Flag football continues to gain national popularity and in the Ruskin area, which saw Lennard HS, under head coach Travis Combs (sixth in wins in Hillsborough amongst active coaches), advance into the state finals in 2024. The Longhorns lost a thriller, 26-25, to Palmetto (Miami), hosted locally at the Buccaneers indoor practice facility in Tampa. The Longhorns posted a 19-4 record and were ranked fifth in the nation on MaxPreps and fourth in Florida. Lennard followed up that season, improving to 16-3 with its season ending in a 20-19 loss to Steinbrenner in the state semi-finals. The Longhorns started the playoffs with a 30-0 rout of their cross-301 rivals, Sumner. Lennard entered the 2026 4A District 8 playoffs with a bye and a 9-5 record.
Over at Sumner, the Stingrays, under the direction of head coach Michael Cooper (fourth in wins in Hillsborouh), have been building a competitive program. The Rays finished their 2024-25 season at 12-5 after compiling a 14-5 record the previous year. The 2025-26 squad entered the district playoffs with a 9-6 record and opened with a 26-0 win over South Shore Six (SS6) rival Riverview in the Tank. The win sent the Stingrays into the playoffs for a 2025 rematch at Lennard HS on April 21, 2026.
The atmosphere in Ruskin was charged and the teams spent much of the first half testing each other’s defense. The teams went to halftime scoreless. Flag Football is played with very little running room, and the game is usually won through the air. The Stingrays looked to have scored with an interception return for a touchdown, but the play was called back on a Sumner penalty. The Longhorns took advantage of the opportunity and struck first, with QB Sydney Elizondo finding Makiya Bradford for the TD. The Longhorns failed to convert the points after the TD and the lead stood at 6-0. As time was running out, the Stingrays defense held and forced a Longhorn punt.
The Rays took over with 1:55 left in the game and worked to move the ball into scoring position where junior QB Lauren Williams hooked up with Moniqueen Austin in traffic, and Austin held onto the pass for the game-tying score with 11 seconds left in the game. The Stingrays went to the air to convert the extra point to take the 7-6 lead.
The defense stood tall in the final seconds; the Stingrays celebrated an upset win over a top-seeded Longhorns squad; and Sumner, with coach Cooper, advanced to its first district title game vs Bloomingdale. The Rays could not maintain the magic from the Lennard win and fell 20-0 to the Bulls. Junior Bloomingdale captain Alexia Serniotti was all over the field, creating on the offense from the QB role and on defense in the secondary. Serniotti threw a TD pass, intercepted a pass for a TD return, and picked off another Sumner pass as it was driving towards the end zone. Sumner ends its season taking another step forward, and the team will continue to work towards the goal of a district title.
Bloomingdale will now host the Lennard Longhorns in the first round of the FHSAA playoffs on Wednesday, April 29, at 7 p.m., as the Longhorns used a strong strength of schedule to carry them into a state playoff berth.
Story or any parts of the story are copyright protected, including AI revisions, without permission of the editor. Full game gallery available for purchase at https://www.maxpreps.com/photography/photographers/ Florida-Francis Fedor
Lennard junior Makiya Bradford scores the first TD in the district semifinal game against rival Sumner on April 21.
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