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ATLANTA () – The Greenbrier Wolfpack flag football team made local sports history on Tuesday by winning the region’s first state championship in the sport, beating two-time defending state champion Lithia Springs 14-6 in the title game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
Junior Maggie Pangle became the star of the game, scoring what proved to be the game-winning touchdown in the fourth quarter after leaving the contest in the first quarter due to an ankle injury.
“It means a lot,” Pangle said. “I’ve built so many bonds with these girls, and a lot of them I consider my best friends. So I’m very thankful to have this opportunity just to experience it with them.”
After the 11 a.m. start Greenbrier, competing in Division II, scored first when junior quarterback Kenzie Horton, who threw for 2,406 yards and 42 touchdowns coming into the game, found sophomore Aaliyah Silver for a touchdown to give the Wolfpack a 6-0 lead. It was Silver’s fifteenth touchdown catch of the season.
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Lithia Springs answered with a score of its own, and the game remained tied into the fourth quarter, when Horton found Pangle for the go-ahead score, her 15th touchdown catch of the year. Greenbrier recorded a safety on the game’s final play for the 14-6 final.
“I’m feeling really good,” Silver said. “We really played our best, I think we all put effort towards it in the game, and everybody had a part in our win.”
“I’ll tell you our area has made us a better team too,” said Wolfpack head coach Daniel Jordan. “Grovetown, Evans, Lakeside, Harlem–they’re all in Columbia County. Four of those teams ranked in the top 10 this year, and we had to play them all three times. So they made us a better team too, and that shows you the quality.”
Greenbrier finishes the season 19-1, winning its first state championship in flag football to go along with seven baseball titles and two in softball.
