Mainland, Spruce Creek advance to FHSAA flag football tournament

Spruce Creek and Mainland will represent the Volusia-Flagler area in next week’s FHSAA flag football tournament.

The Hawks and Bucs — ranked 10th and 11th in the state by FloridaHSFootball.com — captured district titles Friday night, albeit in significantly different circumstances.

Mainland (13-1) pitched a third consecutive shutout, and Alexa Wilson’s two touchdowns proved to be the difference in a 14-0 win over upset-minded 6-seed Deltona (4-9). Wilson ran for one score, and threw another to Avari Walker, securing the Bucs’ first district crown since 2018.

On a five-game winning streak, Mainland surrendered a total of 19 points across eight matches against District 5-1A foes this spring — none in its three-game run to the championship.

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Spruce Creek, fresh off a seven-overtime classic against DeLand, snatched the lead — and the championship — away from New Smyrna Beach in the final minute. Amber DiQuattro caught the tying touchdown and the go-ahead PAT with 37 seconds left in regulation as the Hawks (15-2) defeated the visiting ‘Cudas 7-6 in the District 3-2A final.

New Smyrna Beach, which took down top-seed Apopka the night before, finishes with a 13-5 record.

Timia Merrick, who rushed for more than 1,100 yards during the regular season, scored the lone touchdown of the first half on a 3-yard run. However, Kaitlyn Herb made a crucial play, breaking up a pass on the point-after conversion attempt.

“Our girls were so tired and beat up,” Spruce Creek Head Coach Andy Price said. “No excuses, but Thursday was the equivalent of two games played. We were flat, and it showed. We were lucky to get out with the win.”