When Marci Cochran took over as the inaugural head flag football coach at Southeast Bulloch High School, she knew the Yellow Jackets would be good enough to compete.

Three years later, even Cochran is amazed at the program’s dominance.

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Southeast Bulloch won its third straight title in 2023 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Credit: Statesboro Herald

Since fielding their first roster and team in 2021, the Yellow Jackets have gone 62-0, claiming three straight Class A-4A state championship titles. For a school located in the small town of Brooklet near Statesboro in southeast Georgia, Cochran and company have put Southeast Bulloch on the map – and then some.

“When I took the head coach job, I knew the athletes we had and I knew we could make a run for the state championship in our first year,” Cochran said. “Did I think we were going to go undefeated? No. Did I think we could win three state championships in a row? Probably not. But in our first parent meeting, I did tell the parents, ‘Our job here is to win a state championship and I think that can happen.’ It really has played out the way I wanted it to, but the undefeated part is what’s really amazing about the whole story.”

Coming off an unblemished 2023 season that saw the Yellow Jackets finish 23-0 and claim the No. 1 spot in MaxPreps’ national rankings, the program hopes to set aside some inexperience on its way to a possible four-peat.

“Overall, we’re a young team,” Cochran, whose team outscored its opponents 585-71 last year, said. “We lost five seniors from last year who played big roles in our success. We have three seniors this year, and a lot of juniors and sophomores that are going to have to step up and play for the first time as starters. That’s exciting to be able to watch them grow and see how they’re going to do on the field.”

Southeast is led by seniors Jaci Kitchings and Jadyn Williams.

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Coach Marci Cochran started the flag football program at Southeast Bulloch and has kissed three state championship trophies.

Credit: Statesboro Herald

“Jaci is what we call our ‘up back’ because she runs and passes the ball, she’s not just a blocker,” Cochran said. “We found out this summer that she's a pretty good corner, as well. Jadyn leads our team in sacks and she’s started all four years, so it’s exciting to have them back and see them take over in leadership roles.”

The Yellow Jackets extended their winning streak into 2024 with a 20-0 victory over McDonough and a 12-6 win over South Effingham in Week 1. Although Cochran’s team has a long road ahead in search of another state title, the fourth-year coach can reflect on what’s made the program just so imposing.

“Whenever I’m asked about our team, the first thing I have to say is that we have great athletes,” Cochran added. “When you have these kinds of athletes that are coachable and want to play and are here for the right reasons, it makes it a lot easier to win. But besides having talented kids, the culture that we brought when we started out is what has made the team so successful. I think we’re more than just a team. The girls hang out together. We do community service projects to help keep that bond. It really is hard sometimes to be a flag football coach because you have to share so many athletes with fall and winter sports. But we’ve worked hard to create a positive culture on and off the field for our girls. It’s been great for our female athletes to have this opportunity to play and be recognized in everything they do.

Cochran’s squad looks to remain unbeaten all-time when the Yellow Jackets take on St. Vincent’s Academy and Beach High School on Oct. 21.

This week's flag football coverage on GPB: GPB Sports will stream this week’s tripleheader from Marietta High School on GPB.org. Marietta will play Greater Atlanta Christian at 5:30 p.m., followed by GAC vs. Blessed Trinity at 6:30 p.m., and Marietta vs. Blessed Trinity at 7:30 p.m. The games can also be seen in the GPB Sports App.

Last week’s streaming games featured Woodstock and Alpharetta at Cherokee. Click here to watch those games on-demand.