The Marion Athletic Conference flag football tournament ended with the Belleview Rattlers continuing their run of dominance with a 33-0 shutout win over the Forest Wildcats on Wednesday night.
First-year flag footballer Cami Satterfield at the field ablaze with pick six to start the game, followed by six receptions, and a receiving touchdown in Belleview’s win.
The Rattlers bring their county title streak to three in a row — a streak that dates back to the beginning of the county tournament in 2023.
“That’s probably the best-executed game we played all year,” Belleview head coach Michel Pixley said. “We played some good games, you know, all the years... it's really paid off.”
With the Rattlers' title retention, there's time to review the game and tournament as a whole. Here are three topics that spearheaded the MAC flag football finals.
Experience kills
The Rattlers are taking flag football to another level in Marion County. Despite being the top team in the county, they’re currently nationally ranked among the top 100 in the country, according to MaxPreps. As for all of Florida, they’re quietly in the top 20.
That type of success isn’t solely tied to the talent on the field. While Belleview has a ton of talent on the roster, the experience that comes with this group is second to none in the history of flag football in the Ocala area.
“Our two seniors, they're probably approaching 150 (career) games, when you count the off-season, and it shows, so I'm just so proud of them,” Pixley said. “They work so hard. I mean, the tournaments in the summer where they're sweating and their practices, and they earned it.”
In total, there are four seniors on the championship-winning Rattlers team. The two seniors mentioned above, Jakyra Bostick and Hannah Mason, have been major contributors in all three championships.
"It's been a very long ride, but honestly, it's been amazing making friends, and having this team is basically my family," Belleview quarterback Hannah Mason said. "Going through everything with them and celebrating the wins and losses."
Wildcats in review
The score doesn’t truly reflect the product on the field. Of the 33 points Belleview hung on Forest, 14 came from self-inflicted wounds.
It’s to be expected from a group that graduated eight seniors last year, two of whom are now playing college flag football on a scholarship. Yet the well is far from dry at Forest High School and youth had its moments to prove the gap may close sooner rather than later.
The Wildcats have a defense filled with laterally quick athletes. They were able to handle the Rattlers' athletes in short passing situations. Meanwhile, first-year quarterback Lilly Griffis flashed her arm strength with several deep passes that would make varsity tackle football quarterbacks blush.
There’s talent on this roster, and with the experience, the Wildcats won’t see many losses like this one if they stick together next season.
The ultimate eye test
The MAC tournaments are one of the best ways to measure the strength of Marion County athletics. In each series, we get the closest indication of where each team is compared to another.
This year‘s flag football tournament showed the growth of the game. Flag football is just six years old in the county. Coaching, player development and awareness all needed time to grow into the game it would become.
Dunnellon hasn’t made the semifinal round of the MAC since its inception until this year, while every other team in the county has a player with the physical tools to make a difference in the game.
The signs of the time point to a much ...
