St. Augustine on the brink of a state final four appearance against Fort Walton Beach

St. Augustine (25-1) girls basketball team is on the cusp of making the state final four.

The Jackets, the lone remaining team in the playoffs from St. Johns County, will play host to Fort Walton Beach (17-3) at 7 p.m. Friday.

This is a rematch from a 2020 Region 1-5A quarterfinal, when St. Augustine won 30-27. 

Senior guard Kyra Stauble knows St. Augustine is close to an impressive achievement. The last time the Yellow Jackets qualified for the final four was 2001.

"I'm psyched, it's awesome," Stauble said. "I know St. Augustine hasn't made it to final four since 2001. So, I'm gonna tell my team that we better make history. I'm definitely excited."

The vibe from St. Augustine coach Eric Hancock is cautious excitement. 

"I'm excited, but I know that team is coming looking for revenge," Hancock said. "So, I'm kind of nervous because I know that team will come extra hard to beat us."

St. Augustine expected Pine Forest to be their opponent in the final, but Fort Walton Beach pulled off the upset. Pine Forest, a 2020 state finalist, beat St. Augustine 48-45 last year.

"We were all expecting to play Pine Forest," Stauble said. 

"I was very shocked," Hancock added.

Junior guard Samantha Sherer averages a team-high 17.1 points per game for the Vikings. The Yellow Jackets will key on Sherer, but not make her the only focus. 

"She's a great player," Stauble said. "She does a little bit of everything. I'm going to tell the team to watch out for her, but I don't think we should focus too much on an individual player, because sometimes that could mess us up."

Stauble has been the driving force for Yellow Jackets throughout the season. She's  averaging 13 points, 8.6 rebounds and 7.3 assists per game. Against Ponte Vedra, she scored 11 out of their 19 second-half points to defeat the Sharks on Tuesday.

Going into this matchup, St. Augustine wants to avoid starting slow like it did against Ponte Vedra.

"You just can't come in like the team will lay down for you," Hancock said "We got to come out and play hard."

Stauble agreed. 

"We got to keep the energy high," Stauble said. "I'm gonna get my team hyped before games during warm ups. We just got to stay hyped from the start to finish."

The winner would play a state semifinal in Lakeland at 2 p.m. Feb. 25 against Palm Bay or Orlando Jones.