Edison becomes first Miami-Dade flag football team to repeat as state champions
Miami Edison quarterback Rakyia Louis didn’t play to her full potential this past Friday even though she did enough to help the Red Raiders’ flag football team advance to the state finals.
If there’s one thing Edison’s coaches came to know about their senior leader, it’s that she rarely has two subpar games in a row.
Louis capped a stellar high school career on Saturday by throwing for 261 yards and four touchdown passes to lead the Red Raiders to their second consecutive Class 1A state championship following a 33-12 rout of Boynton Beach Somerset Canyons at the Advent Health Training Center in Tampa.
Edison (19-1) became the first team from South Florida to win back-to-back state championships.
“Being the first one to repeat is special,” Edison coach Vince Hall said. “We let the girls know before the game that we had a chance to make history for Miami-Dade teams and maybe even beyond that, and they did it.”
The Red Raiders were the only South Florida team to bring home a state championship this season.
Miami Northwestern battled for a half, but couldn’t stop powerhouse Tampa Robinson from winning its 11th state championship, falling 42-34 in the Class 2A final.
St. Thomas Aquinas fell short of winning its first state title in the sport following a 27-19 loss to Loxahatchee Seminole Ridge, which repeated as Class 3A state champions.
After a close call on Friday in a nail-biting 14-7 win over Jacksonville Bolles, Edison left no doubt in Saturday’s contest.
Torri Cotman had a huge game on both sides as she caught seven passes for 88 yards and two touchdowns and also returned an interception 22 yards for another score.
Cotman was named the game’s Most Valuable Player, although she was hardly the only standout for the Red Raiders.
Malaysia David caught six passes for 76 yards and two touchdowns. Mikeira Miller finished with five catches for 45 yards, and Sarayah Williams caught three passes for 32 yards.
On defense, Jennifer Burton was relentless at rusher as she put consistent pressure on Somerset Canyons’ quarterback, recording three sacks and forcing several other hurried throws.
Briana Bogans also had two sacks and a clutch pass deflection on fourth down.
Tykonder Ponder and Saryah Williams each had five flag pulls and two pass deflections.
Since losing their only game of the season in the GMAC tournament against Class 2A state runner-up Miami Northwestern, Edison’s defense was dominant. The Red Raiders allowed only 19 points at state and did not allow a point in five consecutive games prior to that, including all three regional playoff games.
Edison loses three seniors, and is expected to bring back 14 of the 17 players on its roster. The roster size has grown from where it was in recent years when Edison fielded a playoff team of only nine players.
Having five offensive starters returning and six on defense gives Hall confidence going into next season, although replacing Louis won’t be easy. But Edison had freshman Jayde Major play at least a quarter or two in multiple games this season to give her experience before next season as Louis’ likely successor.
“Rakyia played horrible in the first game, but she never plays like that in back-to-back games so we had confidence in her,” Hall said.
“I’m just so happy for her. She’s been a student of the game…super smart. She always knew where to go with the ball, and she worked hard to get her arm stronger. She put the work in and grinded throughout summer practices, twice a day, every day. It paid off even sweeter for her.”
