FORT WALTON BEACH — Twenty-nine years after Michael Jordan did it, Diaris Morales had her “flu game.”
Heavily medicated, sporting a fever above 102 degrees and coming off a couple of missed practices, the Choctawhatchee senior quarterback connected with four different receivers for six touchdowns and threw for nearly 400 yards in Tuesday’s 39-0 win over Menendez in the Region 1-2A quarterfinals at Joe Etheredge Stadium.
“I just pulled through. Coach Bay gave me the leniency of a couple of days off so I could feel a little better for the game,” said Morales, who’ll play at the next level for Shelton State Community College. “I felt a little better today, and I knew if I didn’t play I’d be letting my team down. I couldn’t do that. I’d rather play through any sickness than let my teammates down.”
Big Green head coach Jim Bay, who’d seen the team struggle in practice without her at quarterback, knew he could count on Morales.
“She was going to play whether she was on the sideline puking or not,” he said. “We were talking about it earlier today: She was going to have her Michael Jordan moment.”
Her teammates knew as well.
“It’s comforting. It’s really amazing to know she’ll come out here ill or in bad health and put her heart out on the line, put this team above herself,” said DiBenedetto, who alongside Tishelle Bowles had two touchdown receptions and KK Hardy and Mirian Redondo accounted for the other two.
In spreading the love, Morales never once put Choctaw in position to punt. She said the receiver depth is more than athleticism, it’s about being on the same page and seeing one step ahead to her next move, next throw.
“They understand me,” Morales, protected by Grey Smith all night, said of her weapons. “We’ve been playing together so long, it’s refreshing the connection we have and it makes my job so much easier. Me throwing the ball is what looks cool, but they do most of the work in getting open and making plays.”
Speaking of making plays, the defense was full of them. Hardy and Bowles locked down the secondary as opposite corners, DiBenedetto and the linebackers shut down anything underneath and over the middle and Menendez stuggled to find any seam as they tried to get to the edges to no avail. Tuesday marked the third shutout in the last four games for the Big Green, who’ve won seven straight behind their defense.
“It’s taken us awhile to get here,” DiBenedetto said. “The beginning of the year, it was rough with a lot of girls coming up, a lot of girls who hadn’t played together. But we’ve worked hard every day to get to where we’re at and I’m proud of everyone. This shutout means more than anything anyone could understand.”
“The personnel is coming together,” Bay said. “When you have dogs, you have to let them eat. And we just needed to move around some pieces. KK coming back, she and Tishelle have really locked down our secondary and erased the issues that were affecting us earlier this year.”
Now 15-3 and in search of a fifth straight Final 4, the top-seeded Big Green advance to host fifth-seeded Booker T. Washington in Monday’s Region 1-2A semifinal at Joe Etheredge Stadium. Booker T. Washington is 11-2 and beat St. Augustine 7-0 in the region quarterfinals.
This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News: Diaris Morales has 6 TDs in ‘flu game,’ Choctaw flag advances
Reporting by Seth Stringer, Northwest Florida Daily News / Northwest Florida Daily News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
