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Hialeah, Coconut Creek Advance To Flag Football Final Four

Sharon BlockSFHSSports: Twitter | Facebook

South Florida will be well-represented in the Florida High School Flag Football State Championship Final Four at Tampa Robinson High School.

Hialeah, (13-3), a first-year team, will play No. 1 state-ranked and defending state champion Seminole Ridge (15-0) Friday in the State 2A semifinal.

Coconut Creek, (16-0), one of the oldest flag football teams in Broward, will face St. Cloud Harmony (14-2) in the State 1A semifinal, also on Friday.

On Tuesday, Hialeah won the Region 4-2A title with an impressive 20-6 victory over Miami High. The Thoroughbreds are the first Miami-Dade public school to qualify for the state championship.

"This is an absolutely proud moment no matter what happens from here on out," said Hialeah head coach Denoff Johnson. "We can always say we were the first. We are the first from Dade to win district, region and go to state. It's history. People may not think girls flag football is a big sport, but you cannot take this away from these girls. In fifty years they will come back and say we were the team that started it all."

Johnson, a former flag football player at Florida Memorial, gave up his softball coaching job to head the first-year program. For ten years, he has been one of the most vocal coaches to support girls flag football in public high schools.

"It is very, very satisfying, but I have been thinking about flag football and what we can do," Johnson said. "The potential was always there. I was excited about the season all along but it changed a little bit when we won the district championship."

The team, led by talented sophomore quarterback Ja'Keira Betties, was built around the players' athleticism.

"We have a bunch of girls on the team who are volleyball, basketball and softball players, who hadn't been successful in anything in their entire career," Johnson said. They signed up for flag football with no prospect of actually being a winner, so to see their elation and having the seniors give me a big hug is really, really cool."

Johnson, also the girls' basketball coach, got a late start with his team a week before the season started. He put together his roster with five basketball players, seven softball players, one volleyball player and two cheerleaders.

"Our success is definitely because of our athleticism," Johnson said. "These girls are brand new to this game. They didn't know the nuances and fundamentals. We learned as the season went on. We learned from our mistakes, we were moving forward and learning on the fly. We played Pace and got killed. Edison was a better game but we still lost and we lost in GMAC. But every game was a learning experience. They are just about now getting to understand the game using their God-given abilities to be successful."

Johnson said he would have been happy with a .500 season."

"I was kind of nervous going into the season," Johnson said. "Mater was in our district and they had a pretty good team. It helped that we did not get crushed in the beginning of the season. It came down to us and Miami High, two teams with amazing quarterbacks."

Betties, the starting point guard on the basketball team, scored three touchdowns against Miami High to give Hialeah a 20-0 halftime lead.

Betties found freshman receiver Brianna Sweeting for an 11-yard touchdown. Three plays later, Betties also intercepted quarterback Jeri Richard's pass and ran it back to the one-yard line before scoring on a run. Betties found sophomore Malikah Campbell for a two-yard TD pass before the half.

"They told us we would have a 10-game schedule our first year," Johnson said. "I thought it would be fun, I had no expectations. Then it got serious with GMAC, district, region and now the state tournament."

Johnson is aware of Seminole Ridge, five-time winners of the state title in the past seven years. He started researching high school flag football teams on the Internet and YouTube.

"The first team that stood out was Seminole Ridge," Johnson said. "It reminded me of all the tournaments I played. I saw the images of all the great teams that I got to play. Let's see what we can do. We are going to give it a shot and play our best game. It would be a huge upset. I want the girls to enjoy the ride and when it ends, it ends."

Hialeah Athletic Director Len Sanders is just as excited as Johnson.

"I am very proud," Sanders said. "When you think, it is the first year of doing something like this. We weren't sure how it would end up and qualifying for states was the farthest thing from my dreams. I didn't know how good the other teams would be. I was hoping we could finish at .500. I watched them throughout the season and they just got better and better."

Cougars Knock Off Edison

In a battle of the unbeaten, Coconut Creek knocked off favorite Miami Edison (11-0), 7-0, in the final 20 seconds of the game to win the Region 4-1A title.

CiIZJELXIAA6upSSenior quarterback Ambresha Long moved to wide receiver and caught a 35-yard touchdown with 20 seconds remaining in the game.

Long convinced head coach Robert Carradine to have backup quarterback Anari Dozier throw her the ball on a one-person route. Dozier hit Long, despite triple coverage, for the score.

Long, a lefty, has been the county's most versatile flag football player, scoring more than 50 touchdowns on passing, running and receiving. She also picked off two Edison passes.

"We'll be back, we lose no seniors," said Edison coach Vince Hall. "It was a tough way to lose."

Coconut Creek, one of the oldest teams in Broward County, is enjoying its finest season. The past three seasons the Cougars finished the regular season undefeated only to lose in the district tournament.

This year the team won its first District 13-1A title followed by a first-ever region crown. Long, who recently signed with Redlands College in Oklahoma to play basketball, and top running back Shedly Apollon are among nine seniors looking to go out state champions.

"This is by far the girls biggest season," said Coconut Creek Athletic Director Charles Hendrix. "I have been here five years and they have been really good. This is the farthest they have gone and been undefeated."

I am extremely proud of the girls," Hendrix said. "With gender equity a major issue for high school sports, it confirms the importance of athletics for females. I am so excited for them, they are phenomenal."

STATE SEMIFINALS

CLASS 2A: Thursday, Stuart Martin County vs. Tampa Plant; Friday, Hialeah vs. Seminole Ridge.

CLASS 1A: Friday, Tallahassee Godby vs. Tampa Robinson; Friday, Coconut Creek vs. Harmony.

Times to be announced on FHSAA.org website.

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