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Florida Outlasts Texas in Five-Set Thriller at Gregory Gym

Parks dished out a career-high 59 assists as Florida handed Texas its first home loss of the season in a Sunday five-set classic.

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Florida Outlasts Texas in Five-Set Thriller at Gregory Gym

Florida walked into a sold-out Gregory Gym on Sunday and walked out with a statement win, outlasting Texas 21-25, 25-16, 24-26, 25-23, 15-11 to hand the Longhorns their first home loss of the 2026 season.

Setter Parks orchestrated the upset with a career-high 59 assists, the most by a Gator since 2019, along with three aces. Alec Rothe delivered a career-high 17 kills on .419 hitting with eight blocks, Chaney matched her with 17 kills, and Logan King posted 16 kills, her third double-double of the season and her 50th block of the year. Byrd added seven kills and libero Hayes dug a season-high 22 balls as Florida finished with 72 kills, 13 blocks and 64 digs while hitting .287.

Texas had five players record double-doubles in defeat. Stafford led the Longhorns with 14 kills and 14 digs for her seventh double-double, Spears had 13 kills on .346 hitting, Bunton added 12 kills on .550 hitting, and Anderson and setter Binney, who had 28 assists and 10 digs, also doubled up.

Florida improved to 15-2 overall and 6-1 in the SEC with its sixth ranked win of the season, the program’s most since 2017 and its 162nd ranked victory all time. Texas dropped to 9-7 overall and 5-3 in conference play.

Photo: Olivia St. Peter / The Daily Texan

We Speak Flag Football

Alabama Runs Deep: Undefeated Moody, Central and Montgomery Catholic All Sit in the National Top 15

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Moody quarterback Serenity Rutledge (0) runs against Montgomery Catholic during the AHSAA state championship game at Protective Stadium.

If you want to find the center of the high school flag football universe, check Alabama. Three Alabama programs sit in the USA TODAY Super 25 national rankings — and the state’s No. 2 team hasn’t lost in 30 games.

Moody (17-0) is the streak story of the fall. The defending AHSAA Class 1A-5A champions picked up their 30th consecutive win this week, are ranked No. 7 in the Super 25 and No. 8 in the MaxPreps national rankings, and recently outscored three opponents 146-0 in a single week. Sophomore Sophie White put up 472 all-purpose yards and seven touchdowns in one doubleheader. The Blue Devils’ title DNA is real: last December at Protective Stadium, quarterback Serenity Rutledge threw three touchdown passes — to Zoey Terry, White and Kennedy Hockman — and Cheyenne Moore returned an interception 48 yards for a score in a 27-18 final win over Montgomery Catholic.

Central of Phenix City (11-2) is Alabama’s No. 1 and the nation’s No. 5, powered by Savannah Sevier, who recently stacked 301 yards, four touchdowns, six flag pulls and four pass breakups in a single week. Montgomery Catholic (12-1), ranked No. 15 nationally, is right back in the hunt behind senior Hayden Fitts, who ran for three touchdowns and threw for another against Spain Park.

With Spain Park, Vestavia Hills, Boaz and Brewbaker Tech also ranked in the state Super 10, Alabama’s playoffs this winter might be the toughest tournament in the country.

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