Rachel Lopez had a tough decision last night…attend the Academic Awards Ceremony to receive two awards or travel to Harmony with her Flag Football team for their State Play-In game. Thankfully for her teammates, she chose the latter and validated the decision with an interception inside the five-yard line that gave the Panthers life with 55 seconds left in the game. Down 19-14 against host Harmony, DP took over deep in their own territory. Quarterback Hannah Schaible found Nikki Green for a huge gain and on third and goal, Schaible hit Malia Harrison on a short route and the sophomore took it to the house for the go-ahead touchdown with 20 seconds left on the clock. Harmony had one last chance to reclaim the lead but Malia Harrison got it done on the defensive side as well, intercepting the Longhorns’ first pass to seal the victory. Harrison finished with four receptions, a touchdown and an interception while Lopez tallied three receptions, an interception and four flag pulls. Schaible completed 23 of 36 passes for two touchdowns, ran for a third and intercepted a pass on defense. JShyra Reed hauled in five catches, including a touchdown, and registered four flag pulls while Jade Cheek led both the offense with six receptions and the defense with six flag pulls. DP (14-2) now advances to the State Tournament in Kissimmee Friday at 5:30 pm against Tampa Robinson in a rematch of last year’s State Quarterfinal. This marks the Panthers’ fourth consecutive trip to the tournament, which culminates in a single State Champion crowned from 177 teams, the most of any sport under the FHSAA umbrella.
DP’s softball season is over, but accolades keep rolling in. Senior Softball standout Sarah Lang was named to the All-Metro West Conference team for the fourth consecutive year. Lang has signed with the University of Maryland.
