- November 6, 2024
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Flagler Palm Coast flag football player Nereyda Campos said she “was hungry for the ball.” Giavanna Piazza was hungry to score a touchdown against her former teammates.
Piazza scored on a second-quarter touchdown pass from Campos, and Campos added two consecutive pick-sixes in the third quarter to give the Bulldogs a 20-0 victory over Matanzas on Friday, March 29, on FPC’s senior night.
Piazza, a junior, played for Matanzas the past two seasons and said she had this game marked on her calendar all season. She wound up scoring her first touchdown of the season, as Campos spotted her streaking down the left sideline.
“It’s my old team and I really wanted to score, so it felt great,” Piazza said.
It would be the only offensive touchdown of the game. But Campos, a sophomore, scored twice on defense on consecutive possessions late in the third quarter. The plays were almost identical.
With Matanzas deep in its territory, Campos rushed into the backfield, intercepted a pitch to the running back and ran in for the score. Then, when the Pirates got the ball back, Campos did it again.
“She’s fast. Their whole defense is fast,” Matanzas coach Phillip Haire said. “We were putting people there and we still couldn’t block her.”
Jasmine Santana and Natalie Patel-Holmes caught extra-point passes from Campos after the first and third touchdowns.
Campos said she was inspired to play flag football by her brother, Tyler Irigoyen, a former FPC football player who went on to play noseguard at Ohio Northern University from 2019 to 2023.
“I started playing flag football for the Mad Dogs when I was 11,” she said. “And I've just loved it ever since.”
The Bulldogs honored seniors Jasail Jackson, Esther Vitalien and Shannell Madden at halftime. They improved to 5-4 with the victory and end the regular season on Thursday, April 4, at University.
Matanzas (3-7) will have its senior night on Monday, April 1, when the Pirates play host to Pine Ridge at 5:30 p.m. Their final two regular season games will be on the road against Crescent City (April 2) and Trinity Christian Academy of Deltona (April 4).