Girls and coaches from Lutheran of Orange captured the first-ever CIF Southern Section D1 championship not far from their campus at Fred Kelly Stadium. Photo: Harold Abend.
We also have some info on the other CIF Southern Section girls flag football championships played on Saturday at Fred Kelly Stadium in Orange plus comments from speakers at the first-ever CIFSS press luncheon held the previous Wednesday that was sponsored by the Los Angeles Chargers.
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There were five games contested in the inaugural CIF Southern Section Girls Flag Football championships on Saturday at El Modena High in Orange and the results produced five champions that can now boast a claim to having secured one of the first five girls flag football titles in Southern Section history.
The marquee matchup was between top-seeded Lutheran (Orange) and second-seeded Newport Harbor (Newport Beach) in the Division 1 championship. Both teams came into the game with outstanding offensive attacks. Orange Lutheran was
averaging 33.5 points a game and Newport Harbor had a 28.8 per game average. Because of that, many had thought it might be a back-and-forth high-scoring affair, but in the end it was the defense of Orange Lutheran that came through in a 20-12 victory.
The result was similar to when the two had met back in August in a five-game tournament and Orange Lutheran was a 28-12 winner.
“We knew they had gotten better throughout the course of the season and the game would be more difficult than the first meeting,” said Orange Lutheran head coach Kristen Sherman. “And yes, the defense played very well and came up with some big plays when we needed them.”
The way the game started it looked like it might be a scoreboard lighter-upper. Newport Harbor had the first possession of the opening 24-minute running half and senior quarterback Maia Helmar marched the Sailors down the field and completed her first six passes of a nine-play drive that culminated in a 5-yard TD pass to freshman Skylie Cid. Orange Lutheran broke up the 1-point conversion and Newport Harbor had a 6-0 lead.
Orange Lutheran (23-2) came right back on its ensuing possession. Sophomore quarterback Makena Cook completed four-of-five passes including a 3-yard TD pass to freshman Ava Harrison. Cook also connected with junior Ruby Fuamatu for the extra point and Orange Lutheran took a 7-6 lead.
The next Newport Harbor possession resulted in a three-and-out, and the Sailors were forced to punt. A punt puts the ball automatically on the 20-yard line of the receiving team just like it does to start the game, at the half, and after each touchdown.
Cook had the Lancers moving again on their next possession after two pass completions to sophomores Josie Anderson and Alyssa McClure but a sack by sophomore Ava Mortensen, her first of three in the game, led to an interception by freshman Scarlett Guyser that ended the drive.
Newport Harbor took advantage of the turnover and in five plays scored again on 27-yard TD pass from Helmar to freshman Blakely Irvine, however, the Orange Lutheran secondary broke up the pass attempt on the point after and the Sailors only had a 12-7 lead.
Orange Lutheran had a chance to take the lead just before halftime and had the ball at the 13 of Newport Harbor, but a sack by Mortensen stopped the momentum and Cook threw an incompletion on the next play as time expired.
The Lancers got the ball to begin the second half but turned it over on downs. Newport Harbor returned the favor on its next possession.
It was at that point that the Lancers took charge. After getting the ball back on downs, Cook completed four straight passes to get the ball to the 15 of the Sailors. A third sack by Mortensen and then an incompletion by Cook could have stalled the drive, but on third-and-10 Cook found junior Julia Oberholtzer for a 15-yard gain and on the next play senior Laina Yasumura hauled in a 5-yard TD pass from Cook and after a failed PAT Orange Lutheran had a 13-12 lead it would not relinquish.
On the next Newport Harbor series, the Orange Lutheran pass defense came through again when on the Sailors second play senior Addison “AJ” Hendrix came up with an interception and the Lancers were in business at the 20 of Newport Harbor.
Cook completed three straight passes with the last one a 4-yard TD pass to freshman Maddison Milne. Cook found Anderson for the PAT and Orange Lutheran had a 20-12 lead with six minutes remaining.
Despite trailing by eight points and time running down, Newport Harbor put together an eight-play drive that survived a sack by Hendrix, and culminated in 6-yard TD pass from Helmar to sophomore Cooper Dick. Newport Harbor head coach Jason Guyser called for a 2-point conversion where the line of scrimmage is the 10 instead of the 5-yard line. A conversion would have sent tied the game, but once again the Orange Lutheran pass defense broke up the pass play.
Even so, trailing 20-12 at that point, the game still was not over for Newport Harbor.
Following the Newport Harbor touchdown, the Lancers got four straight completions from Cook, but the fourth completion to Milne came up short and Orange Lutheran was faced with fourth-and-two from their own 38 with 57 seconds left.
Sherman called time out and after several back-and-forth discussions with her coaching staff, including Cal-Hi Sports No. 4 ranked Orange Lutheran 11-man head coach Rod Sherman, she decided to go for it. Cook went right back to Milne, and she made a 10-yard reception. From there, the Lancers took two straight knees and time ran out.
