The honors keep rolling in for the Class 2A state champion Newsome Wolves flag football team. Third-year Head Coach Justin Shive was named the Florida Dairy Farmers 2021 Flag Football Coach of the Year and star junior quarterback Devyn Silvestri was named the Class 2A Player of the Year.
The team MVP racked up the statistics, connecting on 320-of-490 passes for 3,798 yards and 54 touchdowns, while leading her team to the Class 2A State Championship against a top-ranked Western High School team. The team captain also rushed for 500 yards on 84 carries with 13 touchdowns and had 16 interceptions on defense.
“Winning Player of the Year is a result of hard work, and I’m thankful to be recognized for that, but I couldn’t have done it without my teammates elevating their game and making plays,” said Silvestri. “This award is not only a result of what I accomplished, but a reflection of my whole team helping me get to this point.”
Shive led Newsome to the Class 2A state title with a 22-1 overall record. He was selected by his peers and the media as the Florida Dairy Farmers Coach of the Year, beating out Robinson High School’s Joshua Saunders.
“Coach Shive is one of the most dedicated coaches I’ve ever played for,” said Silvestri. “He can be hard on us, but he’s also on the sidelines supporting each and every player. I really respect him for giving us all of his time, knowledge and attention to make us a top-performing team. When I heard he won Coach of the Year, I was beyond happy for him. I wanted him to get it so badly because there is no one more deserving. He’s an incredible person and coach.”
Shive credits his team for helping him win the award. He gave high praise to his star quarterback as well.
“Devyn has been what we’ve built our program around since she came here as a freshman,” said Shive. “We found out how good of a player she was—as a quarterback, we worked and developed her, and she’s a once-in-a-lifetime player with how good of an athlete she is. Our program owes a lot to her for the amount of work she’s put in and how much she has developed over the last three years.”
Silvestri has one thing in mind when it comes to next season.
“I have one goal next year and that’s to win another state championship,” she said. “I want us to bring home another state title. It’s a very difficult path getting to states because we have a lot of great teams in our district, but I believe in my team and coaches. We can do it if we continue doing what we’re doing together.”
