The Southeast Bulloch Yellow Jackets scored on their opening drive, and then turned the game over to their defense as they knocked off Harris County, 7-0, Monday evening in Brooklet to advance to the semifinals of the GHSA flag football playoffs and keep alive their chance of winning a fourth consecutive state championship.
Southeast Bulloch (18-1) will face Dodge County in one semifinal and the game is tentatively scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday in Eastman. A win over Dodge would send SEB to Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta for the Division 1 state championship game at noon Monday, Dec. 16 against either Long County or Columbus.
“Harris County is one of the best teams in the state,” said SEB coach Marci Cochran. “The score and the extra point were huge for us. It gave us a little breathing room, and our defense played lights-out again."
The Jackets marched downfield on their opening possession and capped the scoring with a one-yard dive by Paige Nelson to go up 6-0. The extra-point pass from Emma Cate Barron to Natalya Odom gave the Jackets a 7-0 lead.
The Jackets would have a long touchdown called back for sidelines interference, and despite moving the ball downfield, they were unable to get back in the end zone.
The Southeast Bulloch defense was tested a few times as Harris County got within the Jackets' 20-yard line on four different occasions, but on all four, SEB was able to hold tight and preserved the shut-out.
“It was a defensive battle, and once again our defense came to play,” Cochran said. “We knew we would need to lean on our defense in the playoffs as the competition gets tougher. I thought our offense moved the ball pretty well, but we weren’t able to punch it in after that initial drive.”
The win put the Jackets into the semifinals against Dodge County Thursday in Eastman. The two teams played in the same region their first two seasons and actually met last year in the playoffs, with the Jackets coming out on top 13-0.
“They are a good team and match up pretty well against us,” Cochran said. “They are good defensively and are well-coached. It’s unusual for us to play in the playoffs against another team at their place. That has only happened one other time. We are going to have to win on the road to win a state championship, so we might as well go ahead and do it this week.”
