LOXAHATCHEE – Yesterday evening (May 3), the Seminole Ridge Lady Hawks flag football team made easy work of St. Cloud in a 44-6 home win.
In the Class 2A regional finals, Palm Beach County’s last team standing took a 26-6 halftime lead, thanks to a big play with eight seconds remaining. Lady Hawks quarterback Haylie Young connected with wide receiver Alyssa Hill from 12 yards out for the pivotal score.
And then in the second half, it was Young again with a touchdown pass. This time, it was to wide receiver Chelsea Nedoroscik, who crossed the end zone to make it the game’s final score.
With the victory, Seminole Ridge improved to 16-0 on the season. The odds-on favorite to win the 2A state title is just two wins away from reaching the summit.
The Class 2A (and 1A) flag football State Final Four and state title game will be held at Mandarin High School in Jacksonville on Friday, May 7 and Saturday, May 8.
“I give credit to St. Cloud. They had a long trip to get here and they came out ready to play,” Seminole Ridge Lady Hawks head coach Scott O’Hara said of St. Cloud (9-4 final record). “They had an excellent year. They had a big win over Centennial (20-19) in their last game, which was very close. So I give them credit on a great season. They pushed us to make plays out there.”
O’Hara said his team made some errors they will need to clean up for the State Final Four.
“We’ll have to get better,” O’Hara said. “We made too many mistakes for sure. We know that the outstanding teams are waiting for us. I tip my hat to St. Cloud. They pushed us to work hard and get better.”
O’Hara spoke on how his girls are able to reach the end zone with ease in each game.
“It’s very important and a great feeling for sure,” O’Hara said. “We worked really hard in the offseason and travel season as well. These girls have a lot of experience. They have been playing the game since they were real little. The experience definitely pays off and they certainly make me look good. Our goal is to work hard and get better every practice and every game. We will have to do that for Friday.”
Seminole Ridge will be facing off against Western (16-0) in the 2A State Final Four on Friday, May 7. The game will start either at 3 p.m. or 4:45 pm, as the FHSAA will reveal that information sometime soon.
Chloe Griffin, a wide receiver for the Lady Hawks, reflected on her team’s journey to the State Final Four.
“We’ve been practicing all summer, putting in that work almost every single day for three hours a day,” Griffin said on her team’s state title aspirations. “I’m just excited to move forward and get this opportunity. I know we can do whatever we want. We just needed to get all the jitters out for this game. I know we can do whatever we put our minds to do. I’m just hoping we can pull it off.”
SIDE NOTES: Seminole Ridge is going for its sixth state championship as it looks to add to the program’s titles from 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015, and 2016. The Lady Hawks were state runner-ups in 2014, 2017, and 2018, which means they made the state title game eight times in their illustrious history.
The other 2A State Final Four matchup is Navarre (14-3) vs. Newsome (18-1). The Seminole Ridge-Western winner will face one of these two teams in the 2A state title game on Saturday, May 8 at 1 p.m.
The Class 1A State Final Four matchups are as follows: Florida A&M (11-3) vs. Jensen Beach (12-6) and Tampa Robinson (20-0) vs. Miami Edison (10-1). Those games will be played at 6:30 p.m. and 8:15 p.m., as the FHSAA will announce the teams who will play at those designated times.
The Class 1A state title game will be on Saturday, May 8 at 3 p.m.
All games will be at Mandarin High School in Jacksonville. All tickets will be made available for purchase only through the Go Fan website ($10 advance purchase for each game; $13 purchase on day of each game).
You can click on the GoFan website right here: https://gofan.co/app/school/FHSAA .
PHOTO CREDITS: Xavon Christopher
