By FRANCIS FEDOR
francisfotography@outlook.com
Lennard Longhorn girls flag football kept its playoff streak alive by defeating the Alonso Ravens, the second ranked team in the state, 13-7. The Longhorns continue to be road warriors, coming off wins over Bloomingdale, the district champions; Plant; and now on the road in Oldsmar. The win moves Lennard into the state semifinals on Friday afternoon, high noon to be exact, in Tampa at the Buccaneers indoor practice facility, where they will face the second seeded
Harmony Longhorns who are 19-1 and ranked 11 nationally. Harmony advanced into the game with a 15-7 win over the number 9 nationally ranked Central Cobras. The only blemish on the Harmony Longhorns slate, ironically, was a 33-13 drubbing in Gibsonton at the hands of South Shore Six member, the East Bay Indians
Lennard arrived in style in Oldsmar to face the Alonso Ravens, making the trip as a team on a charter to build team unity and ensure the comfort of the team ahead of the game. The Longhorns continued to stick with freshman Hayden Schofield at the QB position. She has stepped up since taking over after the Sumner loss and has efficiently run the game plan, keeping the team moving and engaged in the offense. Schofield threw for 193 yards in the win over Plant with three TDs and continued that success on Thursday, May 7, against Alonso. Schofield, who threw for 197 yards, found Makenzie Walker at just under the seven-minute mark of the first quarter for the opening score. Alonso scored early in the second quarter to take a lead when Gabby Werr connected with Mia Garcia and added the extra point to take the one-point lead with just over five minutes remaining in the half. But the steady Schofield found Grace
Valenzuela for the go-ahead score and turned it over to the defense to lock down the win.
And the defense answered the call, clogging up the passing lanes and not giving Alonso room to operate. The effort led to three INTs, one each by Jordyn Colvenbach, Jurnee Bailey and
another by Stacey Reducindo. The group knocked down or got in the way of a number of other passes ending drives, maybe the biggest by Jules Ellsworth, defending against Devon Miller, looking to continue a late game drive, and now has the Longhorns a win away from playing in the state championship game on May 16 at the Buccaneers complex, currently scheduled for 2 p.m. on Saturday.
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 Photography/Graphics Contact: Insta: FrancisFoto2020 Email: FrancisFotography@Outlook.com Phone: 202-683-9691.
Lennard freshman QB Hayden Schofield takes off to try to make a play in FHSAA Regional Final win over Alonso.
Longhorn offensive group Grace Valenzuela (27), Alayna Tecson (22), Hope Hensley (17), Makenzie Walker (5), and Willow Rager (14) come off the field in FHSAA Regional Final win over Alonso on May 7.
