Creekside got its elusive state championship on Monday, but it took every point its state-record offense could muster to secure the elusive silver trophy.
The No. 1-ranked Seminoles and their high-powered attack had to fight back from a rare halftime deficit to defeat Benedictine 42-39 for the Class 4A title.
It was Creekside’s first championship since 2013 and atoned for their loss to Coffee in the final two years ago. Benedictine, who lost only to Class 6A powers Buford and Colquitt County, was seeking its first title since 2022.
This one was different. Creekside blew a 21-3 lead, allowing Benedictine to score 21 straight points and take a 24-21 advantage at halftime. Creekside responded with three unanswered touchdowns to establish a 42-24 lead, then hung on as Benedictine scored twice in the fourth quarter.
The outcome wasn’t secure until Creekside came up with an onside kick with a minute remaining and ran out the clock.
“We were down 21-0 in that first game to Rome, so it wasn’t unfamiliar territory,” said coach Maurice Dixon, himself a Creekside graduate. “I just told the guys, we’ve got to get into the tempo that we want. Let’s take advantage of the third quarter and try to finish strong and that’s what we did.”
Creekside reestablished its dominance by scoring on its first three possessions of the second half — a 45-yard run by quarterback Cayden Benson, a 17-yard pass from Benson to Cedric Kelly and a 20-yard run by Kelly.
“Halftime was calm,” Kelly said. “We didn’t overreact, really. We already knew what we were capable of. We came out here, fought hard and now we’re state champions.”
Benedictine put up a season high on a Creekside team that had allowed only 6.1 points per game and had limited 11 opponents to seven or fewer points. The Cadets took advantage of two interceptions and a fumble, and made the Seminoles turn it over on downs twice.
“I’m super proud of them,” Benedictine coach Danny Britt said. “We continued to fight. Creekside is an incredible football team and my guys did tonight what they’ve done the whole year.”
Creekside (15-0) was led by Benson, who played the second half with a gimpy shoulder after taking a brutal hit. The senior wound up completing 9 of 17 passes for 161 yards and one touchdown, and rushing 13 times for 133 yards and two touchdowns.
Gary Walker rushed 17 times for 149 yards and one touchdown and Kelly carried 12 times for 62 yards and two touchdowns. Damien Henderson caught six passes for 123 yards.
Benedictine (11-3) was led by Texas Tech signee Stephen Cannon, who completed 11 of 24 passes for 213 yards and three touchdowns. But Cannon was sacked six times by the fast, aggressive Creekside defense.
Creekside finished the season with 845 points, although it scored 15 points below its season average of 57.4.
“We got here before in 2023 and didn’t finish the deal because we didn’t show up and we didn’t finish,” Dixon said. “For the last two years, that’s been the goal. These young guys who won it now were freshmen and sophomores, now they’re all juniors and seniors.”
Creekside looked like it was going to run away with the game, taking a 21-3 lead on three big plays — a 45-yard run by Walker, a 49-yard run by Benson and a 96-yard run by Kelly.
But the last six minutes belonged to BC, who startled Creekside with 21 straight points and had a 24-21 lead at halftime. The Cadets answered Kelly’s long run on the first play when Eron Mallard got open on a wheel route and caught a pass from Cannon in stride for a 74-yard touchdown.
The result seemed to stun the Seminoles, who were forced to punt and then took advantage of a short field, driving 39 yards and scoring on a 14-yard pass to Stanley Smart, cutting the lead to 21-17.
Benedictine came all the way back after Johnathan Black made a nice diving interception at the 49. Five plays later, the Cadets scored when LaDamion Guyton, inserted to play the Wildcat format, faked a run into the line and tossed a jump pass to Bennett Conaway for a 1-yard touchdown with 1:20 left.
Creekside rushed down field and had the ball at the 2 when it was stripped from Henderson by BC’s Wyatt Estabrook and recovered by John Black. The turnover allowed the Cadets to run out the clock.
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