hopkins accounted for 333 yards offensively and four touchdowns, including the last one to Berkley Perkins that gave his team the lead in the fourth quarter, but it was Mike Patterson who saved the day for Bowdon.
With Lincoln County driving for what would have been the winning touchdown, Patterson came up on an opposing receiver who made a catch inside the 5-yard line and was headed to the end zone. Patterson tackled the receiver, keeping him short of the goal line and preserving the win and state title for Bowdon.
Private (Class 1A-3A) State Championship
Final Score: Hebron Christian 28, Calvary Day 21
The Calvary Day Cavaliers put themselves in an early hole through special teams mishaps, specifically with their punting game. A mishandled snap on a punt and two short punts gave the Hebron Christian Lions excellent field position, leading to three touchdowns and a 21-0 first-half lead.
Hebron Christian held off a Calvary Day comeback attempt that brought the score to 28-21.
Hebron Christian is yet another Georgia high school football repeat state champion, having won last year’s 2024 Private state title.
The Lions did it with a new head coach, as former Trinity Christian head coach Kenny Dallas led Hebron Christian to this year’s state title after taking over for previous head coach Jonathan Gess.
Hebron Christian was led by running back Devon Caldwell, who had 85 yards rushing and one touchdown. James Mathurin, Max Steve, and Austin Kitchings each added a touchdown in the winning effort by Hebron Christian.
