Latest news with #FlagFootballPlayeroftheYear
Miami Herald
06-06-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
St. Thomas Aquinas' Sherice Newton is the Broward Flag Football Player of the Year
Sherice Newton knew a little bit about how to play quarterback in flag football even before her senior season. But she hadn't formally been given the keys to St. Thomas Aquinas' offense until this season. The Raiders valued Newton for her leadership qualities and felt she was the best choice to fill their vacancy at the position. The decision paid off. Newton turned into one of the most prolific quarterbacks in the state while leading St. Thomas Aquinas back to the regional finals in Class 3A. And so, Newton, a senior who is headed to FIU to study biochemistry, is the Miami Herald's Broward County Flag Football Player of the Year. Newton completed 369 of 469 pass attempts this season for 3,937 yards and threw 73 touchdown passes with only nine interceptions. She also showed off her quickness when she kept the ball, running for 336 yards on 45 carries. But one of her biggest improvements was her decision-making and patience as a passer. 'I used to just roll out and throw it, but this year I learned to stay in the pocket more and I played much better than I had in the past,' Newton said. The Raiders graduated all of their quarterbacks after the 2024 season and Newton was one of two possible options to take the reins this season. An injury made Aquinas' decision simple and Newton took it and ran with it, leading the Raiders to one of their best seasons in school history. 'I feel like being a senior they felt like I could be a leader to the younger players,' Newton said. 'I had good timing and I just got the ball to my receivers.' Aquinas finished 16-2 before losing to Homestead in the playoffs. Newton feels like it's a matter of time before the Raiders bring home a state championship. 'They just have to stay together and when times get tough not blame each other, just stay together and push through as a team,' Newton said.
Miami Herald
04-06-2025
- General
- Miami Herald
Miami Edison's Rakyia Louis is the Miami-Dade Flag Football Player of the Year
Rakyia Louis knew she had enough time. Miami Edison's junior starting quarterback had two minutes left in a tie game in the state championship, and an array of talented receivers she knew she could count on. 'We had a game-winning drive this season that took 40 seconds,' Louis said. 'We had two minutes left when we started this drive, so I knew there was no way we were going to overtime.' Louis marched her team past midfield and then executed one of the state's most memorable state title-clinching moments when she fired a Hail Mary touchdown pass to teammate Poetry Auguste as time expired to lift Edison to its first ever state championship. The play, the drive and the accomplishment are some of the main reasons that Louis is this year's Miami Herald Flag Football Player of the Year for Miami-Dade County. Louis did more than just throw one clutch pass. She spent the entire season at the heart of Edison's march to a 19-1 season as one of the most prolific scoring teams in the state. Louis threw for 4,705 passing yards and threw 78 touchdown passes. The journey took her and the Red Raiders to Tampa where they made their sixth appearance at the state final four. But this time, things ended differently than they had in the past. Louis and her teammates are still a predominantly young team, which graduated only four seniors. They took pride in being the first to bring home a state championship for Edison, which has been a regular at state since 2017 under longtime coach Vince Hall, but hadn't experienced a breakthrough until this season. 'It took a while to hit me. All I knew is we had to win the game,' Louis said.
