The Keiser University women’s flag football team has 20 athletes on its roster for the current 2023 season. Of those 20 players, six of them graduated from Seminole Ridge High School. All six Seminole Ridge alums have contributed to the success of this year’s team, which has an 8-4 record, to date.
The Seahawks were back in action on Thursday, May 18 when Keiser played its first-round game in this year’s NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) Women’s Flag Finals Weekend, which is being staged in Atlanta, Georgia. The tournament began on May 18 and will conclude on Saturday, May 20, when the championship game will be played at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, home of the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons.
In their first game, the Seahawks played Sun Conference rival Webber International University. With a win, Keiser will advance in the tournament. It will mark the third time that the two teams have met this season. Keiser won the first two games. The most recent game was a 39-19 win by Keiser on April 19.
Those six graduates from Seminole Ridge who are part of Keiser’s team are two juniors, three sophomores and one freshman. The two juniors are Marisa Rubino and Emma Wagenman. The three sophomores are Chloe Griffin, Haylie Young and Aliana Agosto. The freshman is Sophia Caprio.
Rubino, who wears jersey number 14, plays on offense as a receiver and on defense as a safety for the Seahawks. On offense this year, she has had 14 receptions for 180 yards and two touchdowns. Her longest pass reception this year was a 41-yard touchdown pass. On defense, she has 36 solo tackles and three assisted tackles.
Wagenman, who sports jersey number 2, also plays on both sides of the ball. On offense this year, Wagenman has caught 53 passes for 456 yards and seven touchdowns. On defense, as a rusher, she has had 36 tackles and six sacks.
So far this season, Griffin, who wears jersey number 7, has caught 14 passes for 203 yards and two touchdowns. Over the course of her first two years on the team, Griffin has caught 70 passes for 1,058 yards and 14 touchdowns.
Young, who wears jersey number 1, is both the team’s backup quarterback and a receiver. For the team, Young throws the football, catches the football and runs with the football. As a quarterback, she has passed for 734 yards and 12 touchdowns with three interceptions. As a receiver, she has had three catches for 22 yards. And, on the ground, she has run the ball nine times and scored one touchdown.
Agosto, wearing jersey number nine, serves as the team’s punter. This season, she has punted the ball eight times for an average of 29.6 yards per punt. Her longest punt of the season has been 39 yards.
Finally, Caprio, who wears jersey number 10, plays as a wide receiver on offense and as a cornerback on defense. On offense, she has had an outstanding freshman year, hauling in 40 passes for 459 yards and one touchdown. On defense, she has had six tackles and one deflected pass.
This year’s NAIA National Tournament in Atlanta has 14 teams scheduled to play.
