FLAG FOOTBALL: Class 2A & Class 1A regional finals preview

It is regional finals tonight for both Class 2A and Class 1A in Flag Football and that means 16 teams are left with 8 games on deck total with the right to move on from the Elite Eight to the Final Four on the line tonight around the state.

Let’s take a quick look at each of these games:

CLASS 2A

REGION 1 FINAL

No. 2 Pace (18-2) at No. 1 Fleming Island (15-1)

NOTES: For either one of these teams a first-time trip to the state is on the line here in this one and while Fleming Island has relied mostly on Mykayala Maddox this season, Pace has been really led at the hands of freshman quarterback Amaya Pablo. However, this is going to be a long road trip along with a time zone change for the Patriots. Can they handle this? That is going to be the big question here. Thoughts are leaning towards the Golden Eagles here winning this one.

PREDICTION: Fleming Island over Pace

REGION 2 FINAL

No. 2 Tampa Alonso (19-1) at No. 1 Lithia Newsome (18-1)

NOTES: Newsome is Alonso’s only loss this season which came during the Gold Bracket championship at the Capital City Classic last month in Tallahassee. Alonso is looking to get back to state for the first time since 2019 and knock out the team that won it all last year in Newsome. The visiting Ravens are going to be relying big time on Mieke Rowe at quarterback while the host Wolves will rely heavily on Devyn Silvestri in the biggest Class 2A tilt of the night.

PREDICTION: Newsome over Alonso

REGION 3 FINAL

No. 5 Lake Worth Park Vista (16-1) at No. 2 Boca Raton Spanish River (17-2)

NOTES: A rematch of the District 2A-12 championship is here and Park Vista is looking to get revenge back on the Sharks for the loss they took. However, for Spanish River they have been playing strong flag football here in the playoffs and have not left off the gas, even against perennial power Seminole Ridge who they defeated on Thursday to get here. However, this could be a very close one.

PREDICTION: Spanish River over Park Vista

REGION 4 FINAL

No. 2 Miami High (15-1) at No. 1 Davie Western (16-0)

NOTES: Miami High is back in the regional finals for the second time in program history and is looking to knock off last year’s Class 2A state runner-up in Western. While not a lot is known regarding the Stingarees’ top players, the host Wildcats are going to be relying on the services of Sydney Ford to get them over the top and back to state for the second straight year.

PREDICTION: Western over Miami High

CLASS 1A

REGION 1 FINAL

No. 2 Fort Walton Beach Choctawhatchee (13-2) at No. 1 Middleburg (16-0)

NOTES: Choctawhatchee is facing a long road trip and a time zone change over to Middleburg to take on the very talented Broncos who have emerged as one of the success stories in Flag Football over the last two seasons. The visiting Indians are going to rely on Rowan Franklin but if shut down could leave the Indians into a situation that the Broncos will capitalize on heavily. The Broncos are going to rely on quarterback Brooke Swenson to get the ball out while Laura Palagyi and Desiree Hall are going to be the two forces on defense that are going to get after the Indians and after what we saw against FAMU DRS, this team has what it takes to take down one of the best teams from the Panhandle region.

PREDICTION: Middleburg over Choctawhatchee

REGION 2 FINAL

No. 6 St. Petersburg (11-5) at No. 1 Tampa Robinson (19-1)

NOTES: St. Petersburg has been a success story in the playoffs taking down the No. 3 and the No. 2 seeds in consecutive rounds to get a shot at No. 1 seed Robinson which has been nothing but lights out so far in the playoffs. The visiting Green Devils are going to rely heavily on Ava Stoller at quarterback to get the ball out while needing Morgan Cramer to really focus hard on making stops against Robinson’s offense. The host Knights are going to be relying on Brianna Stearns at quarterback to get the ball out while Julia Guillermo on defense will be rushing hard to give Stroller fits.

PREDICTION: Robinson over St. Petersburg

REGION 3 FINAL

No. 5 Orlando Jones (14-2) at No. 3 Jensen Beach (17-3)

NOTES: Jensen Beach returns home after knocking out No. 2 Ocala Trinity Catholic to host No. 5 Jones who took down the Cinderella of Region 3 in No. 8 Riviera Beach Suncoast. While not a lot is known about Jones’ top players, Jensen Beach is going to rely heavily on quarterback Courtney Cromer to get the ball out while hoping Bella Faherty will do enough disruption on defense against the visiting Tigers’ offense to return back to state for the second year in a row.

PREDICTION: Jensen Beach over Jones

REGION 4 FINAL

No. 2 Miami Somerset Silver Palms (15-1) at No. 1 Miami Edison (13-1)

NOTES: While not a lot is known about the top players from each team, Miami Edison is much more experienced when it comes to playing in regional finals with a trip to state on the line compared to Somerset Silver Palms which is in its deepest playoff run in program history. With that said, this experience for Edison lends an edge here in this one.

PREDICTION: Miami Edison over Somerset Silver Palms