Western flag football secures first state title
Sagstrom, the Swede who had the first-round lead after a 63, had the best third-round with a 67. The 29-year-old is seeking her second win.
Lexi Thompson started the round tied with Sagstrom at 11 under, and was alone in third, three shots back after a 69. She might have been closer to her first win since 2019 but she missed at least five putts.
Well, it was probably more of an issue just trying to get my putts to the hole. I left a few short just dead center. It was hard because the greens have been so fast. They still are and they’re rolling so pure.
But just with the a little bit of moisture on them they’re definitely a little slower, but into the greens they actually skid out a little bit more, so it’s finding that balance.
“The weather was a big factor, it got quite wet on the greens,” said Sagstrom, who briefly moved into a tie for the lead with a birdie at the par-5 12th as Lee bogeyed No. 11 after an errant tee shot.
Lee followed with the eagle and birdie on putts ranging from 15-to-18 feet and never lost the lead.
Angel Yin shot a 68 and moved into fourth place at 11 under.
Ally Ewing, who was tied for second after two rounds, never got anything going in posting a 74. She was tied for fifth at 9 under with Paula Reto of South Africa and Megan Khang.
Nasa Hataoka of Japan, who won in Los Angeles last month, was in a group nine shots off the lead.
Jennifer Kupcho, the winner at Mission Hills in the first major of the season, also was 8 under.
Two-time defending champion and No. 1 ranked
Jin Young Ko of South Korea was far back at 5 under.
EUROPEAN TOUR
Ryan Fox birdied the 18th hole to take a one-shot lead into the final round of the Soudal Open at Antwerp, Belgium. The New Zealander bogeyed early in his third round at Rinkven International to slip further off the pace, but birdied his next hole, and reeled off five more coming home in a 5-under-par 66. Fox was at 11 under overall, one shot ahead of Sam Horsfield, the co-leader in the first two rounds.
Revenge is a dish best served … in Jacksonville.
The Western Wildcats flag football team rallied to defeat Newsome 34-14, winning the Class 2A state final on Saturday afternoon in Jacksonville.
Newsome, which beat Western 20-19 in the 2021 state final, led 14-0 after its first two possessions on Saturday.
“We weren’t in the right head space,” said Western receiver/cornerback Veronica McBride. “We were getting the jitters out.”
Consider the jitters gone.
Western scored 34 consecutive points to finish the season with a perfect 19-0 record.
It was just the third state title ever won by a Broward County team, joining Miramar in 2006 (the county’s most recent) and Fort Lauderdale in 2003. Miami-Dade County has yet to have a team win a state title in the sport.
“I’m probably not going to give you good quotes – I’m overwhelmed with emotion,” Western coach James O’Brien said. “Our girls dug in. We were too athletic for Newsome.
“Our girls were incredible.”
Sydney Ford, Western’s senior quarterback, made her case as the best player in the state. She passed for three touchdowns and ran for one. She also starred at linebacker.
“She is always great, but she was Superman today,” O’Brien said. “She took it to a new level on both sides of the ball. She was buying time with her legs, making throws. On defense, she was pulling every flag.”
McBride was also huge, catching a TD pass and grabbing a crucial interception. Tamara Elliott threw a TD pass and caught a score, and Nandi Ramessar had two TD receptions.
O’Brien said he wanted to save Elliott’s ability to throw as a second-half surprise. But once Western fell behind 14-0, the Wildcats went to a double pass, and Elliott delivered.
Western trailed 14-12 at halftime, but it would’ve been worse had it not been for McBride’s red-zone interception.
McBride said Newsome’s sideline was taunting Western for most of the game … until the Wildcats silenced them in victory.
“Last year, they were taunting so loud that we couldn’t hear our coach call plays,” McBride said.
“I came to Western (from Stranahan two years ago) to win a state title, and that’s what we did. If feels great. I’m in shock. I almost don’t believe it … except I have a gold medal around my neck to prove it.”
Ford, who said winning the title felt “amazing”, was emotional at game’s end.
“People were jumping on each other,” Ford said. “Some people dropped to the ground. I ran straight to my coach. He has been such an inspiration. He put a lot of work in, and it’s an unbelievable feeling.
“We got our revenge from last year. That was our goal. We didn’t really care who we played … but we were glad it was Newsome.”