Girls just want to have fun.
That was the mantra of the San Diego Section’s second season of fielding girls flag football as an interscholastic sport. The second season, in fact, was even more popular than the inaugural 2023 season with an expanded field of 72 teams and four playoff divisions of 12 teams each (48 postseason teams).
That second season officially wrapped up Saturday at Palomar College with championships in the four divisions cheered on by a supportive and knowledgeable fan base.
The four rounds of playoffs proved competitive with only one top-seeded team escaping with a division title. Three second-seeded teams captured the remaining division banners.
San Diego Section Commissioner Joe Heinz was in attendance to hand out championship trophies. He remained amazed, pretty much like everyone else, about the sport’s growing popularity among female athletes.
“I think it’s only going to get bigger,” he said.
That’s pretty much a consensus at this early point in history. Some programs, for instance, are already talking about adding more teams.
“It’s growing,” Olympian coach Ryan Van Nostrand said after his second-seeded Lady Eagles made history with a 21-6 victory against the top-seeded San Ysidro Lady Cougars in the Division IV match-up to capture the program’s first varsity championship.
“We had over 80 girls try out. It’s a booming sport. San Ysidro did an amazing job. Their coach, Giantoni Canale, is a pioneer who helped start flag football for the South Bay. He deserves a lot of credit. We’re hoping to have three teams next year. Right now, we have junior varsity and varsity but would like to expand the program to novice if the numbers are good. It’s moving quickly.”
Photos by Jon Bigornia
Joining Olympian on this year’s championship list are top-seeded Classical Academy (Division I), second-seeded Westview (Division II) and second-seeded Mater Dei Catholic (Division III).
Classical (25-4) blew out second-seeded Torrey Pines (17-8) by a 42-20 score to repeat as a CIF champion after winning last year’s inaugural Division II title.
Westview (16-3) defeated ninth-seeded Carlsbad (15-10-1) by a score of 39-24 to claim this year’s Division II championship behind six touchdowns by junior Mya Omisore.
High-scoring games seemed the norm on Saturday at Palomar College’s recently unveiled stadium as Mater Dei Catholic (12-11) stopped eighth-seeded Scripps Ranch (14-12) by a score of 25-13.
“It was beautiful,” Sweetwater Union High School District director of athletics Alex Estrada said. “Two years in, we’re getting great representation from the South Bay. Bonita Vista set the tone last year. Our female sports are getting more competitive, more well represented at the county level.”
Olympian (13-9) received 253 passing yards and three touchdowns from senior quarterback Jaiden Liera while junior Aubrey Tibayan had four catches for 107 yards and two touchdowns. Senior Xiomara Gonzalez-Gil had three catches for 42 yards and one TD.
The Lady Eagles lost two of their first three games en route to a 3-5 finish in league play.
“The girls came a long way since the beginning of the season,” Van Nostrand said. “Our players played well. Our players worked hard to get here. We faced our share of adversity. It shows just how much hard work accomplishes.”
Liera passed for 1,878 yards with 23 touchdowns and 10 interceptions this season while Timayan caught 143 passes for 1,845 yards and 23 TD.
“She’s electric when she has the ball,” Van Nostrand said in regard to Timayan. “There are players who make big plays in big games, and she’s one of them.”
San Ysidro (13-10) cut into an early 14-0 Olympian lead on a breakaway touchdown but could get no closer on the scoreboard.
Defense wins championships
Four interceptions, including a 62-yard pick-six by sophomore Annabelle Gallagher sealed the deal in the second half for Mater Dei Catholic.
“Our defense was our Achilles during the regular season,” MDC co-coach Harry Ringgold said. “Coming into the postseason, we put a lot of emphasis on defense.”
Junior Julianna Soto opened scoring for the Lady Crusaders with a pass to sophomore standout Maya Matthies to open a 6-0 lead.
Gallagher followed with her first interception of the game to set up a 10-yard TD catch by junior Brooklyn Ringgold and a 12-0 lead.
“Offensively, we moved the ball with some patience,” co-coach Dyvine Camberos added. “We used the short pass to set up the deep passes.”
Scripps Ranch made the the score 12-7 but senior Cat Doherty responded with a TD to stretch the MDC lead to 18-7. The Lady Falcons scored with 1:22 left in the game.
“Our girls had an up-and-down season,” Harry Ringggold said. “We worked hard to get to the playoffs. We just wanted to have fun, no pressure, just enjoy themselves. You could see that.”
Matthies and Gallagher missed Mater Dei Catholic’s quarterfinal playoff game against Metro-South Bay League co-champion Hilltop that the host Lady Crusaders pulled out 18-12 in overtime on an interception by
“They pulled out that win for me and Annabelle,” Matthies said. “I’m just glad they gave us another chance to get that championship. I’m proud of them. It’s amazing. It’s surreal.”
Photo Gallery by Phillip Brents
The thrill of victory.
