FLAG FOOTBALL: Choctawhatchee, Land O’ Lakes and Ponte Vedra shine at the 2025 Capital City Classic

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.  – The Capital City Classic took place on Friday and Saturday at the FSU Rec Sports Plex on the Southwest side of the city with teams from all across the state taking a part of the two-day tournament with some of the top teams in the state along with some of the upcoming new programs including Ponte Vedra and Land O’ Lakes making noise in their first year as programs.

Here is a look at how the tournament played out in Tallahassee and you can find more about top performances from some of the teams in our regional Flag Football Finals for the Panhandle, North Central Florida, Northeast Florida, Central Florida and Tampa Bay on FloridaHSFootball.com:

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GOLD BRACKET

In the Gold Bracket, Florida Top 25 No. 6 Choctawhatchee dominated the bracket to win the Capital City Classic for the first time. In a bracket that has usually seen domination in recent years by Tampa Bay-area teams, it was Choctawhatchee that finally broke through. While the absence of teams like Robinson and Alonso were notable on the Gold Bracket this year, the Indians path to the tournament trophy was certainly not an easy one with one score games being all the difference in each of the three games that the Indians played in.

Congrats Choctaw! Gold Bracket Champs! pic.twitter.com/oWo1KybZwh

— CCC Flag FB Tourney (@CCC_FlagFB) March 8, 2025

What Choctawhatchee Flag Football Head Coach Jim Bay had to say after winning the Capital City Classic:

“It was a great win for our team [in playing Belleview for the Championship]. We fought through a lot of adversity, including the weather, a well-coached and talented team that made big plays, momentum swings, injuries, and playing from behind. Everything was thrown at us, and we didn’t break!

We are a young team on both sides of the ball, having to fill nine positions. However, we have a seasoned quarterback in junior Diaris Morales, who is now even more locked in, no longer splitting time with varsity softball like the last two seasons.

What we initially thought would be a bit of a rebuild looks more like a reload, thanks to senior leaders like Ariana Gonzales, a first-team all-state linebacker, and Nadia Birr, a four-year varsity player at center. Additionally, sophomore Peyton DiBendetto, who dominated on both sides of the ball last year, continues to impress.

We also have an incredibly athletic group that just needs quality reps to adjust to the speed of varsity play. We are very excited about the present and future of Choctaw flag football!”

(Quote presented with minor edits for clarity)

FRIDAY QUARTERFINALS

Choctawhatchee (Fort Walton Beach) 26, East Bay (Gibsonton) 20

Chiles (Tallahassee) 25, Tampa Catholic 0

Belleview 12, Navarre 0

Florida High (Tallahassee) 27, Niceville 12

SATURDAY SEMIFINALS

Choctawhatchee (Fort Walton Beach) 20, Chiles (Tallahassee) 13

Belleview 6, Florida High (Tallahassee) 0

SATURDAY CONSOLATION

Tampa Catholic 27, East Bay (Gibsonton) 12

Navarre 24, Niceville 7

7TH PLACE

Florida High (Tallahassee) 7, Chiles (Tallahassee) 0

5TH PLACE

Niceville 25, East Bay (Gibsonton) 13

3RD PLACE

Tampa Catholic 21, Navarre 0

CHAMPIONSHIP

Choctawhatchee (Fort Walton Beach) 25, Belleview 20

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SILVER BRACKET

First-year Land O’ Lakes came out hot in the Silver Bracket knocking off Lincoln in their first game with Sophia Spiegel going 24-of-32 passing for 234 yards and four touchdowns while four different receivers hauled in touchdowns catches in that game. Kate Johnson and Makayla Bogaert each recorded sacks while three different Gators athletes recorded interceptions in a 26-6 victory.

In their second game against New Smyrna Beach who is ranked No. 13 in The Florida Top 25 rankings, it took overtime to defeat the Barracudas with Spiegel going 21-of-29 passing for three touchdowns with three different receivers on the receiving end of those touchdowns. Makayla Bogaert recorded two sacks and three flag pulls on defense while Ariel Millard recorded seven flag pulls for the Gators in the game.

