Flag Football: FPC proves last year's regional playoff win over Martin County wasn't a fluke

STUART — If its victory during the regional quarterfinals last season didn’t create a rivalry between the area’s two best teams, Fort Pierce Central and its latest flag football win against Martin County may have done the trick.

But for Cobras head coach Nick Clements, Thursday’s early season triumph meant a little bit more.

“It’s a great litmus test. But with that win that we just had, we can confidently say that we’re probably the best in our local area,” he said. “Now, it’s about moving to the next level and being the best in the region. So I guess that’s what this win means to us.”

Leading from wire to wire, the Cobras motored past a stingy Tigers defense and nearly posted a shutout during a 20-6 victory Thursday evening at Martin County High School.

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Fort Pierce Central and Martin County each came in at 4-0. Relinquishing seven points or fewer for the fifth time in as many games, Central joins Vero Beach as the last two unbeaten programs on the Treasure Coast.

Reigning TCPalm Player of the Year Adrienne Rivera led the way for the Cobras. The junior quarterback used her legs and strong right arm to toss three touchdown passes to three receivers.

None of her scoring strikes was more significant than the first. The visitors marched down the field on the game’s opening drive, as a 10-play drive ended with Rivera rolling to her left and finding senior receiver Serenity Marte for a 15-yard touchdown. Those points represented the first the Tigers have allowed all season.

The Cobras (5-0) added to their cushion late in the second quarter. Aided by a key fourth-down conversion, Rivera connected with fellow junior Tajeyah Chance on a short pass to extend FPC’s advantage to 13-0 just before the two-minute warning. The team lit up the scoreboard for the final time in the third when Rivera lofted a pass into the end zone that was grabbed by junior Alyssa Llanos.

On the other side of the field, Central took advantage of a Martin County (4-1) offense that appeared disorganized at times. The hosts could manage to move the ball only for short gains as deep shots down the field turned into turnovers.

Tigers junior quarterback Calista Scornavacca was twice intercepted by Karla Timothy. The sophomore first picked off a deflected pass in traffic during the second quarter. Later, she was in the perfect position to haul in an overthrow in the third.

“I have a lot of confidence in this team,” Timothy said. “So far, we’ve shown a lot of improvement from last year and I believe that confidence can help us go as far as it takes us.”

The home team showed life in the game’s final moments to avoid a goose egg. After making an acrobatic catch earlier in the drive, senior receiver Laniyah Smalls hauled in a short pass from Scornavacca to put Martin County on the board just before the two-minute warning in the fourth. That was the lone offensive highlight on a night when the Tigers couldn't muster anything else.

“We had a lot of mistakes, but I thought (the Cobras) had a good plan and did a great job,” Martin County head coach Jeff Padgett said. "A lot of times when two good teams play, it’s not always about who makes the best plays, but who makes the least amount of mistakes. Hats off to them, they came out and did their thing. They came out on the first drive, scored, put the pressure on us and we had our backs against the wall early.”

Thursday was just Central’s second victory over the Tigers, who won the prior four meetings between the two squads.

“Hats off to coach Padgett, he’s been the O.G. here for years and he’s been very successful,” Clements said. “To be able to compete with him now, there’s just an ultimate feeling of respect for him and respect for these girls who put in the work.”

Here are three takeaways from Thursday’s showdown.

‘We are capable of doing everything we want to do’

A quarterback who can extend plays is vital to any offense. And there are few in the state who display that skill better than Rivera.

Whether it was by design or in a scramble, the junior rolled out, mostly to her right, allowing for her receivers to get open before hitting them heading for the sidelines. That pattern also opened up options in the middle of the field. On both a fourth-down conversion to Chance and Chance’s touchdown catch in the second quarter, Rivera darted to her right and waited for the defense to converge before dropping it off to the middle of the field.

“The quarterback did a great job placing it in open spots, that’s somewhere she’s grown tremendous this offseason,” Clements said.

Rivera wasn’t alone in the offense’s success, Llanos, Marte and others displayed their catch radius with multiple contested grabs. And with other contributors like junior Joselyn Rosas and Kate Buchmeyer providing leadership, according to Clements, the Cobras are in a position to go on another run.

“We know we are capable of doing everything we want to do: trying to run it back at districts, regionals, even going to state,” Rivera said. “It felt great to get this win today, and I look forward to seeing them again.

Llanos surpassed 2,000 receiving yards for her career on Thursday.

Keys to 'Shutout City'

The Tigers were unable to live up to “Shutout City,” a moniker created a couple of years ago, but they showed glimpses of why they blanked their first four opponents this season.

Both Smalls and junior rusher Delaney Gribben sacked Rivera while she was trying to scramble. The duo displayed what the head coach believes is his defense’s strongest asset: speed. Padgett said six girls are fast on the field.

Additionally, senior team captain Dakota Moberg has returned to secure the back end of the unit. She was out at the end of the 2023 season due to injury.

Shutout City may not have shown up on Thursday, but there’s no reason to believe more shutouts aren’t on the horizon.

“Defense has been our backbone for the past 10 years. A few years ago, from 2016 through 2017, we gave up one touchdown all season. And that's kind of been what we hang our hat on. We play good defense, and if (opponents) don't score, you have a really good chance of winning.”

Tampa Bay Bucs name Clements Coach of the Week

Clements was named Coach of the Week by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Foundation after winning a poll vote. The head coach was nominated for the honor after the Cobras collected victories over Riverview and Hillsborough during the Buccaneers’ sixth annual Girls Flag Football Preseason Classic in mid-February.

“They are the premier organization involving growing girls flag football the right way,” Clements said. “Everything that we’ve been involved with with them, they always put the girls first. Every other event we go to, there’s always a boys aspect or a boys 7-on-7, but the Bucs make the girls the star of the show.”

For winning, Clements and the Cobras were awarded a $2,000 grant from the Bucs Foundation as well as apparel from Nike.

“One thing we do as a program is that we don’t want girls to pay out of pocket, so we really try to fundraise everything,” Clements said. “We try to give them gear and uniforms to try and make them feel like the top program that they are.

“We’re getting a $2,000 check from the Bucs that we really need, so I’m really grateful for them.”

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: Fort Pierce Central takes down Martin County, again