The first Orange Belt Conference championship of the spring season will be doled out next week when the flag football tournament begins Monday at Harmony and Celebration high schools.
Second round games are Tuesday at HHS and CHS, and the championship and third-place games will be at St. Cloud High on Thursday. Highest seeds in the fifth and seventh-place games will host those games.
Harmony, despite needing comebacks in the 2025 semifinals and championship, won for the fifth straight year and 11th time in the last 14 years. The Longhorns, despite seeing standout four-year starting quarterback Martha Edwards graduate, will again be in the mix. They were 4-0, with an average winning margin of 29 points per game, before falling 33-13 to state-ranked Gibsonton East Bay in the elite She is Football tournament Saturday morning in Tampa.
But Celebration, the runner-up in 2024 and third place in 2025, will have a say the Storm is 6-0, with four shutout wins and a 20-19 win over East Bay on Feb. 27. Led by junior quarterback Isabel Meadows, CHS has won its games by over 30 points per.
“Each year, this county gets more competitive in flag football," HHS Coach Paul Strauch said at the conclusion of last year's tournament.
Schedule:
Monday
Tohopekaliga at Harmony, 5:30 p.m.
Osceola vs. St. Cloud at Harmony, 7 p.m.
Liberty vs. Gateway at Celebration, 5:30 p.m.
Poinciana at Celebration, 7 p.m.
Tuesday
Monday's Celebration losers at Celebration, 4:30 p.m.
Monday's Harmony losers at Harmony, 5:30 p.m.
Monday's Celebration winners at Celebration, 6 p.m.
Monday's Harmony winners at Harmony, 7 p.m.
Thursday
7th place game: Tuesday's early losers at highest seed, 6 p.m.
5th place game: Tuesday's early winners at highest seed, 6 p.m.
3rd place game: Tuesday's late losers at Harmony, 5:30 p.m.
Championship: Tuesday's late winners at Harmony. 7 p.m.
