Harmony's Ellah Husbands fights for yardage Friday in the state semifinal flag football game in Tampa. (Photo/Taylor McFee)
TAMPA — Harmony High School’s flag football season ended Friday afternoon with a 39–19 loss to Lennard in the FHSAA Class 4A State Semifinals at the AdventHealth Training Center in Tampa.
Even with the defeat, the Longhorns wrapped up one of the strongest seasons in program history, finishing 19-2 and reaching the state final four after an impressive postseason run.
Harmony, in a rare “Longhorns vs. Longhorns” matchup, entered the semifinal as one of the top teams in Class 4A, but Lennard’s offense proved difficult to slow down throughout the afternoon. The Longhorns from Ruskin took advantage of key opportunities in the passing game and built momentum with several timely scoring drives.
Harmony continued to compete until the final whistle. Quarterback Ivy Munns helped lead multiple scoring possessions, while the offense showed flashes of the explosiveness that carried the team throughout the season. Receivers including Ellah Husbands made plays in open space and helped keep Harmony within reach during stretches of the game.
Defensively, Harmony faced one of its toughest challenges of the year against a Lennard team that entered the state tournament playing some of its best football of the season. Lennard carried the momentum from a regional finals victory over Tampa Alonso, then the No. 1 ranked team in the state across all classes.
“We had a great season, just picked a bad day to have a bad day, and really it was just two bad drives that changed the game and kind of buried us,” Coach Paul Strauch said. “It doesn’t take away from our season.”
