For the first time in many of the McEachern flag football players careers, the Indians’ stars had to learn how to flush a loss. Still among the nation’s best, nobody expects the rare setback to deter the team’s long-term goals.

The reigning state champions went 29-0 under head coach Jake Burgdorf a year ago, before extending the winning streak to 40 with another dominant start to the 2025 campaign.

McEachern saw its run come to an end on Nov. 5 at the hands of Grayson, falling 7-0. The defeat marked the first ‘L’ on the schedule since losing to Sequoyah in the D3 state semifinals in December 2023.

For Burgdorf’s group, the sky isn’t falling. 

“It’s definitely not the end of the world,” Burgdorf said. “It’s more of a learning moment. There are obviously many plays and many things throughout that game that we wish we could have back, but that’s not how things work. We don’t harp on that loss. We’re using it as fuel to make sure that we focus on what we’re trying to accomplish for the rest of the season. Our main goals are to win the area championship in a couple weeks and to make a run in the playoffs to win a state title. There’s a chance that we will play Grayson again in the playoffs. Our players will learn from that loss and we’re going to do our best to make sure that we don’t have to feel like that again.”

 To Burgdorf’s point, McEachern answered the loss with a 26-6 win over Parkview and a 19-0 triumph over North Paulding. The Indians are outscoring their opponents by an average score of 23.8-3.4, enjoying contributions from a wealth of returners from last season’s undefeated squad.

“Offensively, Desirae Holley was our leading receiver last year and she’s back for her senior year,” Burgdorf said. “Ava Couzens has played well offensively and defensively for us. We do have a new quarterback this year, Ava George, who’s contributed heavily. We really trust our kids and feel good about what we’ve been able to accomplish this season.”

George – whose sister Amari leads the team with 10 receiving touchdowns – has thrown for 2,015 yards and 27 touchdowns for the high-powered offense. Senior Cayley Windham’s seven receiving scores are followed by Holley and Couzens, who have hauled in six apiece.

At 13-1, McEachern is without a double among the state title contenders, but the increasing talent level in the sixth season of GHSA sanctioned flag football has Burgdorf on high alert.

 “I’ve told many coaches throughout this season, there are so many other programs in the state who are better than they’ve ever been,” Burgdorf said. “It’s so much more challenging now to win games than it has ever been. That’s just a credit to the other coaches in the state. The sport is growing and schools are getting better athletes to come out. … We will be tested in the coming weeks before the playoffs. We’ll play Marietta for the area championship and that’ll be a great game. We also play Harris County and Blessed Trinity, which will be huge tests for us, but we’re happy with where we’re at as a team. The girls are learning daily and we’re relying heavily on our seniors to guide our team and hopefully make another run at it in the playoffs here in less than a month.”

The Indians’ slate continues on Wednesday with a pair of nonconference home games against Redan and THRIVE Christian Academy of Tucker.