BY OLIVIA LEWIS
The CCHS varsity flag football team faced off against Miami High School on Monday, May 7. This was the Lady Cowboys’ second run at regional finals, winning two years in a row. The girls gave it their all until the very last minute, winning with a close score of 31-24. The Lady Cowboys will continue to practice for their state semifinal game taking place on Saturday, May 12 at Boca Raton High School.
The Lady Cowboys held regionals at their home field this year, giving them an advantage. The girls arrived at 5:45 p.m. so that they could get a decent warmup in before the game, which started at 7 p.m. They did throwing lines, pulled flags and stretched to get their bodies ready before the whistle blew. Around 15 minutes before the game began, the stands began to fill with fans covered in Cowboy gear. The referees called the captains over to flip the coin and choose who gets possession first. Alisa Silverberg, Juliette Polanco and Galya Vicnansky all headed over to the referee and shook hands with the opposing captains. The Miami High School Stingarees won the coin toss, giving them possession first. The game whistle was blown two minutes later and the seven starting players took the field.
“We really hope to make it further than state semi-finals this year,” Kimberly Slinkosky said. “We should be able to do so by working hard and staying focused.”
The Stingarees started at the 20-yard line with the ball. The gained a few yards by running the ball, but the Lady Cowboys stopped them every time. Miami High threw the ball, but Polanco stepped in front of the opposing player and intercepted it, gaining a few yards for the Cowboys. Cooper City sent their offensive lineup in to try and score a touchdown. Quickly after this, quarterback Hailey Brown threw the ball to Slinkosky, who ran it to the end zone. The Lady Cowboys set up to go for the extra point, with Galya scoring it, making the score 7-0.
The Stingarees got the ball back at the 20-yard line, but were constantly stopped by Cooper City, resulting in another turnover. The Lady Cowboys’ offensive line was put in again to go for another touchdown. Slinkosky received a handoff, gaining a few yards for Cooper City. Two plays later, Brown received the ball from the center and threw the ball to Vicnansky. She caught the ball and ran it in for their second touchdown. Following this, both teams ran in for a timeout.
“We worked extremely hard during this game because we all wanted to win,” Brown said. “We knew what was at stake, so everyone put their everything into it.”
Miami High had possession of the ball and worked hard to try and tie the game up. Hannah Eubanks and Silverberg sacked the quarterback on their first play after the timeout, giving them no yard gain. They were able to score two touchdowns, but that wasn’t enough to stop the Lady Cowboys. Cooper City gained possession of the ball again, taking every opportunity they had. Brown received the ball and looked for Annie Clark, who scored the third touchdown for the Lady Cowboys.
The Stingarees took the ball at the 20-yard line and the quarterback tried to throw the ball, but Eubanks sacked her before she could. Miami High scored two more touchdowns after this, but the Lady Cowboys kept working hard. Brown received the ball and looked for an open player, throwing it to Vicnansky. She caught the ball in the end zone, scoring another touchdown. A few plays later the Cowboys gained possession again, giving their all for the final minutes of the game. Slinkosky received a handoff from Brown and ran it in for their final touchdown of the game. The Lady Cowboys won the game with a score of 31-24. They are now anticipating their game on Saturday, May 12 at 1 p.m. at Boca Raton High School.
“I think we have done really well this season,” Eubanks said. “We have put a lot of hard work into every game and practice, which has helped us come this far.”
Final Score: Cooper City 31, Miami High 24
This article contains comments from The Lariat members Hailey Brown and Hannah Eubanks.
Photo by Casey Chapter
