JSerra’s junior defender Avery Olson was put to the test when the ball was thrown in her direction with the championship on the line. With no time left on the clock, Olson ran step for step with Orange Lutheran receiver Josie Anderson, who dove but couldn’t reach the ball in the end zone, securing a thrilling finish to the Southern Section Division 1 girls’ flag football final on Saturday night at Fred Kelly Stadium in Orange. The top-seeded Lions capped off a perfect season by forcing two incompletions from the two-yard line in the last six seconds, a goal-line stand that epitomized the team’s defensive prowess, to prevail 25-20 over their Trinity League rivals, who captured the inaugural Division 1 championship last fall.
Ava Irwin (2) celebrates with her teammates after catching two touchdown passes in JSerra’s 25-20 victory over Orange Lutheran for the Division 1 title on Saturday. (Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
“That was the hardest part, realizing they were so close to the goal line and we had to go out there one last time with everything on the line,” Olson said. “We were anticipating a jump ball to Happy [Dubois] or someone who could go up and get it, but they came up with a whip route, something shorter, and I wasn’t expecting that. I saw her hips turning and said to myself ‘I gotta get my hands on it.’ We knew it would be a dogfight. O Lu is a great team!” While the Lions’ defense saved the game, the offense won it. When freshman quarterback Kate Meier couldn’t find anyone open, she took off for the goal line and scooted just inside the pylon from six yards out to put JSerra in front with exactly one minute to go.
JSerra quarterback Kate Meier leaps into the arms of teammate Kai Beary after running for the winning touchdown against Orange Lutheran with one minute left. (Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
“I just took what they gave me,” said Meier, who is known as the team’s Brett Favre and scored the winning touchdown on a similar scramble in the teams’ first league meeting. “There was a huge opening. I saw a large gap opened up, and I think I got in.” However, Orange Lutheran marched from its own 14 to the Lions’ two to set up the frantic finish. Cook used her legs to buy time in the pocket before finding Capri Cuneo in the middle of the end zone for a touchdown that tied it with 6:53 left, then threw to Ruby Fuamatu for the one-point conversion that pushed Orange Lutheran into the lead, 20-19.
JSerra intercepted four passes by Cook to win that Sept. 30 showdown 18-7 and held on for a 21-20 home win to clinch the league crown nine days later. They intercepted three more Cook passes Saturday, two of them by Kai Beary, including the most critical with 27 seconds left in the first half and the Lancers inside the JSerra 10. “I was rushing with GG Szczuka, we got pressure, and was able to pick it off,” said Beary, who also caught a touchdown pass from Meier. “It’s been such a fun season. It’s sad that it’s over.” JSerra (28-0) entered the game ranked No. 1 in California and second in the country by MaxPreps. The Lions blanked 12 opponents and dealt the No. 2 team in the state, Orange Lutheran, its only three defeats.
Asked if his team deserved to be No. 1 in the nation, JSerra coach Brian Ong did not seem to care. “We beat all the teams we played, and no one’s gone undefeated to win CIF — these girls are the first to accomplish that,” Ong said. “I don’t think there’s another team in the country that could beat Orange Lutheran three times in a row.” For more information, visit Here
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