District Flag Football: Goal-line stand propels to a Lincoln Park Academy to a three-peat

JENSEN BEACH — David Perry’s first words after leading his team to yet another flag football district championship were accompanied by a slight smirk.

“I’m getting too old for all of this,” the Lincoln Park Academy head coach remarked.

After capturing their first district title on the final play of the game in 2022 and avoiding overtime by stopping a game-tying extra point to repeat last season, the Greyhounds made it three straight thanks to a late goal-line stand.

LPA halted Jensen Beach on two plays from the 1-yard line in the final minute to hold on for a 19-14 victory during the District 22-1A championship game Thursday night at Jensen Beach High School.

“The defense stepped up when we needed it most,” Perry said.

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On a senior-laden squad, it was a sophomore who was in on the stop during the game’s biggest play. Ter’mya McQueen closed a running lane from her rusher position to deny Lizze Fitzwater from surging into the end zone the go-ahead score. As McQueen reached for the flag, Fitzwater lost control of the ball just inches from the goal line.

“In that moment, I didn’t know if I wanted to block the ball or make sure she didn’t get all the way through. I just knew that I had to be there. And so I was there,” McQueen said.

The Greyhounds enjoyed a 13-7 lead at halftime before extending their cushion after senior Leah Murphy delivered a touchdown pass to fellow senior Faith Hall midway through the third quarter. Just before the end of the quarter, the Falcons got those points right back when senior receiver Dalia Yazji got behind the defense and junior quarterback Paige Bressman hit her in stride for a long scoring connection.

Yazji put her team on the doorstep when her long punt return down the sideline set up Jensen Beach with a first-and-goal with two minutes remaining. Although aided by a pass interference penalty, the team couldn’t punch it in.

“The players were challenged at halftime by the coaches. They knuckled down and made big stops,” said Falcons head coach Aaron Gilbert, whose team never led. “It looked pretty close there at the end, but I told the girls that if you put the game in the hands of the officials, it’s going to come down to the officials and if you handle our business early, you could come out on top. Hats off to Lincoln Park, they’re a great group.”

Improving its record to 13-3 this season, LPA entered the district tournament as the No. 1 seed while Jensen Beach (12-6) was seeded second. The two teams were ranked second and third, respectively, in Region 6-1A.

Here are three takeaways from Thursday’s game.

‘I made a play in the game’

As the Falcons stood 20 yards away from taking the lead late, a Lincoln Park assistant coach shouted, “This is for everything” to the players heading back on the field.

One player who wasn’t a part of that group was Murphy, who had to watch from the sideline.

“It is a lot of emotion and a lot of fear, but the whole time, I knew that our defense could do it,” she said of the final moments. “They’ve showed up and showed out every time that it’s come down to that.”

The Greyhounds showed tremendous nerves under pressure, particularly after a pass interference call and a Joy Bocanegra reception put Jensen Beach on LPA 1. The hosts opted to throw on third down, but a pass intended for Yazji was broken up by senior captain Lahela Cornett. Then came the game-sealing stop, although McQueen wasn’t sure if she made it.

“At first, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I think she got through,’” McQueen recalled. “But after looking at my teammates cheering and clapping, I was like ‘I made a play in the game.’ And I was really excited about it.”

‘They’re the legacy’

Perry endured an abbreviated winless campaign when LPA failed to score a point during its inaugural season in 2020. Now, he has guided his team to back-to-back 13-win campaigns.

The head coach says his group of seven seniors, some of whom endured the rough start of the program, represent its foundation.

“We were a laughingstock, we never used to beat these teams,” Perry recalled. "But the girls, with perseverance, work and never giving up, they’re the legacy of the program. They built it.”

Murphy had a hand in every touchdown for the visitors.

She completed 26 of 38 passes for 205 yards, two scores and no interceptions. The quarterback also added 11 carries for 52 yards and a touchdown. Between her work on the ground and through the air, Murphy has accounted for nearly 4,000 yards and 47 touchdowns in 2024.

Cornett had three receptions for 24 yards and a score, bumping her season total to 1,255 receiving yards and 26 total touchdowns. Named TCPalm’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2023, Cornett has also snatched 17 interceptions.

Fellow senior Melissa Gale had team-highs of 10 catches for 76 yards. Defensively, seniors Kylah Tiger and Reese Williams paced the squad with six and five flag pulls, respectively.

‘You got to start over.’

Jensen Beach has only three seniors, but one is possibly the fastest player in the area. Yazji, who was one of the smallest players on the field Thursday, was an absolute difference-maker with her speed, among other things.

“Heart, determination, grit, all the words you usually talk about when you mention undersized kids apply to her, but as far as she knows, she’s 7-foot tall,” Gilbert said.

The Falcons have enjoyed a bounce-back season in 2024. They were state semifinalists in 2021 and 2022, but only won three games in 2023. While the team fell a yard short of reaching one goal, Jensen Beach, thanks to a nine-win improvement, is set for another playoff run.

“When you don’t meet expectations in 2023, you got to start over. And thankfully, the young girls have grown up as the season has gone on and put themselves in position to hopefully get a good regional seeding,” Gilbert said.

Patrick Bernadeau is a sports reporter for Treasure Coast Newspapers. He can be reached at (772) 985-9692, on X at @PatBernadeau or via email at pbernadeau@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Flag Football: Lincoln Park Academy knocks off Jensen Beach for district title