What a year! Five superlatives from Volusia-Flagler high school sports in 2023-24

The high school sports year has come to a close. And what a year it was.

Since August of 2023, the Volusia-Flagler area has produced big plays, bigger moments and a bunch of championships — district, regional and state.

The Daytona Beach News-Journal will celebrate those accomplishments at our annual sports awards show on June 3 at the Ocean Center. We will name Player, Coach and Team of the Year award winners, along with some other fun stuff mixed in.

But before we get there, let's hand out a few superlatives. An appetizer, so to speak.

Storyline of the Year

Chris Boyle: It's certainly not a new story, but one that continues to be a major role in high school football throughout Florida and hit home in several parts of the Volusia-Flagler area in 2023: Coach's pay. Other Southern states — most notably Georgia — offer substantially larger salaries than Florida, and it has led to an exodus of successful coaches. Last spring, Jeff Smothers departed Deltona to become the defensive coordinator at Toombs County and Robert Paxia left his alma mater, Flagler Palm Coast, for Winder-Barrow. At the end of February, after leading Mainland to the FHSAA Class 3S title, Travis Roland accepted the position at Camden County just north of the border. Conversations between the FHSAA and the Florida Coaches Coalition have occurred, but a resolution needs to happen quickly — especially with Name, Image and Likeness likely on the horizon for Florida high school athletes.

Chris Vinel: Just like we’ve seen throughout the college level, transfers have exploded in high school sports. To highlight a few, Mainland’s Olivia Olson and Atlantic’s Aurielle Reavis made immediate impacts for their new schools in girls basketball. Christina Borgmann followed a move from Matanzas to Flagler Palm Coast by winning a state wrestling title. DeLand transfers Lamar Edwards and Andrew Ezell helped Spruce Creek become the last local baseball team standing in the regional playoffs. And most area football teams featured a bevy of newcomers. Four transfers made the All-Area Offensive First Team. Three grabbed spots on the Defensive First Team.

Surprise of the Year

Boyle: Let's give a shoutout to a pair of surprising Five Star Conference spring champions. Flagler Palm Coast's baseball team got its revenge against heavily favored Spruce Creek in the semifinals and captured the title with a 9-6 win over Pine Ridge, ignited by Marion Clayton's go-ahead RBI double in a four-run fourth inning. In track and field, Mainland won its first team trophy in 20 years as the meet went down to the final 4x400-meter relay. Emmanuel Yisrael (110/400 hurdles), Ezaiah Shine (100), Zion Noralus (high jump) and Marquis McCants (long jump/triple jump) scooped up individual golds for the Bucs.

Vinel: Halifax Academy football. The Knights set a new program record for wins in a season with seven last fall. They went 7-3 and earned their second FHSAA playoff appearance since creating an 11-man football team in 2014. For the first time, Halifax kicked off its schedule with consecutive wins, rattling off four in a row. Its campaign ended against Melbourne Central Catholic in the region semifinals. All of that success came after 2022, in which the Knights were 2-8.

Clutch Moment of the Year

Boyle: Jacob Gettman drilled the most important kick in Mainland High football history, a 23-yarder as time expired to clinch the Bucs' first state championship since 2003. They rallied from a 13-0 hole in the first quarter, surrendering a touchdown on the opening kickoff and another on a blocked field goal. Mainland controlled the game from there, compiling 505 yards of total offense thanks to a tremendous performance from Georgia State-bound quarterback Dennis Murray Jr.

Vinel: Gettman’s walk-off kick is tough to pick against. But how about another championship moment? Matanzas’ Jordan Mills dislocated his right shoulder in the opening minute of the Class 2A 190-pound wrestling finals against New Smyrna Beach’s Sawyer Vanrider. Mills fell into a 5-0 hole. But despite being down his dominant arm, he came back to force overtime. He won the match in the second extra period, standing up after starting on the bottom to earn the winning point and clinch a 52-0 senior season.

Statistic of the Year

Boyle: Emma Corr played a key role in New Smyrna Beach's deepest flag football postseason run in program history, playing 17 of the team's 19 games at quarterback. She is a true dual-threat, finishing with exactly 1,528 yards as a passer and another 1,528 yards as a rusher for the Barracudas' offense.

Vinel: Mainland’s football defense had 276 tackles for loss last season. That’s 2-7-6 in 15 games. The Bucs averaged 18.4 per contest and had six players rack up at least 29.

HIGH SCHOOL FLAG FOOTBALL: Meet the 2024 Volusia-Flagler All-Area Flag Football Team

Quote of the Year

Boyle: "You don't see commercials for Bentleys and Ferraris because you already know they exist. We'll let them have that. We don't concern ourselves with winning the pre-game." — Mainland football coach Travis Roland on rival Seabreeze stirring up chatter ahead of their district title clash. The irony, of course, is that Roland and then-Sandcrabs coach Lester Davis are now reunited at Camden County in Georgia.

Vinel: “She’s one of my best friends, but during golf season, we seem to bite at each other a little bit because we’re competitive. We’ll go out and play, and we’ll be like, ‘Oh, there’s a whole Super Walmart in between our balls.’ Just joke around with it.” — Seabreeze’s Riley Fletcher on her friendly competition with teammate Amelia Cobb. Both made the All-Area First Team.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: High school sports: Volusia-Flagler superlatives as 2023-24 year ends