On Wednesday, May 21, the Seminole Ridge High School varsity and junior varsity girls flag football teams gathered at the Wellington National Golf Club for their end-of-season awards banquet.
Both squads had a great deal to celebrate. The varsity squad, under the leadership of head coach Scott O’Hara, recently won the Florida High School Athletic Association’s (FHSAA) Class 3A state championship. On Saturday, May 10, Seminole Ridge defeated Tallahassee’s Chiles High School in the Class 3A state final, 26-2. The game was played in the indoor, state-of-the-art AdventHealth Training Center in Tampa, which is the indoor practice facility of the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It was the sixth state flag football championship in school history.
The junior varsity squad had an undefeated 10-0 record. The highlight of the JV squad’s season was winning the Spanish River Tournament.
At this year’s awards banquet, seven members of the junior varsity team — Addison Kratman, Ava Aiken, Kylin Chieffalo, Samantha Musgrave, Abigail Nosworthy, Grace Berman and Maeson Frost — were each given the Best Newcomer Award.
“We brought up seven junior varsity girls for the FHSAA playoffs, who helped us immensely in practice preparation and scrimmaging,” O’Hara said.
As for the awards for the varsity team, Dakota Parks, Sydney Pena and Carrie Didio each won the Leadership Award. Jazlyn Ruiz won the Offensive Most Valuable Player Award. Lola Agosto won the Most Valuable Player Award. Lily Von-Purkyne won the Defensive Impact Award. Olivia Agosto won the Clutch Player Award. Chachi Saunders won the Defensive Most Valuable Player Award. Aubrey Fogel received the Offensive Most Valuable Player Award. Ja’Niah Tejeda won the Lockdown Corner Award, while Avaree Brant and Peyton Teman each won the Rookie-of-the-Year Award.
Seminole Ridge finished the season with an impressive 17-2 record, winning their last 10 straight games. The Hawks ended the year as the top-ranked high school girls varsity flag football team in the nation, according to MaxPreps.
