Spruce Creek defends Five Star flag football title as seven seed: 'A lot of motivation'
DELAND — March Madness ensued Saturday as the No. 7 seed lifted the Five Star Conference's flag football championship trophy. However, don't confuse Spruce Creek — the two-time defending champion — with the typical tournament Cinderella story.
Even so, the Hawks ran a Volusia-Flagler gauntlet to retain their title, eliminating the top three seeds as determined Monday by the Florida High School Athletic Association's rankings. Spruce Creek edged previously unbeaten Mainland 13-6 in the quarterfinal round, rallied past New Smyrna Beach 12-6 on the final play in regulation and stymied Seabreeze 18-6 in the finale.
"It gave us a lot of motivation. We're not supposed to be the 7-seed," sophomore quarterback Anastasia Neal said. "We're better than that."
HIGH SCHOOL TENNIS: Flagler Palm Coast boys, Spruce Creek girls capture Five Star championships
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Neal rushed for two short-yardage touchdowns against Seabreeze, and threw the game-winning TD pass to Savannah Burress at the horn versus New Smyrna Beach. Chloe Waldo scored in all three games for the Hawks, who have reeled off eight straight wins since a season-opening defeat to DeLand on Feb. 20.
"Our team is amazing. We're just really strong," Waldo said. "We pushed through everything, stayed together, didn't give up."
Seabreeze (5-3) appeared in the Five Star final for the first time, fending off Deltona 9-6 and avenging a loss to Taylor earlier this week with a 19-0 shutout. Kylie Watson caught two touchdowns, and Morgan Long returned a punt for a score for the Sandcrabs in their semifinal triumph.
"I feel like our intensity and our energy was really good the first two games," said Watson, who hauled in a 21-yard consolation touchdown in the fourth quarter of the championship bout. "(Spruce Creek) is a really good team, and I'm glad we held up against them. I'm really happy with our performance."
Taylor advanced beyond the first round for the first time, courtesy of a 27-21 overtime thriller against Flagler Palm Coast. Lexi Lowe caught the eventual winning touchdown on the Wildcats' first play from scrimmage in the extra period.
New Smyrna Beach took down tournament host DeLand 12-6 behind dual-threat quarterback Emma Corr's dynamic display. Corr completed 6 of 10 passes for 77 yards, and ran 18 times for 185 yards and two scores. The junior added a team-high seven flag pulls, while Ashlyn Endicott and Brooke Kuczynski combined for five pass breakups.
Five Star Conference Flag Football Championship
Quarterfinals
(1) Seabreeze 9, (8) Deltona 6
(7) Spruce Creek 13, (2) Mainland 6
(3) New Smyrna Beach 12, (6) DeLand 6
(5) Taylor 27, (4) Flagler Palm Coast 21, OT
Semifinals
Seabreeze 19, Taylor 0
Spruce Creek 12, New Smyrna Beach 6
Final
Spruce Creek 18, Seabreeze 6
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Spruce Creek flag football: Hawks win 3rd straight Five Star title
