Western advances in 2A, Edison falls in Class 1A

Junior quarterback Sydney Ford did a little bit of everything on Friday.

She threw one touchdown pass, ran for one score and caught a TD pass, leading the Western Wildcats to a 19-6 win over Seminole Ridge in a Class 2A state semifinal flag football game in Jacksonville.

In a Class 1A state semifinal, also in Jacksonville, Miami Edison’s brilliant season was ended, 27-8, by Tampa Robinson. Edison (11-2) had its 11-game win streak snapped.

Edison’s only losses this season were to unbeaten Western (17-0), ranked No. 1 in the state, and to unbeaten Robinson (21-0), ranked second.

Western fell behind 6-0 on Friday as Seminole Ridge scored on its first possession.

That was the first time all season that Western has trailed.

“We didn’t blink,” Western coach James O’Brien said of his Wildcats. “We knew Seminole Ridge was going to punch us and give us everything they had.

But we also knew it was a four-quarter game.”

Western scored on its next possession, getting Ford’s 10-yard run around the left edge to tie the score 6-6.

Ford struck again on Western’s third possession, hitting Sydney Hoover with a 5-yard touchdown pass on a stop-and-go route.

Then, with 60 seconds left in the second quarter, O’Brien thought about taking a knee to protect Western’s lead.

Instead, Ford drove the Wildcats 50 yards before she scored on the final play of the first half — an 11-yard touchdown pass from Tamara Elliott, beating an all-out rush.

The second half was led by Western’s defense, which shut down Seminole Ridge. Western’s Keylee Allen helped by recording a key interception.

Ford, meanwhile, did not throw an interception in the entire game.

“She was unbelievable,” O’Brien said.

Western will play fourthranked Newsome (19-1) in the 2A state final at 1 p.m. on Saturday in Jacksonville.

The Wildcats will attempt to win the program’s first state title.

“I’m super excited for the girls and for this program,” O’Brien said. “Now we have just a few hours to figure out how to stop Newsome and what to do on offense.

“It’s an abbreviated time to enjoy what we’ve accomplished.”

Ford said she’s thrilled to get the opportunity to win a ring on Saturday.

“It feels amazing,” she said. “We’ve been working so hard. Throughout the week, we were looking at film of Seminole Ridge. We put so much time in that we knew what they were going to do.”

THIS AND THAT

Edison’s only touchdown

● came on a 2-yard run by Lonesha Howell, who threw a two-pointconversion pass to Ronisha Gibbs. Alexandria Harris caught a 40-yard pass to set up the touchdown, and coach Vincent Hall said the Edison defense — led by coordinator Mikey Sheehan — did a solid job against a Robinson team that has won five state titles in the past six completed seasons.