Because girls flag football is mostly a passing game and they play more games than the boys, passing numbers for the top quarterbacks can be huge. Cook, who came into the game completing 589-800 passes (73.6 percent) for 6,611 yards and 97 touchdowns with 13 interceptions for a 130.7 quarterback rating, did throw a pick and was sacked three times, but in a game involving what most think are the top two teams in the state (based on computer rankings) Cook had some very formidable numbers. Despite getting pressure from the Newport Harbor pass rush and being forced to scramble on several occasions, Cook finished 25-of-31 for 240 yards and three touchdowns. Not including the sacks, she added to her team leading 406 yards rushing with 25 yards on the ground.
“The pass rush didn’t give us a ton of time to push the ball vertical but I was happy with our receivers being able to adjust to that and Makena as well,” said Sherman. “That’s who she is. She loves the challenge, she loves competition, and I think it showed today.”
When it came to throwing out kudos, Cook wanted to give a shout out to the Orange Lutheran defense and her Lancers’ teammates.
“The defense played amazing, especially AJ with that amazing pick. It changed the entire mood of the game and was huge for us,” Cook said.
“We knew we had the game in our hands and we were confident in ourselves,” Cook continued regarding the game winning drive that came after the interception by Hendrix. “We know our ability and it was exciting to take things in our hands.”
Newport Harbor (23-2) does not record stats but against Orange Lutheran Helmar completed 19-of-29 passes for 178 yards and one TD and an interception.
“I’m just really proud of the girls,” Sherman remarked. “We haven’t been down in a lot of games this year, and just coming out in the second half and setting the tone and sticking with it, and really staying the course and not panicking when they were behind.”
There may be one someday and that’s in the future, but if there were a Ms. Flag Football State Player of the Year, Makena Cook would be a lock for the honor. The good news for the Orange Lutheran faithful is she still has two more years remaining and with such a young team the Lancers will start out next season as a favorite to repeat.
“I think that when we think of the future, we’re excited,” said Sherman in conclusion. “But right now I just want to enjoy this one.”
Northwood of Irvine won the very first CIFSS D2 championship. Photo: @CIFSS / X.com.
Divisions 2-3-4-5
In the Division 2 title game, Northwood (Irvine) bolted out to a 13-2 lead, led 13-9 at the half, and then scored three straight TDs in the second half to coast home in a 31-17 victory over Trabucco Hills of Mission Viejo. Junior quarterback Natalie Keith threw for five touchdowns with senior Elisa Kung on the receiving end of three of the TD passes.
In the Division 3 championship Troy (Fullerton), trailed 32-12 with just under two minutes remaining but turned it on with three TDs down the stretch to pull out a 33-32 victory over San Clemente on the game’s last play. Senior quarterback Addyson Wink found senior Montana Longcrier on a 6-yard TD pass as time expired to tie things at 32-32. Wink then completed a pass to senior Mia Larosa and Troy had pulled out a victory from the jaws of defeat.
Santa Monica took a 7-0 lead early on but after Fullerton cut it to 7-6 the Vikings were the only team to tally the remainder of the game and won the Division 4 championship with a 28-6 victory.
The Division 5 game was all Antelope Valley after the Antelopes from Lancaster took a 21-0 halftime lead over Covina Northview and finished by pitching a shutout in a 28-0 victory.
The CIF Southern Section also partnered with the Los Angeles Chargers for a press conference luncheon on Wednesday prior to the five games contested on Saturday at El Modena. It was held at The Grand in Long Beach.
All 10 teams were represented by 4-5 team members, coaches and school administrators. The keynote speaker was Katie Sylvan, the Chargers’ Director of Football Administration, but prior to Sylvan addressing the gathering several CIFSS officials had some words for those assembled.
Assistant commissioner and event emcee Thom Simmons kicked things off by talking about how 11-man football has been played for 109 years and there have been 47 press conferences prior the playoffs for that sport, but this was the very first one for girls flag football in its first year of contesting playoffs after just two years of competition.
“It shows the progress and excitement in what you’ve done in such a short time,” Simmons remarked.
“You’re part of history, own it and enjoy it,” added CIFSS Council President-Elect Dr. Alexis Barile of the Corona-Norco USD.
CIFSS Commissioner Mike West spoke with pride about 260 of the 565 schools in the Southern Section participating in girls flag football this season and the parity of the seedings with only Orange Lutheran surviving as the lone No. 1 seed to advance to a title game.
Finally, Sylvan took the podium.
“I’m so excited to see what you’re doing and with the great strides you’ve made with flag football,” she said. “When I was growing up in Southern California, I had no idea there were opportunities for girls in sports. Now, we see more opportunities arriving for careers in sports for women, and not just playing but in all facets from front office to administration and operations, plus many more. Keep it up and keep driving and keep inspiring those up-and-coming young women.”
Harold Abend is the associate editor of CalHiSports.com and the vice president of the California Prep Sportswriters Association. He can be reached at marketingharoldabend@gmail.com. Don’t forget to follow him on Twitter: @HaroldAbend
