Harmony, St. Cloud joined by Poinciana, who could threaten with big upcoming wins
When the 2022 Flag Football season got underway earlier this month, veteran Harmony coach Paul Strauch insisted St. Cloud was the local team to beat this year, but he may be down-playing that his Longhorns – a traditional county powerhouse – is also pretty darn good and should once again challenge for an Orange Belt Conference championship
The Longhorns head into this week with a 5-1 record and have already racked up a 3-0 OBC mark, including a big win over Gateway.
St. Cloud, which defeated Harmony for the District Championship last year, is 2-2 in the early going – including a 2-0 mark in OBC play. Although the Bulldogs lost some key players to graduation after year’s 9-4 season that included a run to the FHSAA Regional Semifinals, don’t read too much into their .500 start as the St. Cloud lost two tough one-point road games against 2021 playoff teams Ft. Pierce Westwood (L, 7-6) and Centennial (L, 26-25).
Gateway is coming off a solid 10-4 season but head coach Travis Hill lost nine experienced players to graduation. Still, the Panthers have a slew of talented newcomers and is off to a 2-2 (1-2 OBC) and played Harmony well in a 13-6 loss.
Poinciana was off to a great start at 3-0, with all three wins being OBC victories. The future Eagles success this season could center on upcoming road games against St. Cloud and Harmony.
With the exception of Gateway (Class 1A, District 11) and Celebration (Class 2A, District 5) all other county public schools compete in Class 2A, District 9. Only the district champion advances to regional play in the sport. District tournaments are contested April 25-29.
Celebration
Head Coach: Jeremy Palmer
Key Returning Players: Destiny Ewing, Senior, WR/DB; Lena Bolejack, Sophomore,, QB/Middle defender; Diana Houmadin, Junior, WR/DB; and Jasmin ElMatni, Senior, C/Rusher.
Palmer on Storm: “The Storm Flag Football comes off a challenging 2021 season and are looking forward to blending our young core with our senior leadership to keep building a foundation for the future. Our four seniors lead by Wide Receiver Destiny Ewing and Center Jamin ElMatni bring a tough mentality to our rebuilt offense lead by Sophomore QB Lena Bolejack. Leana led the offense in touchdowns as a freshman and has begun to master the offense. The core around them is being built up by rising Freshman Abril Herrera and Eva DeCeaseare, Sophomore Wideout MaKenzee Ewing, and Junior Blocker Diana Houmadin. Our freshman class has brought us more young talent to build upon over the next couple of years. The Storm is ready to make a run and give teams trouble in the 2022 season.”
Liberty
Head Coach: Ethan Fournier
Key Returning Players: Janalee Casado, RB/DB, Junior; Yanelly Quirros, RB/DB/QB, Senior; Angeline Beecher, WR/LB/QB, Senior
Promising Newcomer: Mya Richards, LB, Freshman
Gateway
Head Coach: Travis Hill
Key Returning Players: Melina Trinidad-QB,ATH, Brianna Joseph-RB, ATH, Nyaziah Peterson-WR,LB
Hill on Panthers: “We are in a rebuilding year, we lost 9 seniors last year and only return about 3-4 players that know the system and helped us out last year. With that being said, we have gotten some very talented players such as Karli Cole, Madison Vazquez, Adrianna Rivera, Jaiden Dyer and Kimberly Tavares that have come out to play for us this year and have made a great addition to the team. Not only that, but I have also had some ladies that have moved up to help on Varsity as well that played JV last year such as Ashley Ledesma and Autumn Lawrence. Overall, I think we will be a really great team everyone on our team brings something special and needed to the team, it will just take some time for everything to come together as a unit. Our overall goal for the season is to go 1-0 every week, we may hit a few snags along the way but if we keep that as our main focus and not worry about outcomes of games or overlook any of our opponents, we will do great.”
Harmony
Head Coach: Paul Strauch (2021 OBC champions at 7-0)
Key Returning Players: Drea Thompson, WR/S, Junior; Aubrie White, LB/WR, Senior; Alex Ceballos-Means, LB/WR, Sophomore; Ashlyn Scarborough, WR/C, Sophomore; Arianna Ross-McLaughlin, R, Sophomore
Strauch on Longhorns: “We have a great group of girls. Losing Rienna Scott because of injury for the year will be a huge loss. We are really a young team and with a lot of sophomores and freshmen contributing. Our returning seniors: Riley, Ali and Aubrie will provide great leadership. Drea Thompson is an incredible player on both offense and defense. We have had some early success which we hope to continue. Our young players will have to grow up to help keep our seniors season continue.”
Osceola
Head Coach: David Martinez
Key Returning Players: Destiny Kim, RB/QB/C, Sophomore; Shaelyne Weidner, QB/RB, Sophomore; Faith Rutherford, WR/C, Junior
Poinciana
Head Coach: LeRoy Smith
Key Returning Players: Ivanis Pimentel (QB), Makaila Longway (RB), Keila Murillo (OL), Janessa Cloud (WR)
Smith on Eagles: “I am excited about this team and this season. We have a great group of skill players and a strong defense. Building off the successes of last season we are looking to make a strong push into the post-season this year. Our senior leadership is in place and our underclassmen are continuing the traditions and standards that they have set.”
St. Cloud
Head Coach : Shawn Beck
Key Returning Players: Alexis Santiago, WR; Delia Macdonald, WR; Samora Brooks, C
Beck on Bulldogs: “After losing some key players to graduation, we’re will be in a rebuilding phase this season but believe another successful season is possible. Freshman Vanessa Vohs will be our quarterback and she has done a good job of picking up our system. Santiago and Macdonald are really good players that will test any defense; while Brooks’ move from running back to center has helped stabilize our offense. Early in the season we are still moving some players around.”
Tohopekaliga
Head Coach: Bryant Butler
Key Returning Players: Jennifer Rosado, WR; Flanechie Benoit, WR/LB; Amani Long, CB (Defensive Captain); Angelina Gonzalez, WR; Helena Moreno, QB/LB (Offensive Captain)
Butler on Tigers: “My goal for this year's team is to put our best foot forward, nobody remembers or cares about last season. Let's be the first team in school history to score points and win games. We will be a disciplined team -- on and off the field. We have a good team and I know we will be able to do something special here at the school before the season is over, I'm proud to coach these remarkable young ladies.”
