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Year 2 of the Bobby Bentley experience at BGA was something more than anyone could have ever imagined.
Last year the Wildcats left Chattanooga disappointed with a second-place finish. This year, any doubts of who the top team in Division II-AA are were erased just after a a half of play.
With a dominant 61-27 win over FRA, the Wildcats claimed their seventh state championship and first since 2003.
“We went from 1–9 my freshman year,” BGA senior Nate Fleming said. “It feels surreal, I don’t even know how to explain it.”
That transformation showed itself on the biggest stage. After a 21-14 loss to FRA earlier in the season, BGA finally got the rematch it had been waiting for, and turned it into a statement.
The Wildcats dominated on both sides of the ball en route to a 61–27 win, becoming the first team to score 60 in a state final since Dresden in 2016 and finishing just seven points shy of Bishop Byrne’s 2002 record.
A lot of that firepower came from senior quarterback and Columbia signee Kaedyn Marable.
The DII-AA Mr. Football finalist who delivered one of the most explosive title-game performances in completing 24-of-31 passes for 384 yards and four touchdowns. Headded 61 rushing yards and three more scores, and accounted for 42 total points—matching Jalen Hurd’s championship game record set in 2012.
For Marable, the breakthrough didn’t feel sudden, it felt like the product of years of preparation.
“It’s a surreal moment, coming from 1–9 to a state championship,” Marable said. “Last year we fell short, and we knew how to come out this year. This is what I worked on for the past couple of years. It’s football every day, go out and practice. Getting an opportunity to come out here and win with my team is really special.”
Head coach Bobby Bentley said he saw this performance coming long before kickoff.
“It’s going to sound cliché, but he’s special,” Bentley said. “And I’m not meaning special just in football. He lives like a quarterback, acts like one. I can strain him and he doesn’t fall back—he responds the right way.”
Bentley felt even more confident after meeting with him the night before.
“Meeting with him at the hotel at 9:15, I knew this was gonna happen,” he said. “He had all of his checks dialed in.”
That preparation showed up all over the field. Marable’s connection with receiver Maximus Curry was unstoppable as they connected for three touchdowns and 176 yards. Sophomore Maddox Porter added nine catches for 152 yards and a score, a sign of a young receiving corps already rising into one of the division’s best.
Fleming said the culture shift Bentley brought to the program was the foundation of everything.
“It’s just culture,” he said. “I didn’t like playing football before he got here, and when he got here that just changed.”
He also couldn’t help but feel emotional thinking about Marable’s performance.
“He was great,” Fleming said. “Unfortunately, I couldn’t be out there much with him on offense, but it felt great. We’re probably going to go to the locker room and cry when Coach Bentley gives his speech.”
Even after the win, Fleming believed this championship would echo through the program long after he’s gone.
“I think this program is honestly like Vanderbilt is now—just gonna keep it rolling,” he said. “I think we finally set a standard, and we have to keep the standard going.”
And on Friday night in Chattanooga, that standard was set by Kaedyn Marable, whose seven-touchdown masterpiece not only brought the gold ball back to Franklin, but etched his name into state championship history.
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