After months of planning, the inaugural Lee County Flag Football All-Star Game finally took the field.
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The players made sure it lived up to the hype.
In a thrilling finish, the North squad – comprised of players from Bishop Verot, Cape Coral, Dunbar, Fort Myers, Ida Baker, Island Coast, Mariner, North Fort Myers, Oasis, Riverdale – beat the South squad, which had players from Bonita Springs, Cypress Lake, Estero, Gateway, Gateway Charter, and Lehigh in a 12-6 final.
“When I got the call and was asked to do it, it was a no-brainer,” North head coach Kendoll Gibson said. “Everybody wanted to be part of the first. I enjoy it because the girls enjoy it. Just to be a part of something for the girls in this area as the first in Lee County.
“I’m Lee County all the way. Anything I could do for the community, but it made it extra special because it was the first.”
The game, which featured a flyover from the Lee County Sheriff’s Office before the festivities, also had the support of local businesses and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The South Gulf Football Officials Association handed out a pair of $500 scholarships to one player from each team.
“It was a great night,” South head coach Thomas McGuire said, who is also the creator of the game. “I looked at the stands, and the visitors side was full, the home side was full, the food trucks and the Bucs were out here.
“We had a great football game that was super entertaining to watch. We had big plays from both sides. You couldn’t have asked for a better night for the girls of Lee County.”
Once the action got rolling, it was evident it was going to be a close battle. After the two teams traded back-to-back interceptions in a scoreless first quarter, the North side found the endzone via the legs of Lila Dinkel, who scored from five yards out. That was set up with a pass from Mariner’s Sophia Flinn to Dinkel, which resulted in a 25-plus yard gain to gash the South defense.
With the South driving downfield, the reigning Southwest Florida Flag Football Player of the Year took matters into her own hands in a goal-to-go spot. On third down, Dinkel tracked down Gateway Charter’s Jazmyn Johnson, diving from behind to deny a surefire touchdown.
On fourth-and-goal, Dinkel (6-8, 63 yards; 12 rush, 55 yards, TD; 2 rec, 28 yards; 5 flag pulls, 1 sack) was there for a pitch play from Bonita Springs’ Kylee Terry to Cypress Lake’s Lilly Witz, taking her down five yards behind the line of scrimmage to send the North squad into halftime holding a 6-0 lead.
“I enjoyed getting to play receiver again,” said Dinkel, who starred there her junior year. “And having my friends around me.”
Out of halftime, the South squad leveled things, with Johnson (20-31, 216 yards, TD, INT; 4 rush, 20 yards) connecting with Bonita’s Karol Blanco-Ortiz (6 rec, 66 yards, TD) on an out route from the slot to level things at 6-all. Estero’s Amiya Lewis had a big catch earlier in the drive, and led all receivers with 92 yards on four catches.
A big run from Flinn followed by a Dinkel pass to Flinn deep downfield put the North squad in goal-to-go on the ensuing drive, but came up a yard short on fourth-and-goal after Flinn’s pass to fellow Triton Kelsi Longabardi was a yard short of the pylon.
After Longabardi was short earlier in the second half, she wasn’t going to be denied again.
On fourth-and-goal, Longabardi mossed her defender and snatched it out of the air with under two minutes in regulation, giving the North squad a 12-6 lead after a failed one-point try.
“I felt like I was waiting forever for it,” Longabardi said. “The whole time, we kept saying we needed to throw deep and have that one deep ball. I honestly didn’t think I had it in my hands until I grabbed it and held it up. It felt amazing having that.
The South squad drove down to the red zone after Johnson found success checking down in the middle of the field, but the North defense stiffened. After a 12-yard catch on third-and-goal from Lewis, Dinkel’s last pass rush on fourth-and-goal was just enough to set up fellow Viking Grace Riley, who let her safety spot and batted down an errant throw from Johnson across the middle.
“Honestly, it felt like we were back in the district final a little bit,” Riley said, referring to Verot’s loss to Bonita with just over a minute to play. “It felt like we had the game on the line again. We were frustrated with the district final outcome, so having that put a lot of adrenaline in me and I was just really excited to swat that ball down.”
Flinn completed 10 of 15 passes for 104 yards with a touchdown and an interception, adding 40 yards rushing, 48 yards receiving, and 3 flag pulls. Longabardi had three receptions for 38 yards and the game-winning touchdown, while adding 5 flag pulls on defense.
In a sport that's only going to get bigger and continue to grow, the future of flag football in Southwest Florida remains bright. With Collier County potentially looking at adding it in future years, flag football appears to continue to make inroads as a go-to spring sport, something McGuire is highly optimistic about.
“Football in general values people with different skill sets,” McGuire said. “Linemen are very different than receivers. You have people that come together from different sports. Girls flag football is totally the same. I have cheerleaders who are very good at defense because they’re one track minded. I read my key and I go. We have soccer and basketball players that are really good at offense because they understand time and space.
“The fact that flag football brings together all these different skill sets, all these different sports, brings girls together that normally wouldn’t be together, and I think once they come together, they develop friendships they wouldn’t have had before. You get these super tight bonds because they spend time playing. At the end of the day, football’s fun.”
North stats
Sophia Flinn, Mariner: 10-15, 104 yards, TD, INT; 13 rush, 40 yards; 3 rec, 48 yards; 3 flag pulls
Lila Dinkel, Bishop Verot: 6-8, 63 yards; 12 rush, 55 yards, TD; 2 rec, 28 yards; 5 flag pulls, 1 sack
Kelsi Longabardi, Mariner: 3 rec, 38 yards, TD; 5 flag pulls
Bridget Roberts, Riverdale: 4 rec, 23 yards
Jenna Lopez, Ida Baker: 3 rec, 20 yards
Natalie Grant, Riverdale: 1 rec, 10 yards
Grace Riley, Bishop Verot: 4 flag pulls, 1 INT
DaNella McCrackin, Island Coast: 5 flag pulls (1 FPL)
Lily Erickson, North Fort Myers: 1 flag pull
Brittany Perez Mendoza, Island Coast: 1 flag pull
South stats
Jazmyn Johnson, Gateway Charter: 20-31, 216 yards, TD, INT; 4 rush, 20 yards; 2 flag pulls
Amiya Lewis, Estero: 4 rec, 92 yards; 3 flag pulls
Karol Blanco-Ortiz, Bonita Springs: 6 rec, 66 yards, TD
Tre'Zure Pender, Lehigh: 3 rec, 31 yards; 1 flag pull
Lilly Witz, Cypress Lake: 4 rec, 16 yards; 1 rush, -5 yards; 3 flag pulls
Addison Apicella, Cypress Lake: 3 rec, 11 yards
Jaqueline Lopez, South Fort Myers: 5 flag pulls, 2 sacks
Ella Hillard, Estero: 3 flag pulls, INT
Brianna Shanblatt, Bonita Springs: 8 flag pulls
Kylie Lawrence, Bonita Springs: 5 flag pulls
Kylee Terry, Bonita Springs: 4 flag pulls
Lizzet Longoria, Gateway: 1 flag pull
Follow Sports Reporter Alex Martin on X at @NP_AlexMartin or via email: [email protected]. For the best sports coverage in Southwest Florida, follow @newspresssports and @ndnprepzone on Instagram.
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Inaugural Lee County Flag Football All-Star game delivers thrilling finish
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