JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – One of the best seasons in area flag football history is in the books.
Fleming Island’s run to the Class 2A state championship game ended one win short of a title with a 33-6 loss to Tampa Alonso High on Saturday afternoon at Mandarin High School.
The Golden Eagles were just the second local team to reach the championship game but couldn’t clear the final hurdle. The Ravens (23-0) scored on the first drive of the game, converted an interception into points and built a 20-0 lead before the Golden Eagles managed a scoring drive.
Mykala Maddox hit Natalia Ramdas in stride to get down inside the 10. She’d polish off the drive with a short touchdown run to get the Golden Eagles to within 20-6. But that’s all the Fleming offense could scratch out against Alonso. The Ravens surrendered just 98 points all season and made things miserable for the Golden Eagles.
Loss aside, the run to the championship game was a major accomplishment for the Golden Eagles, a wire-to-wire No. 1 selection in the News4JAX Super 6. They dominated the area this year and didn’t allow a single point until the district tournament. Fleming beat defending state champion Western (20-14) in the state semifinals, a team that throttled the Golden Eagles in the final four last year.
Fleming joined the 2013 Mandarin team as the only area schools to play in a flag football championship.