WELLINGTON – There is a good reason why the Seminole Ridge flag football program is widely considered as a flagship staple in Palm Beach County.
All one needs to do is look at how the sixth-seeded Lady Hawks battled back from their 6-0 halftime deficit to the third-seeded Lady Wolverines in the Class 2A-Region 3 quarterfinal round yesterday (April 27).
We have all of the video images to prove it.
So with that said, it was primarily the Lady Hawks defense that propelled them in the second half – save for one offensive drive that tied the game up at 6-6.
Watch how Lady Hawks senior quarterback Jaida Salguero fired off her touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Lola Agosto.
9:55 3rd: @SRHSHawks has tied the game up with @WHS_FlagFB at 6-6
— New Era Prep (@EraPrep) April 27, 2023
TD pass by Jaida Salguero to erase the deficit@Andy_Villamarzo @FlaHSFootball @FHSAA pic.twitter.com/OdBrUjWZp4
From the 9:55 mark of the third quarter until the final buzzer, both defenses were at their very best.
5:59 3rd: @SRHSHawks with the pick! pic.twitter.com/N3MVuRC1Z6
— New Era Prep (@EraPrep) April 27, 2023
End 3rd: @WHS_FlagFB & @SRHSHawks are still tied at 6-6
— New Era Prep (@EraPrep) April 27, 2023
Last play: Turnover on downs
Next play: @keelin_coleman & crew will have the ball to start the 4th@FHSAA 2A-Region 3 Quarterfinal@Coach_Sime81 @Andy_Villamarzo @FlaHSFootball @TyreeSmithTV pic.twitter.com/NaJcSY490a
7:21 4th: We got a pick on fourth down by Angelina Bistrong (@WHS_FlagFB) ‼️
— New Era Prep (@EraPrep) April 27, 2023
Score is still tied with @SRHSHawks at 6-6@Coach_Sime81 @Andy_Villamarzo @FlaHSFootball @FHSAA pic.twitter.com/6cfxBg6KBd
The play of the game happened with 5:24 left in the fourth quarter, when Lady Hawks senior Cayley Chieffalo stepped in front of a Lady Wolverines wide receiver and caught an interception as she ran it all the way down to the end zone.
This proved to be the moment to remember mainly because of how Chieffalo and her teammates celebrated each other right after the defensive scoring play.
5:24 4th: @CayleyChief caught a pick-six right here on this play ‼️ 💥
— New Era Prep (@EraPrep) April 27, 2023
Next play: 1-point conversion pass by Jaida Salguero (2023) was successful.
Score now: @SRHSHawks has a 13-6 lead over @WHS_FlagFB @FHSAA 2A-Reg. 3 Quarters@Andy_Villamarzo @FlaHSFootball @TyreeSmithTV pic.twitter.com/uHluBv87wo
Wellington had at least one more chance to either tie the game up or take the lead. But Seminole Ridge’s defense was too much as it held on for the seven-point comeback win.
FINAL: No. 6 seed @SRHSHawks (12-3) came back from a 6-0 halftime deficit to earn a 13-6 win tonight over No. 3 seed @WHS_FlagFB (13-3 final record) @FHSAA 2A-R3 Quarterfinal
— New Era Prep (@EraPrep) April 28, 2023
PLAY OF THE GAME: Pick-six in the fourth by @CayleyChief @coach_chief @Andy_Villamarzo… pic.twitter.com/pDN444xO6G
With the win, Seminole Ridge (12-3) avenged its Class 2A-District 11 title game loss (20-6) from last Thursday night (April 20) to Wellington (13-3 final record).
“Give Wellington credit,” Seminole Ridge head coach Scott O’Hara said. “Coach [Robert] Callovi is a fantastic coach and he has a fantastic team. They have all types of weapons and they pushed us to the limit. Hats off to them again. They played fantastic and gave us everything we can handle and then some. We just made a couple of extra plays when we needed to.”
You can listen to the entire Seminole Ridge postgame interview right below.
Group interview: @SRHSHawks senior @CayleyChief, senior Jaida Salguero, head coach Scott O’Hara, & sophomore Lola Agosto spoke on their 13-6 road win over @WHS_FlagFB and how it all happened.@SeminoleRidgeTV @coach_chief @Andy_Villamarzo @TyreeSmithTV @FlaHSFootball @FHSAA pic.twitter.com/JkaVqarrwx
— New Era Prep (@EraPrep) April 28, 2023
For Seminole Ridge, it will go back home to host seventh-seeded Palm Beach Gardens (12-5) in the Class 2A-Region 3 semifinal round on Wednesday, May 3 at 7 p.m.
This one will be the third Seminole Ridge-Palm Beach Gardens matchup of the season, with Seminole Ridge winning the first two (26-6 on March 14 in road game; 26-18 on April 19 in Class 2A-District 11 semifinal round).