By JOSH AUBREY
jaubrey@statesboroherald.com
In the battle of Bulloch County for the state Class-A-4-A GHSA flag football championship, Southeast Bulloch High School capped a perfect season and defeated Portal, 20-0.
Two schools separated by less than 30 miles had to settle things in Atlanta's Center Parc Stadium, and the Yellow Jackets captured their first title in their first year of playing flag football.
"It's so exciting and I am so proud of these girls," said SEB coach Marci Cochran. "They have put in so much work and have absorbed so much in such a little time it really speaks to how coachable they all are and the fact that most of them play multiple sports."
The Jackets defense set up the offense for the first big play of the game early on as Ansleigh Littles came up with an interception and returned it to the Portal 35-yard line. On the next play, Littles hit a streaking Delanie Thames, who made an acrobatic diving catch in the end zone. The conversion pass from Littles to Alex Odom gave the Jackets a 7-0 lead and they never looked back.
"I felt that catch by Delanie was really the play of the game," Cochran said. "To see her lay out for that ball and to be able to hang on when she hit the ground was amazing. She is such an incredible athlete and she had a great game."
Thames also made some key plays on defense, including coming up with a pair of interceptions. The Jacket defense had four interceptions in the game and notched their fifth straight shutout of the 2021 season they finished undefeated at 19-0.
"Our defense has carried us throughout the season," Cochran said. "They did it again today and I can't tell you how proud I am of each one of them. They had a mission to shut every team out in the playoffs and they were able to do that today.
Southeast Bulloch scored two more touchdowns, with Littles connecting with Thames on a 12-yard touchdown pass and Littles took a pitch and ran 8-yards for another score.
Look for a full story and reaction from both teams later on statesboroherald.com. Also, read the complete story in Saturday’s edition of the Statesboro Herald.