Miami Northwestern girls make school history with first GMAC flag football title
When you talk about football at Miami Northwestern High School, the multiple state championship banners the boys have put up over the last 30 years immediately comes to mind.
But on Monday night, it was the Bulls’ girls who finally had a championship of their own to celebrate.
Competing in the program’s first-ever GMAC championship game, the Northwestern flag football team turned in an instant classic, edging Miami Palmetto, 26-25, in a thrilling double-overtime contest at Traz Powell Stadium.
Just two years removed from a winless season, the Bulls advanced to the Region 4-2A finals last season. On Monday, right after upsetting top-seeded and unbeaten defending Class 1A state champion Edison, 25-15, in the semifinals, Northwestern knocked off the Panthers, who were the two-time defending GMAC champions.
The winning sequence came when, trailing 25-19 in the second OT, Northwestern’s Faith Key found Jade Yacinthe on a halfback option pass for a five-yard score on third and goal to tie the game. Quarterback Tashara Robinson then drilled a perfect pass in the left corner to Dezaria Hampton for the one-point conversion to send Bulls players rushing onto the field in a mass celebration.
“It’s been a long time coming and something that didn’t just happen overnight,” Northwestern head coach Verne Louis said. “Most of this is mainly a credit to our assistant coaches, (Lakatriona Brunson, Thurman McMullan and Rachel Peloet), who have worked long and hard, grinding 24/7, putting in a lot of overtime for us to be great.
“Just a great job by the girls tonight of finding a way after losing the lead of keeping their poise and make a little history.”
The lead Louis referred to was a 13-0 advantage his team took into the final quarter. But Palmetto, led by quarterback Danielle Ortega and flanker/receiver Takayiah Strowbridge, stormed back. The Panthers (11-3) scored a pair of touchdowns, first on a 20-yard Strowbridge touchdown run and then the game-tying score, a 15-yard Ortega-to-Arianna Cruz scoring pass on fourth-and-goal with less than three minutes left in regulation to tie the contest at 13.
Amazingly, the game was almost a mirror image of a March 12 regular season contest when the Bulls traveled to Palmetto High School, led the Panthers 13-0 in the second half, but saw the Panthers rally and send that game to OT before the Bulls managed to win 19-13 in triple overtime.
“I had to get my head right because I was upset that, just like when we played them last month, we had lost the lead and had to go to overtime and here it was happening all over again,” Hampton said. “Tonight was so great because we feel like the girls never get the attention and we’ve worked really hard these last few years to try and bring Bull Pride to this program just like the guys have done over the years.”
After a scoreless first half, Northwestern built its 13-0 lead when Robinson took her team down the field on a 65-yard, 10 play drive to open the second half, found Yacinthe on a five yard touchdown pass and then hit Jah’Keriyah Brown for the one point conversion and 7-0 lead.
On the next series, Brown picked off an Ortega pass and returned it to the Palmetto 20. Four plays later the Bulls were in the end zone on a seven yard touchdown run by Key.
The Bulls got first possession in overtime and, with a fourth-and-goal at the one, scored when Robinson went right up the middle and stretched the ball up over the goal line. When the conversion attempt failed, the Panthers had a chance to win it with a touchdown and conversion.
They got the touchdown on a five-yard toss on third-and-goal from Strowbridge to Emma Llorente but Key intercepted the conversion attempt sending the game to a second overtime.
Palmetto got the ball first and took the lead on a 2-yard Ortega-to-Kiani Graham touchdown pass. But Neveah Ward, who made some key defensive plays down the stretch for the Bulls, made a big one here when she got the flag pull as Ortega tried to skirt around the right side on the conversion attempt setting the stage for Northwestern’s final heroics.
“My teammates heads started dropping after we lost the lead so I had to get them all to calm down,” Robinson said. “I’m the quarterback of this team and part of my job is to get their heads right when things aren’t going well and that’s what I did. It’s really cool what we did tonight and I’m happy we got a chance for our program to shine and show everybody what we’re capable of. We almost made it to states last year (NW lost to Lake Worth Dr. Joaquin Garcia 20-13 in a Region 4-2A final) and the goal this year is to get there, dominate and bring it all home.”
Brunson came to notoriety more than a decade ago when she became the first-ever female head coach of a boys’ football team in the state of Florida at Miami Jackson.
She came over to help Louis with the Northwestern girls two years ago and celebrated the moment with her players after the game.
“Discipline, hard work, being with the girls, letting them know we love them, and being there for them every day,” Brunson said. “That’s how you build something like this. Today was another step in the growing process, and now we want to keep things rolling and bring home a state championship.”