In one sense, Fleming Island is entering uncharted territory.
In another, they’re playing for a championship just a few miles from home.
Motivated by a not-quite-home-field advantage, the Golden Eagles are soaring into their first-ever Florida High School Athletic Association flag football semifinal at Mandarin, where they’ll play Davie Western at 7 p.m.
The goal: becoming Northeast Florida’s first-ever state champion in a sport traditionally dominated by schools from the Tampa and Miami areas. It might not be out of reach for Fleming Island (16-1), cruising into the final four as winner of its last 13 games.
For head coach Clint Lyons, the Golden Eagles have always had that kind of championship ability this year. They just needed to chance to work their way into a rhythm after a March packed with rainouts.
“We just had to start playing some games to get up and running,” he said.
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Friday’s semifinal means practically a home game for Lyons — but also a house divided. The Fleming Island coach said his wife, Erin, is a Davie Western graduate.
Deep playoff runs aren’t unusual for the Golden Eagles, who qualified for the last eight in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019. This year, though, they’ve finally cleared the barrier into the final four, courtesy of Monday’s 19-7 Region 1-2A championship victory against visiting Pace.
The biggest question entering the year was how to fill in for the graduated Amelia Sailing, who starred in a multitude of roles during her Golden Eagles career. Junior MyKayla Maddox has led the charge, scoring touchdowns with her throwing arm and her scrambling ability throughout the playoffs.
“She can pass it, catch it, make interceptions,” Lyons said. “She’s just an all-around flag football player in every sense of the word.”
Fleming Island is doing the job on defense, too.
They’ve held opponents to a combined 73 points for the season, and while they’ve fared well in all parts of the unit, Lyons said one key part of the Golden Eagles’ solidity is the performance of defensive back Rose Martin after her conversion from a pass-rusher role.
Fleming Island showed off its skills on Monday night, defeating Pace 19-7 to seal its spot in the final four.
“We’ve kind of found our identity,” Lyons said. “We’re able to do a lot of different things. If we need to throw short all game like last time, we do it. If the defense gives us the opportunity to take some shots deep, we can do that, too… Flag football is all about throwing and catching, and we’ve done that pretty well.”
IF YOU GO
What: Florida High School Athletic Association flag football championships.
When: Friday-Saturday.
Where: Mandarin High School.
Tickets: $10 per day with advance purchase, $13 when purchased day of event
Schedule: Friday, Class 1A semifinals, Tampa Robinson (20-1) vs. Jensen Beach (18-3), 2 p.m.; Choctawhatchee (14-2) vs. Miami Edison (14-1), 3:45 p.m.; Class 2A semifinals, Lithia Newsome (19-1) vs. Spanish River (18-2), 5:30 p.m.; Davie Western (17-0) vs. Fleming Island (16-1), 7:15 p.m.; Saturday, Class 1A championship, 2 p.m.; Class 2A championship, 4 p.m.
Clayton Freeman covers high school sports and more for the Florida Times-Union. Follow him on Twitter at @CFreemanJAX.
Travis Burnett
A pioneer in the flag football community, Travis helped co-found the Flag Football World Championship Tour, FlagSpin and USA Flag. Featuring 15+ years of content creation for the sport of flag football, creating and managing the largest flag football tournaments on the planet, coaching experience at the youth and adult level as well as an active player with National and World Championship level experience.
