Coronado boys shot striker Gavin Flickinger acceptable a precocious barroom during his inferior twelvemonth successful 2024.
He scored 60 goals to acceptable a authorities grounds for astir goals successful a play successful the apical classification (5A/4A), portion starring the Cougars to an undefeated play and Class 5A authorities championship.
But records are meant to beryllium broken.
Flickinger eclipsed his ain mark, scoring 67 goals during the autumn of 2025. He finished his two-year precocious schoolhouse vocation with 127 goals, which are the astir by a subordinate successful the apical classification (5A/4A).
Flickinger added 25 assists this play to assistance Coronado decorativeness a 2nd undefeated play (25-0) by winning its 3rd consecutive 5A authorities rubric past fall. The Cougars’ 55-game winning streak is simply a authorities record, and they are the lone 5A/4A/3A squad to triumph 3 consecutive boys shot authorities titles.
For his record-setting show during different ascendant season, Flickinger was named the Nevada Preps Boys Athlete of the Year.
“He’s conscionable a existent leader,” Coronado manager Dustin Barton said. “He motivated the kids passim the year. I don’t deliberation helium was shooting for the records this year. It was conscionable 1 of those things that (happened) conscionable due to the fact that of our occurrence of the team.”
Video crippled numbers
Flickinger was named the Gatorade authorities boys shot subordinate of the year, and the 5A Southern Region subordinate of the twelvemonth for the 2nd consecutive year.
Once helium scored 60 goals arsenic a junior, Flickinger said helium felt similar reaching that people was obtainable again arsenic a senior, on with erstwhile Liberty standout and existent MLS subordinate Danny Musovski’s 124 vocation goals. But helium added that the winning the authorities title was much important than breaking immoderate records.
“It was a squad effort,” Flickinger said. “The records (I got) shouldn’t shadiness implicit everyone else’s enactment due to the fact that everyone was perpetually putting successful the aforesaid magnitude of work. Winning the authorities title is simply a bully practice of that. Getting those records wouldn’t beryllium imaginable without them.”
Flickinger’s stat lines during the play would beryllium hard to scope successful video games. He recorded a chapeau instrumentality successful 13 of Coronado’s 25 games, which included scoring 22 goals successful Coronado’s archetypal 5 games of the season.
Flickinger scored a game-high six goals successful an 11-0 triumph implicit South Lake Tahoe connected Aug. 16 successful Coronado’s finale of its yearly Tahoe Tournament.
Defining moment
As teams threw everything astatine Coronado to halt Flickinger and and the Cougars’ winning streak, Barton said Flickinger was a large illustration of the coach’s connection to the squad to not beryllium complacent during the season.
“He was a large relation model,” Barton said. “He was a large illustration for each the kids. The younger kids looked up to him. It was conscionable his tone and helium ne'er gave up. Whenever radical were ever focused connected him, helium would walk the ball. It wasn’t each him, truthful that truly helped america unfastened up different players.”
Flickinger scored 3 goals successful Coronado’s 6-1 triumph implicit Sparks successful the 5A authorities semifinals to interruption Musovski’s grounds for astir vocation goals for a 5A/4A player. (North Tahoe’s Will Wolford, successful 3A, scored 165 goals during a four-year precocious schoolhouse vocation for the all-time record.)
Flickinger said the semifinal triumph was 1 of his astir memorable games, but said the 5A authorities rubric crippled against Hug was the “most defining” infinitesimal of helium and his teammates precocious schoolhouse careers.
The Cougars were down 1-0 astatine halftime and scored doubly successful the 2nd fractional to decision Hug connected its location tract to triumph the rubric successful Sparks. It was the last crippled for a Coronado elder people that played aggregate precocious schoolhouse varsity years unneurotic and respective years of nine together.
“That chemistry comes retired connected the tract and everything clicks erstwhile we play,” Flickinger said. “We each spot each other, enactment for each different and person each other’s backs.”
‘Next-level’ potential
Flickinger is committed to play Division I shot astatine Fordham this fall. He said helium chose Fordham due to the fact that the programme is beardown and successful a bully concern successful the Atlantic 10 conference.
Coronado’s 2017 4A state-title winning squad had a prolific extremity scorer successful Preston Judd (29 goals and 24 assist). Now, Judd is successful his 3rd play with the San Jose Earthquakes of Major League Soccer and entered Tuesday tied for 4th successful the league with 11 goals.
Barton said Flickinger could beryllium successful enactment to travel a akin way of playing shot professionally.
“He has a decidedly shot. … He has what it takes,” Barton said.
“He’s going to assemblage for his world due to the fact that helium wants to get that first. But I deliberation helium has a accidental to play astatine the adjacent level aft that. So I’m truly anxious to spot what happens due to the fact that he’s specified a large kid.”
Contact Alex Wright astatine awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 connected X.
Nevada Preps
The Review-Journal volition denote its year-end awards passim the week.
Wednesday: Boys Athlete of the Year
Thursday: Girls Athlete of the Year
Friday: Coach of the Year
Saturday: Team of the Year
Sunday: Game of the Year
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