Photo courtesy of David Leong
Vestavia Hills High School flag football quarterback Julia Rose. Photo courtesy of David Leong.
The Vestavia Hills High School flag football program has been one of the state's best since the inception of the sport a few years ago.
Now, in the second year of fully-integrated AHSAA state championship competition, the Rebels are looking to lock up a state title.
Vestavia Hills will take on Central-Phenix City in the Class 6A-7A flag football championship game Wednesday at 3 p.m., as part of the Super 7 at Protective Stadium in Birmingham.
Both teams enter the game riding lengthy winning streaks, with Central boasting a 57-game winning streak and Vestavia holding a 27-game winning streak. The Rebels have lost just once all year, to Moody in its third game of the year. Moody is in the Class 1A-5A final, taking on Catholic-Montgomery on Wednesday at 11 a.m.
Vestavia Hills and Central actually met on the field earlier this season, but the game was cut short due to weather.
The two programs met in the 2023 state tournament championship game, the final season of flag football's emerging stage. Central won that matchup and last year's state title, the first official state championship season.
Vestavia Hills enters the game at 28-1 overall, and the Rebels have only lost a combined six games over the last three years.
The Rebels pulled out a thriller against Spain Park in the semifinals last week, reversing the result from last year's playoff meeting between the teams. Spain Park held a 13-0 lead in the game before the Rebels rallied.
Julia Rose, who has been one of the country's top quarterbacks this fall, led her team on the comeback trail. She threw a 15-yard touchdown to Molly Mac Sharp in the second quarter and tied the game at 13-13 on a 1-yard pass to Alexis Rubin. Rose and Rubin connected again when needed in the fourth quarter, as an 8-yard touchdown pass tied the game at 19-19. The ensuing conversion pass to Caroline Nintzel gave the Rebels the 20-19 lead.
The Rebels are coached by Daniel Davis and Debra Broome.
Tickets to the game can be purchased at this link.
Visit this link for more information regarding the Super 7.
AHSAA contributed to this report.
