When Benedictine's seniors were incoming freshmen, the Cadets were coming off a 1-9 season and were just getting to know new coach Danny Britt. Four seasons later, Britt and those seniors have brought home Benedictine's first state championship in more than a century of football history.
The Cadets defeated Greater Atlanta Christian, 45-21, Saturday at the Georgia Dome, avenging a Week 1 loss and capping a dominant string of games to finish the season.
After falling 35-28 to Vidalia in mid-October, Benedictine (13-2) ran roughshod over every other team it faced, outscoring its final eight opponents, 397-89.
The loss ended GAC's hopes for a wire-to-wire run at No. 1. The Spartans (14-1) had been ranked No. 1 since the preseason, and defeated Benedictine, 24-21, in the season opener.
In the title game, both teams were plagued by turnovers early, committing three each in the first half. GAC's proved more costly, as the Spartans failed to score twice after starting in Benedictine territory. The Cadets weren't much more successful at turning extra opportunities into points with their offense, twice fumbling it right back to GAC, but they did benefit from a 75-yard scoop-and-score fumble return for Joseph Holguin that gave Benedictine a 13-0 lead with 5:35 left in the first quarter.
Benedictine opened the game with a 10-play, 74-yard drive that ended in a contested 29-yard touchdown reception for Brad Stewart on a well-placed jump ball from quarterback Stevie Powers less than four minutes into the game.
The deep ball success was a harbinger of what was to come. A 76-yard Powers-to-Stewart connection set up Benedictine's third touchdown of the game, and a 59-yard bomb to John Kennedy gave the Cadets a 30-7 lead with 1:03 remaining in the first half.
In between, GAC got on the board on an electrifying 58-yard touchdown run from Micah Abernathy, then closed the half with a 9-yard Abernathy touchdown with 26 seconds left after after Darius Slayton put the Spartans in scoring position with a 66-yard kickoff return.
But after a Spartans touchdown drive to open the second half, Benedictine re-established control and never relinquished it. After managing just 39 rushing yards on 20 carries in the first half, the Cadets turned almost exclusively to the running game in the second half. GAC didn't yield yards easily, but Benedictine continued to pound, and finished with 149 yards rushing, led by Chance Jackson's 69 on 23 carries and Kennedy's 47 on 12.
On their first possession of the third quarter, the Cadets drove 68 yards in 11 plays, passing only once to convert on fourth and 7. The eventual 1-yard touchdown on a Powers quarterback sneak, gave Benedictine a 38-21 lead, and it never got closer.
After the Spartans went four and out on the ensuing possession, Jackson added a 1-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter to provide the final margin.
Powers finished 9 of 13 for 260 yards with two passing and two rushing touchdowns. Stewart, who also intercepted two passes, caught four passes for 154 yards.
Abernathy, who was limited by cramps in the second half, ran 23 times for 186 yards. Davis Mills, GAC's sophomore quarterback, completed 13 of 22 passes for 222 yards. Slayton had five catches for 102 yards, while Justin Phan had six for 99.
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