2021 Flag football championship game recaps

Class 7A: Hillgrove 20, Marietta 6

Lauren Render scored two touchdowns, caught an extra-point pass and had three interceptions to lead Hillgrove (17-1) to its third victory of the season against its Cobb County rival. Render’s 35-yard interception return for a touchdown gave the Hawks a 7-0 lead in the first half, and her 1-yard touchdown reception from Lacey Carder made it 13-0 with 14 minutes remaining in the game. Carder put the game away with an 11-yard touchdown run with four minutes left after Marietta cut the lead to 13-7 on a touchdown pass from Claire Hennessey to Laila Perryman. Render is committed to Virginia Tech in lacrosse and was an all-region basketball player last season. The state championship was the second in school history for Hillgrove, which opened in 2006 (the girls cross country team won in 2019). The Hawks were the flag football runners-up in 2020.

Class 4A-5A: Dodge County 6, Lithia Springs 0

Ileisha Mitchell scored on a 4-yard run in the third overtime for the game’s only points after Lithia Springs had thrown incomplete on fourth down on its possession. Neither team threatened to score in the first two overtimes. Dodge County, a Class 2A school playing up, finished 15-1.

Class A-4A: Southeast Bulloch 20, Portal 0

Ainsleigh Littles threw two touchdown passes and two extra-point conversions and scored on a 3-yard run. Delanie Thames caught both touchdown passes, a 21-yarder in the first half and a 16-yarder with 12:30 remaining in the game. Littles’ touchdown run with four minutes to play in the first half gave Southeast Bulloch (19-0) a 13-0 halftime lead. Portal finished as the state runner-up for the second straight season. The state title was Southeast Bulloch’s first in any sport since 2003 (girls track and field).