Destin High flag football team wins, advances to Florida's Elite Eight

Tina Harbuck, The Destin LogTue, May 5, 2026 at 7:44 PM UTC

0

With a 19-12 win Monday night over Florida State University High School, the Destin High Shark flag football team is one step closer to punching a ticket to the Final Four.

The only thing standing in their way is an Elite Eight matchup with the Bolles High Bulldogs of Jacksonville. Destin will travel to Jacksonville May 7 for a 7 p.m. game with the Bulldogs. The winner will advance to the Final Four of the Class 1A FHSAA Girls Flag Football State Championship in Tampa at the AdventHealth Training Center, May 15-16.

Monday’s victory over FSUHS was payback time for the Sharks. Destin lost 31-0 to the FSUHS Seminoles in the district championship game on April 22. But on May 4, it was payback time for the Sharks in the regional semifinals.

The Destin High Shark flag football team defeated Florida State University High School 19-12 in the Class 1A Region 1 semifinals on May 4 in Tallahassee. The Sharks take on Bolles of Jacksonville on May 7 in an Elite Eight matchup.

"It was sweet ... I had to get my lick back,” Destin Coach Kyle Bryant said.

And the key to victory was “team.”

“It was team all the way across the board,” Bryant said.

Bryant said he is dreading the end-of-season banquet.

“I’ve got to give everybody an award ... everybody deserves an award,” he said.

“It was a full team effort,” Bryant said.

A couple of weeks ago, when the Sharks traveled to Tallahassee for the district championship, the Seminoles blasted the Sharks.

This time, they were ready.

“We had film,” Bryant said. “Last time they had film on us and we didn’t have film."

The Sharks were able to watch the Seminoles and understand what they were doing.

“Coach Sean Daniels did a great job at being a scout for us ... and understanding how their offense worked,” he said.

Destin junior quarterback Neilya Stewart continued to lead on the field.

“Neilya did a phenominal job at being a field surgeon at quarterback,” Bryant said. “And she did a great job at being a rusher, very smart, very disciplined rusher.”

Advertisement

More: Destin flag football wins regional playoff opener, set for rematch

Bryant talked of how FSU’s No. 14, Danielle White, was used to “people running in hot ... she makes a move and then runs by them.”

“But we were under control,” Bryant said.

“Coach Bo Lewis did some drills with them about being under control,” Bryant said. “I feel like we really prepared for them. I think if you give this team time to prepare, they are hard to beat."

In the semifinal game, both teams had the ball a couple of times before the Seminoles finally got in the endzone.

More: Destin Sharks flag football team secures a 28-0 shutout over Arnold

The Seminoles scored in the final seconds of the first half to go up 6-0.

In the third quarter, the Sharks took charge of the game.

Destin went on a 19-0 run, with Neilya Stewart, Lilly McClen and Evie Gherdovich scoring touchdowns.

With about five minutes left in the game, the Seminoles, with three back-to-back penalties against the Sharks, were able to drive the ball down and score.

FSUHS went for two points, but Sharks stuffed them with McClen getting the sack.

Destin got the ball back and made two first downs, before Bailey Gaffney took a knee at quarterback to end the game.

Stewart attributed the success to “team chemistry and everybody being on the same page.”

“I felt like the game was good. The last time they got up first, and we shut down,” Stewart said. “But this time we stayed and fought.

“It’s pretty exciting. We get to go to the Elite Eight ... pretty sweet,” Stewart said.

Bryant and others were already watching film on Bolles the morning of May 5 in preparation for the May 7 matchup.

“Every game is a big game,” Bryant said.

“The job's not done yet. We will celebrate at the end.”

This article originally appeared on The Destin Log: Destin Sharks flag football advances in tournament play

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Breaking”