The girls flag football season officially kicked off on Thursday, with all four local teams fielding schools playing games.
Bishop Diego and Dos Pueblos faced off in Goleta, San Marcos took on Channel Islands at home and Santa Barbara traveled to Lompoc for its season opener.
Dos Pueblos 26, Bishop Diego 0
The Dos Pueblos Chargers hosted the Bishop Diego Cardinals to kick off the girls flag football season in town, coming out victorious 26-0.
Former boys tackle football head coach Doug Caines is the man in charge for Dos Pueblos while former Bishop Diego tennis coach Natlee Hapeman is the head coach of the Cardinals.
“I haven’t coached a football game in three years and it felt awesome,” Caines said. “It’s a different style, but the kids worked hard and it was fun.”
The Chargers started fast, forcing a turnover on downs and capping off a five-play opening drive with an eight-yard rushing touchdown by freshman Ruby Streatfeild. After a failed one-point conversion, Dos Pueblos led 6-0 with 14 minutes left in the first of two 20-minute halves.
Dos Pueblos got the ball back just three plays later as senior Samantha Salcido came up with the first interception of the year to put the Chargers back in Cardinal territory.
The offense capitalized on the turnover, as senior Gianna Nichols found freshman Brooklyn Hedricks for a three-yard touchdown pass. The duo also connected on the one-point conversion, giving the Chargers a 13-0 lead with 7:45 to go in the half.
Hedricks is the daughter of the Dos Pueblos varsity baseball coach George Hedricks.
Nichols was the leading passer for Dos Pueblos, completing 11-of-17 pass attempts for 130 yards and two touchdowns. Hedricks also stood out, hauling in five catches for 61 yards on the game.
Hedricks wasn’t done making big plays, however, as she jumped in front of a Bishop Diego pass the very next drive and took the interception all the way back 35 yards for a touchdown. A successful one-point conversion expanded the lead to 20-0.
“[The team has] worked hard,” Caines said. “Their conditioning was there and their football IQ was there. You saw kids making smart football plays out there, which I love.”
Before the half ended, the Charger defense tallied another turnover thanks to an interception by freshman Vivi Hanning-Yu with 3:15 before the break. The 20-0 lead held until the end of the first half.
Dos Pueblos carried the momentum from the big first half into the second, scoring on the first drive out of the break on an 18-yard touchdown pass from Nichols to senior Katie Peterson. The lead was 26-0 following an unsuccessful one-point conversion with 16 minutes left.
For the remainder of the game, the Bishop Diego and Dos Pueblos defenses found plenty of success, shutting each other out.
The Cardinals made some big plays on the defensive side, with sophomore Jaymi Coronado registering a sack and senior Galilea De La Cruz securing a tackle for loss and a pass deflection in the backfield.
“The team was very good because they’ve only had seven practices,” Hapeman said. “I feel like they did very well because they worked together as a team.”
Offensively, Bishop Diego had seniors Jiali Coronado and Abigail Garcia under center, completing seven and 10 passes, respectively. Jaymi Coronado led the way with seven receptions.
“I’m really proud of [the team],” Hapeman said. “I told them it’s really about learning the game and having fun.
“It’s great to have that game experience because they don’t know anything other than basketball or soccer… I’m proud of them.”
For the Chargers, junior Liliana Rodriguez and sophomore Linnea Clapinski also took snaps at quarterback. They spread the ball evenly, completing passes to 11 different receivers.
“We’ve got a healthy competition and the best kids are going to get to play,” Caines said. “Everyone had a chance to put something on tape and we’ll go back and take a look at it.”
Dos Pueblos (1-0) will look to remain undefeated in its next matchup against Buena at home while the Cardinals (0-1) will face off against Camarillo on the road. Both games are next Thursday.
“This sets the tone,” Caines said. “There’s so much into this. We’ve worked all summer and it’s a great way to start the season.”
San Marcos 19, Channel Islands 0
The Royals took care of business in their season opener, taking down the Raiders 19-0.
San Marcos scored on its first possession, with junior Jazmin Ordaz taking a pitch from sophomore Peyton Sperling 40 yards to the endzone. A successful one-point conversion made it 7-0 early in favor of the Royals.
Jazmyn Amezcua and Rio Chesluk connected on a five-yard passing touchdown later in the half to extend the lead to 13-0 before the break.
The Royals capped off the scoring with an electric 75-yard touchdown run by Sperling, who had multiple carries and receptions.
The defense, which pitched a shutout, was led by the linebacking corps of senior Jordan Kowalewsi, junior Molly McCarter and freshman Marilyn Monroy, who had the first sack of the season for the team.
“I was very proud of the way the girls played tonight,” Royals head coach Jason Fowle said. “They have shown so much improvement over the last four weeks.
“I’m excited to have the opportunity to work with this fantastic group of student-athletes. They are so inspiring and they just keep getting better.”
With a win under their belts, the Royals will take on Rio Mesa on the road next Thursday.
Lompoc 19, Santa Barbara 12
The Santa Barbara Dons fell 19-12 in their season opener at Lompoc.
Senior Chloe Adams, freshman Layla Hernandez and junior Dayzia Mendoza took snaps at quarterback, with Mendoza leading the way with two touchdown passes.
Senior Caro Esparza caught both of those touchdowns and accumulated 80 total yards of offense.
The Dons also found some success running the ball, with Adrianna Guadarrama Velasquez rushing for 45 yards and Krystal Valdez tallying 65 yards on the ground.
Penalties and turnovers proved to be the difference for Santa Barbara, as they were called for five penalties and threw three interceptions. However, the Dons did pick up three interceptions of their own by Esparza, Mendoza and senior Jaz Gordon.
“It was a good, overall competitive first flag football game,” Dons coach Gabe Renteria said.
Santa Barbara is slated to face Pacifica next Thursday.
