Hello and welcome back to This Week in Sports! The Navigator issues its apologies for the absence of Week Two’s update last week. This was due to the cancellation of the varsity football game against Hallandale High School and lack of sports content. This edition will include summaries for the previous week’s junior varsity and varsity girls volleyball games. The Navigator appreciates the support and patience of all our readers, go Flying L’s!

VARSITY FOOTBALL:

The Flying L Varsity football team played the third game of their 2023-24 campaign against the Archbishop McCarthy Mavericks, which unfortunately resulted in a tight loss, 20-21. This loss leaves the team with a 2-1 record (1-1 division record), and a chip on their shoulder as they go into the next week.

Jayden Chico (10) had an outstanding performance despite the loss and displayed an excellent attitude through adversity. The sophomore star threw for two touchdowns, 249 yards, and one interception, while also accumulating 39 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown. Chico finished with an overall QB rating of 97.0

Via an interview through Florida Man Sports, Chico gave his thoughts on the loss and what the goal is moving forward.

“I gave it my all but some plays I wish I could’ve had back. On the last comeback play, I threw it too high, could’ve thrown it better. Could’ve gotten the first down maybe a little bit more. We all just got to work together, get better, the next week is ahead, gotta look forward.”

Head Coach Richard Dunbar III spoke on Chico as well, giving him his praises while also detailing the struggles he had throughout the game.

“He keeps progressing, he’s getting better. He had a solid game, though he could’ve been better. We could’ve helped him out a lot more; We had a lot of miscues, a lot of dropped passes. The blocking assignments, once we straighten those out, you’ll see even better performance(s) from Chico.”

On the defensive end, notable players such as FAU commit Remmington Roberts (12), Vila Jozama (11), Hunter Pangia (11), and Dryan Jean (11) all had solid outings, recording 4+ tackles per player. Pangia and Jean both lead the team with 6 tackles each, keeping the opposition at bay when it mattered.

Dunbar was extremely pleased with the defense, and proceeded to praise them as well.

“Defense has been standing in the paint for us, they are the strongest side of the ball right now. Our offensive unit has to help our defense out, so they can give them some rest so they aren’t out on the field as much. Although, they still go out there and dominate as they always do for most parts of the game.” 

Despite all the positives, reality struck as the Flying L football team lost their first game of the season. The team has a heavy load on their plate as the next week includes two matchups against Cypress Bay High (which already occurred as of the publishing of this article), and the rescheduled Hallandale High game the following Monday.

Dunbar also commented on how the squad plans to tackle this tight week head on, and what adjustments will be made to better suit the winning mindset.

“Again, just continue to get better individually. Our individual position groups, we need to come together as a whole so we can be a better unit offensively, defensively, and also on the special teams side as well. As a program, we have some things we need to fix, some injuries we need to get past, we just gotta do what we gotta do.”

GIRLS VARSITY VOLLEYBALL:

Since the last update, the girls varsity volleyball team have had 4 games and proceeded to go 3-1 in that span. On Tuesday August 29, they faced Coral Springs High and swept the Colts 3-0. Next, they faced South Plantation High on Thursday August 31 and won 3-1. Last Tuesday, they faced Plantation High and won 2-0. Thursday, they faced Cooper City High who snapped their winning streak by defeating the ladies 3-1. The girls varsity squad now boasts a 3-3 record as they make up for their troublesome start to the season.

GIRLS JV VOLLEYBALL:

As for the JV girls volleyball squad, they proceeded to go 2-2 in their two week stretch. Losing to Coral Springs High 2-0; Winning against South Plantation High 2-1 and Plantation High 2-0, while finishing their stretch with a loss to Cooper City High 2-0. Overall, a very solid week for both squads, who still face another month of action ahead of them.

UPCOMING GAMES:

Girls Volleyball (JV and Varsity)

-VS Nova High School – Monday 9/18/23 (JV at 4:30pm, Varsity at 6:00pm)

-VS Deerfield Beach High School – Tuesday 9/19/23 (JV at 4:30pm, Varsity at 6:00pm)

-@ Miramar High School – Thursday 9/21/23 (JV at 4:30pm, Varsity at 6:00pm)

Varsity Football:

-@ Hallandale High School – Monday 9/18/23 at 7:00pm

Don’t know where to buy tickets? Look no further! Follow this link to be redirected straight to Fort Lauderdale High’s GoFan page: http://bit.ly/flhstickets