A dream season for the Fort Pierce Central flag football team came to an agonizing and crashing close.
The team responsible was the only group to get the best of the Cobras during the regular season. And that team did it once more, only this time with higher stakes and on the road.
A fourth-quarter touchdown pass by Keelin Coleman to Mia Ciezak was the difference as Wellington advanced to the Final Four following a 12-7 victory over Central during a Class 2A state quarterfinal on Friday at Cobra Flag.
Trailing 7-6 with just roughly six minutes remaining, Coleman felt pressure from Cobras rushers Tajeyah Chance and Brenna Allen. Chance nearly sacked Coleman as she rolled to her right, but the senior quarterback lofted a pass down the sideline to Ciezak, who got behind the defense. The freshman receiver made a lunging haul at the 3-yard line, stumbled a bit and dove past the goal line just before Alyssa Llanos pulled off her flag.
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“Mia has been some we’ve relied on in the past few games, her impact has just been incredible,” Coleman said.
The visitors forced a turnover on downs on the ensuing possession and faced a third-and-short with the Cobras out of timeouts. They turned to sophomore Avery Schroeder, who eluded four defenders to rush for the game-sealing first down.
Shortly after the final buzzer and the teams exchanged handshakes, Wolverine players chanted, “We’re going to Tampa,” the site of FHSAA state championships. Later, those players dumped a bucket of ice on head coach Robert Callovi.
“This group, a lot of them have been with us for three-four years. And they all had the same goal, saying ‘We want to get to states,’” Callovi said. “They’ve put in the work, and it’s just an unbelievable feeling to see all the work paying off. It’s going to be a fun experience for them.”
Meanwhile, complete despair was on the side of the field. Central players and coaches were tearful as they exchanged hugs after a historic year with many highs reached its conclusion.
Nick Clements was at the center in an emotional scene, making sure to embrace every player and share parting words. The FPC head coach took blame for the defeat but also credited Wellington for its play.
“The game, I’m going to be thinking about it for a long time,” Clements said. “My initial thoughts are I wish I made some better decisions and calls that I wish I had back. Wellington took advantage of the opportunities that were given. … Hats off to coach Callovi and Wellington, they had a great game plan and I wish them luck at states.”
The Wolverines were blanked during their district championship game, but has since won four games in a row to improve their record to 15-3. They earned the No. 3 seed in the final four bracket and will face No. 2 Lennard at 7 p.m. on Saturday, May 10.
Meanwhile, the Cobras finished with a 19-2 mark. Their previous defeat came by a 15-12 on March 8 at Wellington.
Here are three takeaways from Friday’s game.
Seven points were the fewest Central put on the scoreboard in a single game this season.
The home team had difficulty sustaining drives as it found few options open, outside of dump-off passes to Chance. The Cobras’ only score came on a fourth-and-goal play late in the first half. Junior quarterback Adrienne Rivera launched a deep pass down the sideline, hitting senior receiver Serenity Marte, who barely got both feet inbounds in the back of the end zone.
The highlight reel catch came against Angelia Bistrong as the Cobras targeted that particular matchup during various parts of the night. The same three players were also involved in Central’s final offensive play. This time, the Wolverines junior broke up the pass intended for Marte, giving the ball back to Wellington.
“They’re a great offense … But that’s the thing with our players, they are going to fight to the end,” Callovi said. “They’re not stopping, even when you think you got them on the ropes. They’re just going to keep battling.”
Flag football doesn’t include kickoffs or field-goal attempts, but special teams can make an impact. That was the case as a long punt return set up the game’s opening score: a Coleman touchdown pass to Samantha Ellis.
“We know Fort Pierce Central comes with a lot of energy, so we knew we had to make our mark first,” Coleman said.
“When you get to this level, all three phases of the game play a role. And that punt return that set up the first score definitely was a different maker,” Clements said.
Repeating their first-ever trip to states should be a reasonable goal for the Cobras next year.
The team will return Rivera, Chance, Allen as well as Karla Timothy, who was a standout on both sides of the ball. But they’ll have to move on from a senior trio that made up the core of the club.
Marte, Llanos and captain Kate Buchmeyer all have played their final game in a Cobra uniform.
“For a program to be good, you need your best players to be leaders. And I did not have that problem with that crew,” Clements said. “They were program-changers. It wasn’t me, it was them. They brought into the philosophy and pushed their peers. … I’m so proud of them and I really don’t know what I’m going to do without them.”
Patrick Bernadeau is a sports reporter for Treasure Coast Newspapers. He can be reached at (772) 985-9692, on X at @PatBernadeau or via email at pbernadeau@gannett.com.
