In a season of super teams, a record six champions finished 15-0 this week in championship football games at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Some contended for national titles. Others chased state scoring records. Most added to already-rich trophy cases. Buford, the Class 6A champion, is in position to win a consensus national championship because of its 15-0 resume.

Deuce Lawrence set a state finals record with 380 yards rushing yards. He scored five touchdowns on 39 carries. The previous rushing record in a final was 320 yards by Brooks County's Omari Arnold in 2021. Lawrence joined Arnold and Creekside's Dexter Knox in 2013 as the only players to score five touchdowns in a final.

Caleb Hill passed for 167 yards and rushed for 68 yards and two touchdowns. Amari Latimer rushed for 96 yards and two touchdowns. Sandy Creek held Jefferson to 96 yards rushing and 3-of-19 passing for 86 yards. Jefferson scored its only touchdown on a kickoff return. Sandy Creek won its fifth state title, first since 2022.

Hebron Christian took a 21-0 lead 18 minutes into the game, shut down Calvary Day’s run game and intercepted three passes as Calvary became one-dimensional. Calvary’s punting misadventures led to Hebron scoring drives of 1, 25 and 27 yards. Hebron Christian (12-1) defended its championship under a second coach, Kenny Dallas.

Tyriq Green scored on an 82-yard run with 2:37 left to break a 21-21 tie in the longest game-winning fourth-quarter play in state finals history. Green scored another touchdown on a 19-yard run, set up a field goal with a 50-yard run and had four solo tackles in the secondary. Buford’s offense was erratic at best, never sustaining a drive longer than six plays and taking four sacks, but its defense shined.

Carver scored touchdowns 33 seconds apart midway in the fourth quarter to blow open a tight game. Carver held Hapeville to 85 total yards and forced three turnovers. Carver won its third state title and second in a row and extended its winning streak to a state-leading 27 games.

Worth County rallied from a 10-0 first-quarter deficit and scored the winning touchdown late in the third quarter on Lyndon Worthy’s 7-yard pass to Jayden Farley on a seven-play, 75-yard drive. Worth County won its second state championship, first since 1987, in its first finals appearance since 1990.

Benedictine got within 42-39 with a touchdown with 1:04 left, but Creekside recovered an onside kick and ran out the clock. It was a game with big momentum swings. Creekside blew a 21-3 lead in the second quarter and trailed 24-21 at halftime but rediscovered itself in the third quarter, outscoring Benedictine 21-0 for a 42-24 lead and was never in great danger from there.

Josh Hopkins, on the run under pressure on third-and-14, threw a 27-yard pass to Berkley Perkins in the end zone with 2:34 left for the winning score. The touchdown ended a nine-play, 80-yard drive. Lincoln County had rallied from down 28-17 in the fourth quarter and took a 31-28 lead on Kelby Glaze’s 84-yard run with 5:34 left.

Teams and coaches will make history, players will shine, and a few underdogs will have their day today through Wednesday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, site of the eight Georgia high school football championships. Anticipating those moments, here are 10 storylines to watch as the season approaches its final chapter.

Gainesville and Thomas County Central won Class 5A semifinals Thursday night to set up the last of the eight championship games set for Monday-Wednesday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Gainesville beat Rome 37-6, and Thomas County Central beat Roswell 49-28. The Class 5A final will be the final game of the GHSA season on Wednesday.

The last two spots in the GHSA championship games, to be played Monday through Wednesday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, will be filled Thursday when Gainesville travels to Rome and Roswell visits Thomas County Central in the Class 5A semifinals. The games were originally scheduled to be played last Friday but were delayed in the aftermath of Gainesville’s second-round skirmish against Brunswick.

Carver (Columbus) and Bowdon will aim to extend their championship reigns for another year when they play in the state finals next week at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Carver, seeking its second consecutive title, will meet Worth County at 2 p.m. Tuesday in Class A Division I. Bowdon, shooting for its fourth straight championship, will take on Lincoln County at 3:30 p.m. Monday in A Division II.

In eight days, it will be over, the 2025 football season in the books. Things will look differently then, considering that eight championship games and two semifinals are still on the schedule, but here are our picks as the 10 most intriguing stories of 2025 season so far. They’re roughly ordered from fairly gripping to spell-binding.

The state football finals are back for another year at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, which will host championship games in all eight classifications and the flag football finals in five divisions on Dec. 15-17. Here’s a recap of last week’s football semifinals - and one quarterfinal - and the significance of the results for both the winning and losing teams.

The high school football playoffs resume tonight with 14 semifinals and the long-awaited Gainesville-Hughes game. Gainesville-Hughes is the quarterfinal the GHSA postponed last week while sorting out the matter of 38 suspended Gainesville players. The semifinals won't be upstaged by one famous quarterfinal, though. The semifinal winners are going to the Benz, the Falcons’ home field.

Defending state champions Bowdon and Hebron Christian will be back in action Friday night in the GHSA football semifinals. Bowdon, seeking its fourth consecutive state title, will travel to Clinch County in a Class A Division II game. Hebron Christian of Class 3A-A Private will face Greater Atlanta Christian in the first meeting between the Gwinnett County private schools.

Burke County and Carver of Columbus will meet Friday in the Class 2A semifinals in a rematch of last year’s state championship game, won by Carver 52-14. Carver advanced to the semifinals for the third consecutive season with a 38-10 victory last week against Thomson, the regular-season champion in Burke County’s region.  

Gainesville will play Hughes in the Class 5A football quarterfinals Friday at near full strength as the Georgia High School Association decided Monday not to fight a restraining order that kept it from suspending 34 Gainesville players. The turning point in the deadlock took place Sunday, according to GHSA executive director Tim Scott.

Carrollton and Marist defeated defending champions Grayson and North Oconee, ending the state’s two longest winning streaks, while Sumter County and West Laurens advanced to their first semifinals in history with playoff victories last week. Worth County and Pepperell reached semifinals for the first time since the 1990s.