'You want to continue the legacy': How Robinson High School built a flag football dynasty

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The last time Josh Saunders, the coach of Robinson High School’s flag football team, lost a state championship was back in 2015. 

There were moments in the game they weren’t prepared for, they couldn’t score, they struggled. It felt awful.

“It was a terrible, terrible experience. I was just like man, I never want our kids to feel like that again,” Saunders told USA TODAY Sports.

And to this day, none of his players have. On May 16, Robinson won their 10th-straight Florida 2A flag football state title and their 11th in the past 12 years, continuing a streak that started after that tough 2015 loss and now dominates the sport’s storylines.

Flag in Florida is somewhat of an institution – although girls flag football has recently been picking up steam around the country, it’s been a popular and officially sanctioned sport in the Sunshine State for 23 years. 

Saunders’ squad in Tampa has clearly been cleaning up for quite a bit of that, and this season was especially dominant. They finished with a 21-1 record, logging 10 shutouts en route to their title. 

Their legacy as a repeating dynasty, however, doesn’t come without some stressful expectations for each year’s new crop of Knights. 

“You don’t want to be the team to lose what we have going,” added Paige Halverson, a recently graduated senior and head captain, who was Robinson’s quarterback before an injury sidelined her.

“You just have more eyes on you all the time, because we’re looked at a lot (in terms of) how to play flag football,” Halverson continued. “Alumni will always come back and they’re seeing the program, so you definitely want to continue the legacy.”

But even with all the trophies lining up on the shelf, the team is quick to note that reaching the next championship has never been their sole driver. With an approach that junior wide receiver Sarah Williams called “more process-driven than results-driven,” they try to keep their sights trained on each opponent ahead of them instead of title-chasing. 

“We’ll always be breaking down every game, whether we won or lost,” said Williams. “We’re always looking at every play to make sure that we’re doing the right thing all the time, and that’s why we end up having so much success.”

Saunders can vouch for that. After the Knights emerged from a close game in the regional quarterfinals, he revealed that he got about 20 text messages from the players, breaking down what they thought had happened in the game—“and this was a game we won,” he pointed out.

That dedication landed them their newest piece of hardware, and for now, they have a moment to breathe and admire it. But thoughts of next season have already started to circulate. 

“My hopes are 11 in a row,” said Williams. “That’s what we’re going for.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How Robinson High School flag football continues to reign in Florida

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