Robinson (Tampa) reached a major milestone Saturday by winning its 10th consecutive flag football state championship, beating
Northwestern (Miami) 42-34 victory in Florida's Class 2A final.
The Knights have captured 11 titles in the past 12 seasons, the most by any girls flag football program in the country.
Against Northwestern, junior quarterback
Annie Keith completed 42 of 48 passes for 371 yards and four touchdowns, ran for a score and was named the championship game MVP. Fellow juniors
Izzy Harris and
Sarah Williams combined for 200 receiving yards and two scores for the Knights.
The Robinson flag football team celebrates its 10th consecutive FHSAA state championship after a 42-34 victory over Northwestern. (PHOTO: Francis Fedor)
A day after head coach Joshua Saunders recorded career victory No. 300 in the 42-12 semifinal victory against
Choctawhatchee (Fort Walton Beach), the Knights played from behind early on Saturday.
Robinson freshman
Ayden Klaiber, who will also play for Saunders on the 17U Team USA flag football team in international play in June, made an impact in the first half with an 8-yard touchdown catch that tied the score midway through the opening period.
Northwestern quarterback
Tashara Robinson, who completed 31 of 37 pass attempts for 376 yards and four touchdowns, connected with
Dezaria Hampton for a 46-yard score to give her team the lead back at 13-7 at the end of the first. Hampton totaled 11 receptions for 195 yards and three touchdowns on the day.
But Robinson scored 21 unanswered points in the second quarter.
Brookelynn Curry scored on a 2-yard run and Harris caught a 2-yard TD pass from Keith to make it 21-13. Keith then hit Williams for a short pass in their own territory and Williams pitched it to Harris sprinting down the sideline for a 54-yard score to make it 28-13 at the end of the first half.
Keith punched in a 1-yard touchdown run and hit
Makyla Phillips for a 12-yard score to highlight the second half for the Knights.
Class 4A: Lennard 12, Park Vista 6
The
Lennard (Ruskin) Longhorns won the 4A FHSAA championship by handing
Park Vista (Lake Worth) its first loss of the season. The Cobras were the last remaining undefeated team in the state heading into the finals.
Freshman quarterback
Hayden Schofield, who spent most of her season on the Lennard JV squad and joined the varsity squad in time for the FHSAA regional playoffs, was named the game's MVP. Schofield had touchdown passes to
Willow Rager and
Makenzie Walker to help the Longhorns to their first state championship in program history.
Class 1A: Edison 33, Somerset Academy 12
Edison (Miami) repeated as Class 1A champions with a 33-12 victory over
Somerset Academy - Canyons (Boynton Beach). The Red Raiders jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the first half and never looked back.
Senior quarterback
Rakyia Louis threw for 248 yards on 19-of-30 passing with four touchdown passes and became Florida’s all-time leading passer. Louis broke the previous record of 16,169 held by Amaya Pablo of
Pace. Louis finished her four-year varsity career with 16,353 yards – fifth on the all-time national leaderboard – and 209 touchdown passes.
Torri Cotman was named the game's MVP, tallying 77 yards on five catches and included a pick-six on defense.
Class 3A: Seminole Ridge 27, St. Thomas Aquinas 19
In the tightest contest of the four championship games on Saturday, top-ranked
Seminole Ridge (Loxahatchee) won a seesaw battle, 27-19, against
St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale) to secure a 3A repeat and the program’s seventh overall state crown.
In a one-point game late in the fourth quarter,
Aubrey Fogel’s fourth touchdown pass of the day extended Seminole Ridge’s lead to 27-19 with 1:27 to play. Fogel went 30-of-41 for 275 yards.
Kylin Chieffalo bookended the scoring plays with the game’s opening touchdown midway through the first quarter and the insurance score late in the fourth.
Ava Dowdell had 141 receiving yards and two touchdowns on 11 catches and was named the game's MVP for the Hawks.
