DELTONA — Before Deltona’s Region 2-2A quarterfinal against Vanguard, Wolves flag football coach Mayra Matos told quarterback Frantashia Williams, “Give me 60.”
Williams and top-seeded Deltona proceeded to drop a season-high 61 points against the Knights on April 28 in a 61-27 triumph that advanced them to the region semifinals.
“I felt like everybody knew it was you go home or you want to still eat, and we still wanted to eat,” Williams said. “Nobody wanted to go home.”
The Wolves’ offense simply could not be stopped in its first playoff game. Williams ran for five touchdowns and threw for three more in the Wolves’ nine-touchdown affair.
Williams scored the first touchdown two minutes into the game with a 40-yard scamper to paydirt and followed it with a 10-yard passing touchdown to center Ciara Ash. Just like that, Deltona led 14-0 in the contest’s opening minutes.
The Knights cut into their deficit with a 70-yard passing touchdown from Saniya Kendrick to Karlyee Pinkney to trail 14-6. But Deltona scored with a 70-yard toss from Williams to Camora Pate on the very next play.
The flip-flop continued for each team for the next couple possessions. The Kendrick-Pinkney connection scored again on a 40-yard pass, and Kendrick added a 10-yard rushing touchdown to her resume, but Williams ran another one in from 60 yards out to put the Wolves up 28-18.
That’s when Deltona began the blowout.
“They just had a one-man army. We have a whole army,” Williams said.
The Wolves scored the next 26 points to lead 42-18 at halftime and 54-18 at the end of the third quarter with the running clock invoked. Prior to Tuesday night, 45 points was the most Vanguard had allowed all season.
Deltona did it with three more Williams touchdowns on rushes of 20 and 40 yards and a second touchdown connection to Pate, who caught it over a Knights defensive back.
“Honestly, I owe it all to my quarterback,” Pate said.
“It’s more so about trusting your receivers,” Williams said. “You can’t do nothing but put the ball where it needs to be and get the job done.”
Jaliyah Peterson scored the lone touchdown of the evening that didn’t involve Williams, and it was arguably the highlight of the game. After Williams had to be taken out for one play, Peterson took the snap, ran the ball and practically made Vanguard’s entire defense miss on the way for a 40-yard score.
Vanguard scored one second-half touchdown when the game was already out of reach on Kendrick’s third touchdown pass with 7:13 left. The Knights even converted a three-point conversion, but the score was too lopsided to mount any sort of comeback.
Deltona improved to 18-0 and will face No. 4 Nature Coast Tech on its home turf on May 4 with its preseason goal of a state championship still intact.
“I feel like we’re gonna get it, like nothing’s in our way,” Pate said. “… If we keep playing the way we’re playing, level-headed, we’re gonna get that ring, and we’re coming for whoever’s in our way.”
Atlantic nearly upsets John Carroll Catholic
No. 7 Atlantic almost pulled off an upset on the road against No. 2 John Carroll Catholic. It even forced an extra period.
The Sharks and Golden Rams were knotted at 19 after both teams scored fourth-quarter touchdowns with failed extra points, which would be the separator in Atlantic’s 26-25 defeat.
The Sharks were able to score in the first overtime frame, but John Carroll Catholic defended their extra-point try for the third time of the night. The Golden Rams scored when it was their turn on offense, and they sealed their victory by successfully punching in their extra point.
Atlantic finishes its 2026 campaign with an 11-5 record and a District 9-1A trophy.
New Smyrna Beach falls to Nature Coast Tech
The Wolves had an opportunity for a District 7-2A final rematch with No. 5 New Smyrna Beach if the Barracudas were able to beat Nature Coast Tech, but the Sharks were able to win handily.
New Smyrna Beach was shut out 19-0, ending its season at 13-6.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Deltona flag football scores season-high 61 to advance to region semis
Reporting by Zach Allen, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
