Senior quarterback Addie Spak needed to advance the ball 3 yards to win a flag football state championship Tuesday for Blessed Trinity. She scoured the field before charging into the end zone in four strides.
The back-and-forth, double-overtime battle was over.
“It was my last opportunity to play a flag football game,” Spak said after the game, “and I just wanted to give it my all.”
Blessed Trinity defeated Milton 21-20 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, hoisting the trophy for the second time in its five-year program history. The first time was in 2022, when Blessed Trinity’s Titans also beat Milton, in two overtimes.
The Titans tied Tuesday’s game at 20-20 with a three-yard touchdown pass from Spak to Hannah Daley. In regulation, a Spak-to-Daley pass scored the extra point that sent the game into overtime.
Milton missed a one-point try after scoring first in the second overtime. Blessed Trinity had an opening.
To get the crucial extra point, Spak made a split-second decision after seeing that her three receivers weren’t open.
“I knew that they were going to cover everything because they didn’t want a chance of them receiving it,” Spak said, “so I just decided to run it.”
Earlier this season, Blessed Trinity lost 18-12 in overtime against Milton. Spak tried to complete a pass into the end zone, but Milton’s Caroline Marshall intercepted it to end the game.
That experience, plus a loss in the next game to North Oconee on the game’s last drive, proved to be valuable lessons.
A week later, the Titans faced McEachern, which plays in the Division 5 state championship Wednesday. Blessed Trinity won that game after stopping McEachern on its last drive.
“Throughout the year, we got so much better on defense,” said Blessed Trinity Coach Brandon Harwell, whose team held Milton to no first downs and just 20 total yards in the first half. “At the beginning of the year, we had some hiccups because we had so many new girls in new spots, and as the year went on, it got better and better.”
Blessed Trinity’s championship game against Milton on Tuesday was scoreless until the 4:10 mark of the fourth quarter, when Milton scored on a 23-yard reception by Alana Calhoun. With 1:18 left in regulation, Spak launched a 27-yard pass straight into the arms of Addy Wilson.
“Addie (Spak) made a perfect throw,” Harwell said. “And from there, the entire playbook was open.”
Including Spak’s winning run.
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