Record-setting QB leading Pines Charter flag football’s charge to first state semifinal
Ava Rivera is no stranger to pressure.
Growing up playing basketball put her in tense situations often and tested her resolve.
So when she is playing quarterback for the Pembroke Pines Charter flag football team, Rivera knows exactly how to adjust to any adversity on the field.
“When I get nervous I know how to keep it together,” Rivera said.
On Friday afternoon, a less experienced team could have folded facing a strong Homestead squad on the road with a trip to the state final four on the line.
But Rivera and the Jaguars responded and punched their first ticket to the state semifinals in program history following a dominant 26-6 victory over the Broncos on their home field.
“I never imagined this when I was playing JV at Cooper City,” said Rivera, who transferred from Cooper City before this season. “We knew we had the talent but we just needed to put it together and it clicked since the first game.”
Rivera threw four touchdown passes on Friday, adding to her school record total of 58 for this season.
The Jaguars (17-3) will be the No. 3 seed and play No. 2 seed Choctawhatchee in a Class 1A state semifinal on Friday at either 4 or 5:30 p.m. at the AdventHealth Training Center in Tampa. Top-seeded Tampa Robinson will host fourth-seeded Braden River in the other semifinal.
“This has been a journey building for the past five years,” Pembroke Pines Charter coach Keidran Willis said. “When I took over the program, we had some talent but no direction. This might not be the most athletic or the fastest team, but it’s the most committed to winning. They’re coachable and they deserve this.”
Sophomore wide receiver Madison Ojeda, who is another basketball player in addition to starring in flag football for the Jaguars, caught two touchdown passes while sixth-grader Khailia Sprouse made a key interception in the second quarter as Pines built a commanding 26-0 lead after three quarters.
Homestead (17-3), which advanced to the state quarterfinals for the first time, finally got on the board early in the fourth on a touchdown pass from Jerniyah Fowles to Caitylyn Gibson. But it was too late for the Broncos as the Jaguars ran out the clock on their ensuing drive.
Rivera, a 5-foot, 8-inch lefty, controlled the game with pinpoint passing to extend drives throughout the contest.
“Ava has been the best quarterback in the state all year,” Willis said. “She’s run the offense with smoothness and I just don’t have enough superlatives to talk about how good she’s been. She’s been the reason we’re here now.”
