San Marcos flag football went 3-1 on its way to a runner-up finish at the Cal Cup Tournament in San Luis Obispo this weekend.
The Royals, who are ranked No. 43 in California on MaxPreps, began the tournament with wins over Paso Robles and Morro Bay on Friday. They then took down No. 14-ranked Bonita in the semifinals on Saturday before falling to No. 8 Beckman in the championship.
San Marcos’ defense dominated the Friday victories, leading the way to a 13-7 win over Paso Robles and a 20-0 victory over Morro Bay.
The Royals then pulled out a 15-13 win over Bonita to advance to the title matchup. Junior Victoria Aldana completed 16-of-24 passes for 232 yards and rushed for a touchdown for San Marcos.
Meanwhile, the underclassmen receiving duo of freshman Bella Bazylewicz and sophomore Piper Kittle shined. Bazylewicz hauled in six catches for 127 yards and a touchdown, while Kittle ended with nine receptions and a two-point conversion.
On the defensive end, freshman Norah Leonardi had two sacks, sophomore Maya Llewellyn snagged an interception and Kittle totaled nine flag pulls.
In the championship game against Beckman, San Marcos opened the scoring with a bang as Bazylewicz returned a punt 55 yards for a touchdown to take a 6-0 lead.
Beckman swung back with a touchdown drive on the next possession, also earning the extra point to jump out in front, 7-6.
That score held for the majority of the first half, until Beckman scored on a fourth down on the last play of the second quarter to take a 14-6 lead into halftime.
The Royals consistently moved the ball into Beckman territory in the second half but couldn’t find the end zone. Meanwhile, Beckman added one more touchdown to secure the 20-6 win.
Leonardi was on fire in the championship, recording five sacks and eight total flag pulls. Offensively, Bazylewicz had seven catches for 57 yards and Kittle snagged six catches for 45 yards.
The Royals (11-4) will begin Channel League play on the road against Oxnard on Thursday at 6:30 p.m.
