Dayzia Mendoza’s four touchdowns led Santa Barbara High flag football to a 34-13 win over Bishop Diego on Thursday.
Three of Mendoza’s four touchdown passes were to Carolina Esparza. The one other score was the first of the game, thrown to Abby Webber.
Following the scores, the Dons converted three of four extra-point attempts with Izzy Garofalo, Ale Alcover Vasquez and Alyssa Ortiz getting in on the plays.
Santa Barbara High forced a pair of turnovers, an interception by Esparza in the first half and a pick-six by Jaz Gordon to seal the game late in the second half.
Defensively, the sister duo of Paloma and Savannah Valenzuela stood out, each registering several flag pulls in the win.
Ventura 20, San Marcos 14
Despite a late comeback effort, the Royals fell to the Cougars by one score in a league matchup.
Ventura jumped out to an early 20-point lead in the first half thanks to big plays on offense and timely interceptions.
However, San Marcos fought back in the second half. Following an interception by Kenzie Hessell at midfield, Jasmyn Amezcua hit Rio Chesluk, who lateralled the ball to Molly McCarter, who then took it to the endzone for a score.
Following a successful conversion by Aundrea Obispo, the Cougar lead was down to 20-7.
The Royals’ defense stayed solid throughout the second half, keeping Ventura on its side of the field.
On the ensuing San Marcos drive, Amezcua connected with Chesluk for a 40-yard pitch and catch to get deep into Cougar territory.
From there, Eden Miranda caught a short pass from Amezcua for the touchdown and Chesluk converted the extra-point attempt to bring the score to 20-13.
After another stop by the Royals defense, there was a chance to tie the game and potentially take a lead with just under two minutes to play. However, an interception by the Cougars ended any hopes of a comeback victory.
“I am really proud of the way our team scratched and clawed to get back in this game tonight,” San Marcos coach Jason Fowle said. “We just made too many mistakes and found ourselves in too deep of a hole to climb out of.”