Senior night at Wekiva brought emotion and resilience to Mustang field, as the school honored nine seniors before falling to Lake Brantley, 19-6, Thursday night. 

Despite the loss, head coach Alex Vazquez praised the girls for playing under tough circumstances. 

“I’m proud of the girls. They fought hard even though we’re undermanned,” Vazquez said. “We got hit by a strep throat bug, so we were down four starters. Playing eight girls against 15 is tough, but they fought the whole way. A couple of mistakes go our way, and we might be back in this game.” 

Wekiva (5-7) recognized  Iyianna Bridgman-Johnson, Kimani Miller, Jayla Bernard, Kiamora Antrum, Eliana Edouard, Makayla Bell, Ashley Llera, Kyana Soto and Paris Blackwood prior to kickoff — a group Vazquez has coached over the past two seasons and watched grow both on and off the field. 

The Mustangs opened the game with possession and showed early promise. A short completion and roughing the passer penalty moved the chains, and Soto broke free across the middle for a gain to midfield. Another penalty pushed Wekiva into Lake Brantley territory, but the drive stalled on fourth down after an incompletion. 

Defensively, the Mustangs brought energy. Wekiva forced a fourth down near midfield on Lake Brantley’s opening drive and came up with a stop, swarming to shut down a short-yardage run. 

Momentum quickly shifted on the Mustangs’ next possession. 

On the second play of the drive, a pass was intercepted and returned for a touchdown, giving Lake Brantley an early 7-0 lead after the extra point. 

Quarterback Kiamora Antrum looked to respond, using her legs to pick up 15 yards over the next series and move Wekiva downfield. However, a pair of incompletions and a short gain forced a punt. 

In the second quarter, the Patriots extended their lead. After a defensive stand was negated by a roughing the passer penalty, Lake Brantley drove into the red zone. Soto nearly came up with an interception on a pass breakup near the goal line, but afterward the Patriots connected on a short touchdown pass. Wekiva stopped the extra point but trailed 13-0. 

The Mustangs continued to battle. 

Paris Blackwood provided a spark with a 20-yard completion up the sideline, then followed with another throw to move the offense into Lake Brantley territory. Antrum connected with Bernard and benefitted from another penalty to push the ball inside the 25-yard line. 

Facing fourth-and-one, Wekiva had a chance to cut into the deficit, but the pass was deflected.

Wekiva’s defense answered again late in the half, but the offense didn’t have enough time to capitalize and went to the locker room down 13-0. 

Lake Brantley added to its lead in the third quarter. A deflected pass was intercepted and returned for a touchdown, extending the margin to 19-0. 

After stopping Lake Brantley’s next possession, the Mustangs finally broke through late in the third quarter. Antrum rolled left and found Hunt along the sideline. Hunt made the first defender miss, then outran the rest down the sideline for a touchdown, putting Wekiva on the board at 19-6. 

Lake Brantley threatened to respond, driving deep into Wekiva territory, but Hunt came up big again – this time on defense – stepping in front of a pass near the end zone for an interception to halt the drive. 

Soto added an interception late, and Blackwood made one of the night’s most impressive plays, hauling in a deep jump ball between four defenders and turning it into a 20-yard gain. With under a minute remaining, Wekiva took a few final shots downfield, but couldn’t convert. 

As the clock ran out, the scoreboard showed a loss, but the effort told a different story. 

Vazquez, who was passionate and vocal on the sideline throughout the game, emphasized his love for the program. 

“I just like giving back to the kids. I love the sport, I love football, and I love that these girls are getting an opportunity to play a game that I love,” he said. “It’s about them, not me. I just try to make them love this game as much as I do.” 

For the senior class, the night marked the end of their high school football careers and a reflection of how far they’ve come. 

“The last two years I’ve got to work with them, they are leaps and bounds better than they were,” Vazquez said. “Even though the record’s not where we want it to be, they’re so much better than last year. The way they listen, the way they take direction, the way they fight until the very end – it’s just something to see.” 

Wekiva faces Lake Minneola on Tuesday night at home in the team’s final game before the district tournament.