The 2024 Florida high school girls’ flag football season is here. Friday and Saturday, the National Football League’s Jacksonville Jaguars hosted 46 teams with over 1,100 athletes for the 2024 Preseason Classic.
The games helped teams get ready for the start of the ready season on Monday.
Our friends at FloridaHSFootball.com had outstanding coverage of the event, including a look at the teams that participated.
Top Teams To Watch
Bradford (Starke) – A team that emerged into the spotlight last season after winning a district championship and a berth to the playoffs, will have plenty of talent returning for the season under new head coach Brock Canaday who is no stranger to flag football having helped establish the program at Baker County. Bradford was 16-1 overall in 2024.
Chiles (Tallahassee) – With longtime head coach Stan Goldstein retiring, the Timberwolves will have a slightly new look in coaching, but things are expected to remain the same as they have been one of the top teams in the Big Bend region of Florida for a longtime.
Choctawhatchee (Fort Walton Beach) – Finishing 18-3 overall in 2023 and the Class 1A state runner-up for the second straight season will be on hand with head coach Jim Bay leading the charge once again for the Indians and will be a favorite to make another deep run among teams across the Panhandle and North Florida this season.
Ed White (Jacksonville) – The Commanders were a strong team last year and had several athletes be a part of the Jaguars ALL-PREP team that culminated in a playoff berth after a run of wins in 2023.
Fleming Island – Home of the Jaguars ALL-PREP Coach of the Year and ALL-PREP Player of the Year last season, the Golden Eagles will once again be under the leadership of Clint Lyons who guided the program to their best finish in program history with a state runner-up finish in Class 2A.
Florida High (Tallahassee) – The Seminoles, who have flown under the radar most years, but they put together usually some respectable teams that are not afraid of competition and are in contention for playoff berths.
Lincoln (Tallahassee) – The Trojans who struggled in the back half of the 2023 season will be another top team to keep an eye on as they continue to do well on the field year in and year out with longtime head coach Brandon Youmans.
Mainland (Daytona Beach) – Making their deepest playoff run in program history in 2023, the Buccaneers have been one of the grittiest teams in Florida. Their deep playoff run finished in the state semifinals where they fell to eventual state champion, Robinson (Tampa).
Paxon (Jacksonville) – Going 13-4 last year and earning a playoff berth, the Golden Eagles should be one of the top teams in Duval County and the Jacksonville area for the 2024 season.
Spruce Creek (Port Orange) – With a 19-3 overall record in 2023, the Hawks made their deepest playoff run, reaching the regional finals before falling to eventual Class 2A state runner-up, Fleming Island.
Stanton (Jacksonville) – Making their deepest playoff run last season, the Blue Devils will have some new faces on the team in 2024, but there is still some experienced talent on the roster that has made the Blue Devils one of the top teams from Duval County.
New teams launching programs at event
Bartram Trail (St. Johns), Buchholz (Gainesville), Gainesville, and Global Outreach Charter (Jacksonville) will be the four teams that will be launching their programs at the 2024 Jaguars Girls Flag Football Preseason Classic.
Bartram Trail, will become the third high school in St. Johns County to launch a girls’ flag football program following St. Augustine and Menendez (St. Augustine) which have launched programs over the last few seasons.
For Alachua County rivals Buchholz and Gainesville, they will mark the second and third teams in the county to field teams. They follow the path set up by Santa Fe (Alachua) which launched their team last year that became the first program in Alachua County to do so in the process.
Global Outreach Charter will join the plethora of Duval County schools that already have been fielding flag football programs for many years giving programs in Jacksonville a new opportunity to add a new opponent to the schedule.
Other Participating Teams
Andrew Jackson (Jacksonville)
Atlantic Coast (Jacksonville)
Baldwin
Clay (Green Cove Springs)
Crescent City
Crestview
FAMU DRS (Tallahassee)
Fernandina Beach
First Coast (Jacksonville)
Flagler Palm Coast
Fletcher (Neptune Beach)
Interlachen
Keystone Heights
Mandarin (Jacksonville)
Matanzas (Palm Coast)
Middleburg
Oakleaf (Orange Park)
Palatka
Raines (Jacksonville)
Ribault (Jacksonville)
Rickards (Tallahassee)
Ridgeview (Orange Park)
Riverside (Jacksonville)
Sandalwood (Jacksonville)
Santa Fe (Alachua)
St. Augustine
University (Orange City)
Westside (Jacksonville)
Wolfson (Jacksonville)
Yulee
Below are the scores:
