Panthers Make the Playoffs in Inaugural Season
October 26, 2024

The Lady Panthers are in the Playoffs and will take on the Livingston Wolves this Tuesday at 7pm. 

“AD Keplinger called me and asked me, “How come you are not on the field practicing? Coach Harris responded, “because we’re done, the season is over.”  Kep said, “No. you made the playoffs.” 

Coach Harris texted the girls. 

A’yahna Phillips already knew and sent out a text at 4:04pm. 

It is true. 

Panthers going to the Playoffs

Florin with a 12-11 record made the playoffs due to their rigorous schedule and the fact that Johnson got bumped up to Division II as the 16th seed. Johnson will take on the undefeated Ponderosa Bruins. 

The Panthers played Monterey Trail (enrollment 2,353) in two competitive scrimmages. 

Then the Ladies played Cosumnes Oaks (enrollment 2,300), a 17th seed in the DI playoffs, defeating the Wolfpack 18-6 in dominant fashion in the night opener. Losing in nail biting fashion in the rematch 8-6. 

Florin played Kennedy (enrollment 2,250) twice winning 18-6 then losing in heartbreaking fashion in three OT’s after taking the lead with 53 seconds left, just to lose it 50 seconds later. 

The Panthers played Elk Grove, with a rich football tradition, and defeated them twice, the latter in one of the greatest games of the year when Florin played 7 overtimes to win under the lights 6-0. 





Coach Harris and Coach Marquez

The Panthers got in the playoffs because the Sac Joaquin evaluators utilized the Maxpreps algorithm to determine strength of schedule and wins. Although Florin lost to Armijo twice, the Panthers played a challenging schedule. 

At the end of the year, the Panthers played the Sheldon Huskies 

(enrollment 2,415) twice, splitting the series. Sheldon was playing their best ball of the year defeating the Pleasant Grove Eagles in the same week they lost to Florin 35-33 in another OT win without their HC the last 4 minutes of the game. 

The Panthers are battle tested and with Estefania Ortiz getting healthy most teams don’t want to see Florin and their run game. Ortiz is diminutive, but dangerous. Ortiz has shown track-like burst, scoring long 60 yard runs against Foothill and Sheldon, both teams with speed. 

The slippery Erin Foster scored 17 Touchdowns this year, rushing for close to 1,000 yards and adding an additional 586 yards receiving. Foster also has 11 interceptions on defense at strong safety. 

Senior Class

Zavanna Payne and Janiya Brister are threats in any league, Payne has 8 touchdowns and 500 yards receiving. 

Brister has 7 touchdowns and 500 yards receiving in addition to 11 interceptions as the Panther Free Safety. 

Aneesa Perkins is slippery and fast when she wants to be, adding another 450 yards receiving. 

QB1 Jayda Lewis has thrown 26 TD’s and over 2,500 yards in the air, but needs to protect the football better if Florin has any chance to give the Wolves from Livingston a run for their money. 

On defense, Kimia Rhinehart is relentless at the Rush linebacker. Jazira Artiega-Khandilyan, a jiu jitsu martial artist is beginning to figure it out. Aneesa Perkins is turning into a flag puller. Paris Jones has over 100 flag pulls.

Panther Pride. All In!

From her hotel in Louisiana at the Taylor Swift concert Coach Marquez told Elite Blue Chip, “We can compete with anyone when we are locked in. Coach told us at the beginning of the year we would make the playoffs. It has been on the calendar all year.”

Coach Harris said, “It was important for us to make the playoffs. That was obviously a goal that all teams have, but we found a way. The seniors left that legacy for years to come…to expect to practice on Saturday in late October.” 

The Panthers will head on the road to Livingston, Tuesday October 29 to play the undefeated Wolves at 7pm on grass. 

Panther PRIDE. I’m ALL in!