Mandarin HS- The Gateway Conference Championship delivered a battle between two powerhouse teams Friday night, but in the end it was Paxon who made school history.
The Golden Eagles rolled past previously unbeaten Mandarin 26-0 on the road to capture their first-ever Gateway Conference Flag Football Championship, improving to 11-1 on the season. Meanwhile, the loss handed Mandarin its first defeat of the year after the Mustangs entered the night at 11-0.
Mandarin took down a very good Bolles team 6-0 in overtime earlier this year. As well as a tough victory against St. Augustine 7-0. They would face a different level of team in Paxon though. From the opening whistle, both defenses came ready.
Paxon’s defense set the tone early when Zharya Peoples broke up a pass to force a Mandarin punt. The Mustangs answered with defense of their own, as Mia Pizzaro broke up a pass on the next possession. Then Sanaa McKenzie took over for Mandarin, harassing Paxon’s quarterback all night and recording two sacks.
McKenzie has 14 sacks for the Mustang defense on the season. Kaitlynn Thomas has 7 interceptions. Their effort early against Paxon matched their seasonal showing. However, while Mandarin’s defense kept fighting, their offense could never get rolling.
That’s because Paxon defenders Saniyah Hawkins, Janesa Everett, and Zariyah Tabor locked down the field in the first quarter, keeping the Mustangs pinned on their side of the 40-yard line.
Then came one of the biggest moments of the game in the second quarter.
Paxon drove deep inside the 10-yard line, but Mandarin’s defense stood tall. With four chances near the goal line, the Mustangs stuffed every attempt. Olivia Gamble made a huge flag pull on a quarterback dive, and Mandarin stopped Paxon at the 1-yard line to keep the game scoreless.
Sophomore quarterback Cameron Latsko has led the Mustangs with 1,912 yards pass 26 TD passes. Akaylah Hewett has caught 12 TDs leading the team. While Justice Almon has caught 8 TDs on the season. Their season offensive output however stalled against Paxon, as they never got into scoring position.
Still, the Golden Eagles never blinked.
Thanks to strong punt returns and excellent field position, Paxon marched back into scoring range. A direct snap to Jordyn Moxon finally broke the deadlock as she punched in the game’s first touchdown to give Paxon a 6-0 lead.
Just before halftime, Elyanna Perez fired a laser to Taniya Booker for another touchdown, extending the lead to 12-0.
Then disaster struck for Mandarin.
Trying to score before the half, the Mustangs had a pass deflect off a receiver’s hands—and Booker was there again. She snagged the interception and raced 30 yards for a pick-six, stunning the home crowd. Maeghan Hicks hauled in the conversion pass to make it 19-0 at halftime.
Paxon put the finishing touch on the championship in the fourth quarter when Perez connected with Booker for their second touchdown hookup of the night, sealing the 26-0 victory.
Perez continued her stellar junior season with another efficient performance, while Booker delivered one of the biggest games of her career with two receiving touchdowns and a pick-six. Perez’s 1,327 yards, and 21 touchdowns on the season has led her team.
Saniyah Hawkins has 567yards rushing and 4 TDs. Treasure Curry has 394yds receiving and a team lead 8 TDs. Taniya Booker has 317 yards receiving and 4 TDs on the season. While Maghan Hicks has 7 offensive TDs to help guide the offense.
On defense, Paxon is fast and energetic, bringing an aggressiveness to every game. This was the team’s 7th shutout of the season including a 24-0 win in the Gateway Tournament earlier this week versus Ed white, and a 20-0 blanking of Fleming Island. Hawkins leads the team with 16 sacks. Tabor has 4 interceptions, while Hicks has 3 on the season.
As for Mandarin, head coach Johnathan Reed and the Mustangs will look to bounce back against Raines and Nease before district tournament play begins.
Head coach Patrick Logue and Paxon now head into the final stretch of the regular season with major momentum. The Golden Eagles finish with games at Nease and home against Bolles.
Friday night belonged to Paxon—and the Golden Eagles made sure everyone knew it. History has been made.
