December 17, 2025—In many ways, this Division 5 state championship matchup was inevitable. McEachern and Pope have two of the most successful Flag Football programs in the state, and maybe the entire country. The Lady Indians and Greyhounds have been leading the way in Flag and setting a top-tier standard that few could hope to match.

Before today, these two teams combined for only 28 losses—ever. Twelve of those losses came in the 2021 season, when Pope's program was in its first year and McEachern its second. Beginning with the 2022 season, the combined losses were a mere 14. Together, these teams accounted for eight Region (Area) Championships and three GHSA state championships: two in Division 3 for Pope, and one in Division 4 for McEachern. Their all-time program records entering the 2025 state championship were 92-16 (Pope) and 109-12 (McEachern). It would be an understatement to say that they have each been a dominant force since the sport began in Georgia in 2020.

Despite their program successes and the schools being 20 miles apart, the Greyhounds and Indians have met on the Flag Football field only once before. Playing their third official game as a first-year team in 2021, the Lady Greyhounds lost to the Indians, 18-6. Much has changed in the intervening four years though, and the teams found themselves standing on the turf in Mercedes-Benz Stadium facing each other for the second time—with the first-ever Division 5 State Championship trophy on the line.

The game itself was everything a fan could hope it would be. It was competitive, low-scoring, fairly clean of penalties, and an incredible chess match between two flag football masterminds. Both offenses were held to only two touchdowns and it came down to an extra point try to seal the victory.

McEachern dominated three and half quarters of the game and carried a 13-0 lead into the last five minutes. Pope began finding success early in the fourth quarter, moving the ball closer to the Indian end-zone with each play, but an interception on the 1-yard line ended their drive, and seemingly, any chance of bringing home a third state championship. It looked all but over for the Greyhounds.

But Pope's defense stood tall forcing a three-and-out and a successive punt that put them near midfield with a few minutes left to work. Senior QB Abbey Bensman took the field and quickly got her team in scoring position. She found Elizabeth Kelly in the end zone and hit her with a four-yard TD pass with 3:47 left on the clock. Kourtney Kalman scored the extra point to narrow the McEachern lead to 13-7.

Another tight defensive sequence found the Greyhounds back on offense and in a position to tie the game. Kalman obliged with a one-yard TD run, giving Pope their first opportunity to lead the contest with 8 seconds left on the game clock. Bensman then patiently found Lily Joswick on a short pass for the extra point to take the lead and win the game with five seconds left, 14-13. It was Pope's third consecutive state title win.

"I'm going to die young," Pope Head Coach Kevin Fraser said about the down-to-the-wire finish. "But, that's what it's all about, watching these girls refuse to quit. It would have been so easy to quit right there, and I'm sure our whole fan base was ready to quit. But they didn't, and I really just can't even believe it. I am so incredibly proud of their resiliency!"

Coach Fraser has two very special assistant coaches who make winning this championship even more special: his dad, Mark Fraser, and Matt Fox. "I played for Coach Fox in high school, so it's super special to be able to get to do this with him," Coach Fraser said. "And, yeah, my dad's the man. The girls love him and he's totally bought in to what we're trying to do. He drives over an hour to practice to be here with us. It means everything to me to have these two on my staff."

Player of the Game Abbey Bensman revealed that she had been very sick the night before. "I woke up with my head hurting so bad that I couldn't get out of bed. I was in bed all day yesterday, and then this morning, it was a little better, but I've been taking a lot of medicine and drinking a lot of hydration drinks," she said. When asked how she felt after the game, Bensman smiled wide and said, "Much better, especially after the win."

While the loss was clearly not what McEachern coach Jake Burgdorf was wanting, he recognized that his team left it all on the field at the 'Benz.

"I'm really disappointed in how things ended, but extremely proud of these girls and the work they put in to get here," he said. "I'm really thankful for these seniors. They were actually my first senior class. They were freshman when I took over the program. So proud of them and everything they've done for the program to get us to this point. We have a strong group of underclassmen and we're good enough to be back in this same spot next year. We'll take a little time off and then get back to work."

Congratulations Pope Flag! You have achieved a very rare Three-Peat of State Championships! Well done, Lady Greyhounds and congratulations to Coach Fraser on another title and Abbey Bensman for winning Player of the Game (again).