Flag football powerhouses Wellington High School and Seminole Ridge High School are in the middle of strong seasons, looking ahead to the looming postseason.
At the beginning of the current season, Wellington High School head flag football coach Robert Callovi had a big void to fill. He needed a new starting quarterback, since Keelin Coleman had graduated. If the team was going to have any aspirations of returning to the Florida High School Athletic Association’s state finals, then finding a capable signal caller was a necessity.
In the days leading up to the season opener on Feb. 18 against Homestead, Callovi had identified his new starting quarterback in senior Ava Hanson.
“Ava has been our starting quarterback on the junior varsity for the last three years,” Callovi said. “We kept her on the JV team last year so she would continue to get the necessary reps as a quarterback.”
Clearly, it was a good decision, as the Wolverines have opened up the current season with 10 consecutive wins to post a perfect 10-0 record. Hanson has felt comfortable following in the footsteps of Coleman, who is now the starting quarterback for the flag football team at Thomas University in Georgia.
“I was nervous at first, but my teammates have been there supporting me the entire season,” said Hanson, 18, who has a 3.8 GPA. “Everybody is picking everybody up in every game. There’s no yelling, and we’re supportive of one another. We’re family.”
Hanson has responded by completing more than 60 percent of her passes. Through the first nine games, Hanson had thrown 28 touchdown passes. She is averaging more than three touchdown passes per game.
While Callovi is proud of Hanson’s development as a quarterback, he’s equally proud of the play of his defense. Of Wellington’s 10 victories, eight of them have been shutouts. As a team, Wellington has only given up 10 points all season while scoring 257 points.
“I think our defense is better than last year’s defense,” Callovi said. “We lost three defensive starters from last year, but I think the returning starters have improved a great deal. I think we have one of the best defenses in the state.”
Besides Hanson’s play at quarterback, three other players who have stepped up as team leaders are senior Jordan Fernandez, junior Avery Schroeder and junior Angelia Bistrong.
“Jordan is unbelievable,” Callovi said. “She has stepped up and has played well on offense and defense. So much of what Jordan does is second nature. Jordan simply makes plays for us in every game. Avery is a great wideout who is very talented. As a cornerback, Angelia knows how to play defense and makes plays.”
Fernandez leads the team in touchdown receptions (eight, to date) and interceptions (six, to date). Schroeder is leading the team in receiving yards per game with an average of 49.9 yards per game. Bistrong has two quarterback sacks, to date.
Wellington’s most recent victory was a 31-0 win at Palm Beach Central High School on April 1. The team’s most recent home win was on Monday, March 17, when Wellington blanked visiting Boca Raton High School, 24-0. It was senior night for the 10 seniors on Wellington’s roster.
Wellington concludes its regular season with a pair of home games on Thursday, April 3 against Seminole Ridge High School and on Tuesday, April 8 against Park Vista High School.
After that, Wellington will play in the Class 4A, District 12 tournament set for April 14-17, followed by the Class 4A regionals from April 23 to May 1. The season will conclude with the Class 4A state finals, to be held from May 8-10 in Tampa at the AdventHealth Training Center, which is the indoor practice facility of the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Seminole Ridge Playing Well — The Seminole Ridge flag football team is having another winning season under the guidance and leadership of head coach Scott O’Hara.
After nine games, the Hawks are 7-2. Their most recent game was on Thursday, April 3 on the road against undefeated Wellington High School (10-0). The result was not available at press time.
O’Hara is pleased with the performance of his squad, which continues to work hard in practice to get better every day.
“We are off to a good start to the season,” O’Hara said. “We are trying to continue to improve by cutting down on mistakes and penalties while being effective on both sides of the ball and executing consistently.”
Among the key performers for Seminole Ridge this season is sophomore quarterback Aubrey Fogel, who is completing 66 percent of her passes. Through nine games, Fogel has thrown 26 touchdown passes.
Meanwhile, senior Lola Agosto has caught a team-leading six touchdown passes, and senior Dakota Parks is the team’s leading receiver with 62 receiving yards per game. On defense, sophomore Chachi Saunders has nabbed 10 interceptions, senior Sydney Pena is averaging a team-best 4.2 tackles per game, and senior Lily Von-Purkyne has registered a team-leading 12 quarterback sacks.
The Seminole Ridge offense is averaging nearly 20 points per game and only allowing an average of just more than one touchdown per game
In the FHSAA’s Class 3A division, Seminole Ridge is currently listed as the top-ranked team. As a result, the chances of Seminole Ridge getting a bid into the Class 3A state tournament are quite strong.
Just like Wellington, Seminole Ridge is hoping to finish its season at the state finals, to be held from May 8-10 in Tampa.
