Palmetto becomes first Dade team to win a state title in flag football
Ashley Alvarado put her body on the line.
Serenity Simon did, too. Alvarado and Simon were two of the biggest heroes Saturday night as Miami Palmetto made history with its dramatic, 26-25 comeback win over Lennard in the Class 2A state flag football final in Tampa.
Trailing 25-20, Simon scored the winning touchdown with just four seconds left, taking a lateral and racing nine yards for the score.
Simon said the receivers from Palmetto (20-1) ran routes into the end zone, causing Lennard’s defenders to retreat.
“When their defense bailed, I saw an opening and took it,” Simon said. “I made the first defender miss. Two more defenders came at me, but I split them and dove into the end zone.”
Moments later, Simon’s teammates dived on her in celebration as the Panthers became the first Miami-Dade County team to win a state title in flag football (the tournament has been played since 2003).
But while praising Simon’s toughness to make that play under pressure, don’t forget about Alvarado, as she also made a key dive.
To set the scene: Lennard (19-4) had scored a touchdown to take that its 25-20 lead with 2:37 left in the fourth quarter. But when Lennard tried for the extra point, Alvarado – playing with an injured shoulder – dived to break up the play.
“My shoulder’s been hurting for a couple of weeks,” Alvarado said. “But that last play was life or death. It was a moment where I had to sacrifice my body.”
Palmetto coach Kevin Mujica said Alvarado dislocated her shoulder on that play.
But Alvarado didn’t seem to mind, and — it must be noted — she’s been playing with a mask all season since she broke her nose three months ago while playing for Palmetto’s basketball team.
“I landed on my shoulder,” Alvarado said of her extra-point breakup. “My shoulder took all of the impact of the fall, but it was worth it because I’m standing here with a medal around my neck.”
Alvarado had another huge play in the third quarter as her interception return for a touchdown gave Palmetto a 20-13 lead.
Not bad for a girl who has been playing flag football for only one year.
As for the pick six, Alvarado said she had been waiting to make a play like that since she picked up the sport.
“It just a moment, being an athlete and knowing when the ball is coming,” Alvarado said. “It was like in the movies. Everything was like in slow motion.”
Besides Alvarado and Simon, Palmetto was led by quarterback Ava Alvarez, who completed 23 of 34 passes for 207 yards and two touchdowns — both of them to Melanie Assmar.
The game featured five lead changes, but Mujica and his players never wavered.
Mujica, 32, has been playing flag football since he was 4 years old, and he even represented Team USA in a tournament in Israel three years ago.
He firmly believes that his creativity as a playcaller is part of the Panthers’ secret sauce that has allowed them to win a state title in just their third year as a program.
“A lot of teams from up north [in Florida] are basic on offense,” said Mujica, who also coaches the Palmetto boys’ football wide receivers. “But we do a lot of double- and triple-quarterback stuff [based on laterals].
“It’s a lot of eye candy to mess with the defense, and our girls trust me to call the right plays.”
On the final drive, Mujica kept calling that same play to Simon until she scored and made history.
“To be the first team from Miami to win state is unbelievable,” Mujica said. “This year, we were GMAC champs, district champs, regional champs and now sate champs, and there’s no better feeling.”