Destin High School’s historic season will continue.
On Monday night, the Destin flag football team delivered what may go down as the upset of the entire playoffs, defeating top-seeded Florida High 19-12 on the road in the regional semifinal of the FHSAA 1A Girls Flag Football State Championship Tournament.
It took something the Lady Sharks have become quite good at doing: overcoming adversity and playing together.
Destin had its chances early but couldn’t execute in the red zone, then watched as Florida High scored in the waning moments of the first half to take a 6-0 lead and momentum into the break.
That’s when Head Coach Kyle Bryant delivered a simple message in the locker room.
- “We talked over at halftime like, ‘Hey, you gotta prove that you really want this,'” Bryant said. “‘This team is in the way of us chasing our goal.'”
The Lady Sharks responded. Destin seized momentum in the third quarter and never looked back, scoring 19 unanswered points behind quarterback Neilya Stewart, who took over once the offense found its rhythm. The Destin defense held firm, not allowing a touchdown until late in the fourth quarter, and the offense iced the game on its final drive to punch the program’s ticket to the Elite Eight.
For Bryant, what powered the second-half surge was the same thing that has driven Destin all year.
“Chemistry is something you can’t coach,” he said. “When you have chemistry, that’s an extra player on the field, really, and that’s something I can’t take credit for. So chemistry is key.”
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The Destin junior has helped lead two programs to history-making firsts in a single school year, with more still ahead.
It’s a chemistry built across seasons and sports. Many of the same Destin athletes move from volleyball to basketball to flag football, suiting up for one another year-round.
- “We’ve been playing for the last few years together. We have a few freshmen, but we’re all together year-round,” Stewart said. “We’re building good chemistry, and I just feel like that helps a lot when it comes to playing sports and being on the same page.”
Now Destin will once again hit the road, this time to Jacksonville on Thursday to face Bolles in the Elite Eight. Bolles defeated University Christian 20-6 on Monday night to advance.
For Bryant, the message after the win was short.
“Job’s not done,” he said.
Stewart said the team is ready.
“We’re just ready to get back to work,” she said. “We have practice today, and we’re ready to watch some film on them and do what we do best — practice and beat them.”
