Prep roundup: Inaugural NCS girls flag football Final Four set after upset-filled Tuesday

Girls flag football

No. 4 Alameda 20, College Park 14

When Alameda senior Elsa Chin saw her teammate Aaliyah Soderlund intercept College Park’s desperation pass as time expired, she exhaled and raised her arms in triumph. 

After enduring a frenetic College Park comeback, her Hornets were bound for the first-ever North Coast Section flag football championship final four. Alameda will play Heritage at Cal High on Thursday. 

“We’re going to practice, practice, practice,” Chin said. “We’re going to get into the right mindset.”

Alameda jumped out to a 20-0 halftime lead, with Soderlund running for one score and throwing touchdowns to Zalayah Cobarruviaz and Kelly Wu. The defense was also excellent, led by pass-rusher Kiara Richard.

Richard – who started playing flag football after not making the volleyball team – had played most of the season as the JV running back. Now a defensive menace, she had a handful of sacks.

“I didn’t know she was going to dominate like that,” coach Akeem Diaz said. “That was insane. ,,, we want to create another home for players to come and play and have a good time.”

College Park’s tricky offense gave Alameda a major scare in the second half. With former Arena Football League quarterback Scott Wood at coach, Maya Davis and Emma Lowery threw touchdown passes. Davis actually caught the last TD to cut the deficit to just six.

Needing to burn the clock, a calm and composed Chin and Soderlund gained key first downs and punched the Hornets ticket to the semifinal at Cal High. 

“I’m really excited to see what this team can do,” Chin said. “I knew we had a lot of potential, but it’s awesome to see where its gotten us.”

No. 9 Heritage 18, No. 1 Liberty 13

Eden Enoru led the way as Heritage pulled off the upset of the top seed and title favorite in the Brentwood Bowl, scoring a touchdown and using her track speed to get to the edge time after time. It was a complete role reversal from the regular season, when the Lions had outscored Heritage 69-13.

Alameda 24, Clayton Valley Charter 13

Clayton Valley struck first, with Julia Lovelace throwing a touchdown to Giana Marcantonio. But that lead didn’t last long as Soderlund connected with Cobarruviaz to cut the deficit to one point. Chin returned an interception some 60 yards to give the Hornets the lead, and then Soderlund threw another touchdown to Cobarruviaz and a TD to Lei’yan Molina to advance to the next round. 

Granada 12, Pittsburg 8

Marin Lnenicka caught the game-winning touchdown with only a few seconds left to win the first-round playoff game. Maile Nguyen had six sacks, and Sophia Bertolo caught one touchdown. Pittsburg led by two points on an Alani Lopez 60-yard touchdown pass to Jurnee Cox. Elena Bojoquez also scored the two-point conversion. Cox had six catches for 101 yards, and Bojorquez had nine tackles. 

College Park 20, Freedom 7

College Park quarterback Taylor Ochoa went deep for the Falcons first touchdown, throwing a bomb for six. Delaney Zimmer briefly gave Freedom the lead when Delaney Zimmer threw a touchdown to the speedy Kamille Fababier. But the other Falcons from Pleasant Hill took the lead on a touchdown pass to Alexis Rose, and then sealed the win with a Stella Beuchotte pick-six. 

Flag football upsets galore

The top seed in the section was stunned by its Bay Valley and Brentwood rival. No. 9 Heritage defeated No. 1 Liberty 18-13 in the quarterfinals. … No. 14 Alhambra took down No. 3 San Ramon Valley 14-12 in Danville, and then the Martinez school took down No. 6 Granada 28-26. … No. 2 California barely avoided the upset in its quarterfinal matchup with No. 7 Las Lomas. The Grizzlies beat Las Lomas 13-12. 

Girls volleyball

Palo Alto 3, Tamalpais 1

Maura Hambly had 24 kills and 10 digs to go along with two aces as Palo Alto advanced to the next round of NorCal. Naama Green had eight kills and five blocks, and Mackenzie Zhao had 16 digs and seven aces. Sophie Mies had 42 assists, six kills, 20 digs and three aces. Palo Alto took control of the fourth set on a 9-0 run. Palo Alto will play top-seeded Folsom on Thursday. 

James Logan 3, Pleasant Grove 0

McKenzie Anderson led the way with 17 kills and 10 digs, and Emma Tran had 20 digs. Leann Jung had 37 assists and 13 digs, and Chelsea Branley had 11 kills. Kemi Adediji had seven kills and two blocks as the Colts advanced in the NorCal Division I playoffs. 

Sacred Heart Cathedral 3, University-San Francisco 2

The Fightin’ Irish won the battle of San Francisco schools thanks to prolific performances from its stars. Livy Tangaan had 14 kills, Hazel Nelson and Mackenzie Flinn had 22 total kills too. Junior libero Madi Mullins had 44 digs and Leila Ximone Vasquez had 25 digs. Coach Symone Mackiewicz said “One of our setters went down in the third set with a sprained ankle and we had to make some adjustments to the line up that took some getting used to, but the team eventually pulled through in the fifth set.  It was a great matchup between both schools.”

Monta Vista 3, Bethel 0

Kiana Mark had 11 kills and Samantha Tong had eight kills as Monta Vista advanced to the next round of NorCal D-III. Chloe Chen had six kills and five aces. Coach Nadia Lan said, “We came out strong with tough serves and strong offense. We took the 3 sets with a significant margin and showed why we are the #2 seed in D3.”

Volleyball notes

Los Gatos beat Clovis West 3-1 . … Sacred Heart Prep swept Lincoln 3-0. … Division I top seed Folsom squeaked Mercy-Burlingame 3-2. .. Aragon swept Ripon 3-0, and Valley Christian lost to Oak Ridge 3-2. St. Joe’s-Alameda beat Crystal Springs 3-2. Campolindo swept Carondelet 3-0, and San Ramon Valley beat Granit Bay 3-1. Encinal swept Fall River 3-0, and Foothill edged out Christian Brothers-Sacramento 3-2. Skyline and Oakland Tech were both swept. 

Girls water polo

Sacred Heart Prep 14, Leland 7

Vivian Golub scored six goals as Sacred Heart Prep raced past Leland. Natalia Szcerba had two goals and three assists, and Kiernan Hogan banged in four goals as the top seed advanced to the CCS Open Division final. 

Santa Cruz 6, Harker 5

Harker gave a valiant effort, but fell short in the CCS Division II semifinal to Santa Cruz. Zoe Cammer scored twice, and Summer Adler, Alana Brill and Melody Yin each had one goal for Harker.