RIVIERA BEACH – There is no stopping the Pahokee Lady Blue Devils at this time.
They came back from a 7-0 in the second quarter to the Oxbridge Academy Lady Thunderwolves and scored 20 unanswered points for a 20-7 win earlier this evening (April 11).
As a result of the victory, Pahokee (8-6; No. 1 seed in Class 1A-District 23) won its first-ever district title over Oxbridge Academy (10-6; No. 2 seed in 1A-District 23; first district title game appearance).
During the Class 1A-District 23 title game at Suncoast High School in Riviera Beach, head coach Bryan Crawford did not allow his female athletes to get down on themselves at any point.
Instead, they used the early seven-point deficit as a motivational point to chart their game forward.
The Lady Blue Devils were energized primarily by their seventh and eighth graders. Here’s how they got it done.
With 6:00 left in the second quarter, Pahokee quarterback Kaliyah Robinson found wide receiver Franiyah Washington for a contested touchdown. The girls could not convert on a one-point try, which preserved Oxbridge’s lead at 7-6.
But after some defensive stops, Pahokee got back to work on offense. Robinson connected with Washington for a second end zone pass with 34 seconds left in the first half.
Pahokee was up 12-7 over Oxbridge Academy at that juncture and looked to add another point in the process.
To close the first half, Robinson found eighth grader Jada Kleckley as Pahokee went up 13-7 at halftime.
The play of the game came in the second half, but not until after the third quarter resulted in no points for either team.
With 9:00 left in the fourth quarter, the final score of 20-7 was made possible by a pick-six from seventh grade defensive back Kelaijah McNeal and a one-point conversion from Robinson to eighth grade wide receiver Jariyah Evans.
To close the game out, junior Talyn Phillips made two key stops on third and fourth down with less than two minutes left.
Pahokee and Oxbridge Academy had a great display of sportsmanship after the clock hit zero. And from there, the Lady Blue Devils went on to enjoy their history-making moment as district champions.
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