With the Championship game for the Silver Bracket, the Gators totally dominated the Sumner Stingrays with Spiegel throwing four touchdowns going 16-of-26 for 94 yards while adding 31 yards rushing and a touchdown on the ground. Kaylynne Mace recorded two receiving touchdowns for 40 yards in the 34-7 victory. Jayda Craft along with Millard each record two interceptions while Johnson recorded two sacks to take the Silver Bracket Championship home!

Congrats to Land O Lakes on winning the Silver Bracket! pic.twitter.com/xpaCy45kTM

— CCC Flag FB Tourney (@CCC_FlagFB) March 8, 2025

FRIDAY QUARTERFINALS

New Smyrna Beach 19, Osceola (Seminole) 0

Land O’ Lakes 26, Lincoln (Tallahassee) 6

Fort Walton Beach 13, Tarpon Springs 6

Sumner (Riverview) 13, Godby (Tallahassee) 7

SATURDAY SEMIFINALS

Land O’ Lakes 20, New Smyrna Beach 13 (OT)

Sumner (Riverview) 18, Fort Walton Beach 13

SATURDAY CONSOLATION

Lincoln (Tallahassee) 14, Osceola (Seminole) 0

Godby (Tallahassee) 19, Tarpon Springs 13

7TH PLACE

Tarpon Springs vs. Osceola (Seminole) – Not reported

5TH PLACE

Lincoln (Tallahassee) 25, Godby (Tallahassee) 0

3RD PLACE

New Smyrna Beach 26, Fort Walton Beach 6

CHAMPIONSHIP

Land O’ Lakes 34, Sumner (Riverview) 7

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BRONZE BRACKET

First-year Ponte Vedra wowed people at the Capital City Classic as much as first-year Land O’ Lakes did in the Silver Bracket to take home the Bronze Bracket Championship under the leadership of sophomore quarterback Izzy Murray who went 16-of-23 passing for 167 yards and four touchdowns in their first game a 38-0 victory over Wakulla. Both Taylor Burke and Peyton Gruver led the Sharks in receiving with 78 and 75 receiving yards respectively with Burke hauling in two touchdowns catches with Gruver adding a touchdown reception of her own. Murray led the team in flag pulls while Julia Conroy intercepted two passes with the Sharks defense intercepting four interceptions in the game against the War Eagles.

In the semifinals game, the Sharks took care of Davenport with ease, defeating the Broncos 27-6 before having a tougher foe in the battle of the Sharks against Destin, winning that game 27-13 to take home the Bronze Bracket Championship.

Congrats Ponte Vedra on winning the Bronze Bracket! pic.twitter.com/zIz65JyFpK

— CCC Flag FB Tourney (@CCC_FlagFB) March 9, 2025

FRIDAY QUARTERFINALS

Davenport 2, Rickards (Tallahassee) 0

Ponte Vedra 38, Wakulla (Crawfordville) 0

Destin 7, Leto (Tampa) 0

Wharton (Tampa) 6, Crestview 0

SATURDAY SEMIFINALS

Ponte Vedra 27, Davenport 6

Destin 7, Wharton (Tampa) 0 (OT)

SATURDAY CONSOLATION

Wakulla (Crawfordville) 7, Rickards (Tallahassee) 6

Leto (Tampa) 14, FAMU DRS (Tallahassee) 13

Wakulla (Crawfordville) 19, Leto (Tampa) 0

Crestview 20, FAMU DRS (Tallahassee) 8

Crestview vs. West Orange (Winter Garden)?

Rickards (Tallahassee) vs. West Orange Winter (Garden)?

3RD PLACE

Davenport 6, Wharton (Tampa) 0

CHAMPIONSHIP

Ponte Vedra 27, Destin 13