Record-Shattering Game for Flag Football

The Knights give the Panthers their first loss of the season with a score of 35-0.

Grace Hilton and Juno Le

Robinson’s victorious flag football team has earned themselves another win against rival school, Plant High School, with a 35-0 score. On March 23, the team celebrated their 53rd consecutive win, taking the title from Westlake Seminole Ridge High School.

The game picked up very quickly, starting with a touchdown by Crystal Rolack (‘22) in the first few minutes of kickoff. Shortly after, Adriana Williams (‘23) followed with another touchdown for the first quarter. The rest of the quarter was less exciting, making the score 14-0 by the end of it.

Much like the previous, the second quarter started fast with another touchdown by Katejion Robinson (‘23) within the first few minutes. When the Plant Panthers make a throw later on in the quarter, Rolack intercepts it and manages to score a second touchdown for the team. The little remaining time of the quarter is spent by Plant struggling to move forward. Their downs are filled with many incomplete passes and procedure penalties. The score at halftime is 28-0, leaving the Panthers with a lot to make up for in order to win.

By the third quarter, Plant does the kickoff, and makes some progress forward, but Jaylen Stasio (‘22) manages to intercept their throw. During first down, Haley Magin (‘22) makes a catch from long down the field and runs to the next down. In an attempt to get a touchdown, the ball is thrown to Robinson, but the throw is incomplete. During their second attempt, the Knights faced a procedure penalty. Luckily, Stasio takes down the field and lands a touchdown. Additionally, Robinson gets a catch in the end zone not long after. When Plant has the ball, they don’t enjoy this for very long. Robinson doesn’t score any points with this interception, ending the quarter 35-0.

“We blocked them pretty well and we got them down before they could even try,” Stasio said.

The fourth quarter looks eventful once more as Rolack immediately makes a catch into first down. However, many passes afterwards are incomplete and Plant gets a first down. Again, they don’t last long as Rolack intercepts the ball and runs towards the end zone, falling short of the mark. The rest of the game is a struggle to get another touchdown, but Plant holds up and leaves the score the same as the third quarter. 

“The second have we didn’t play as well as we were supposed to. The difference between good and great is doing things consistently well… the second half we weren’t as good. If we want to be the team we think we can be, we have to work on being consistent,” Coach Saunders said.

As the game ends, Plant leaves with zero points and their first loss of the season. On the other hand, the Knights bask in their new record. They have just had the most consecutive wins for Florida high school flag football.

“The cool part is that it’s over five years of teams, so it’s a group of like minded individuals that care about this team and this school,” Saunders said.

Current team member Stasio was really excited to hear that her hard work had paid off.

“I’m so excited! That’s just the momentum that we need to keep going throughout the season, and I think that really encourages us to keep going,” Stasio said.

Former team captain Emily Kemp (RHS ’20) had come to watch the game, and was not surprised by the team’s success.

“I’m really proud of the program and how far they’ve come, and I’m really excited to see where the season takes them,” Kemp said.