JSerra celebrates after winning the second straight CIF championship. (PHOTOS: Tom Connolly, For OC Sports Zone).
For the second consecutive season, the JSerra girls flag football team finished the season perfect.
On Saturday night at Huntington Beach, the Lions scored three late touchdowns to pull away and defeat Newport Harbor 40-14 in the CIF Open Division championship game.
The Lions, ranked No. 1 in the nation, finished the season undefeated (28-0) and repeated as the CIF Open Division champions. Saturday also marked the third time the Lions have defeated Newport Harbor this season.
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“I give credit to the captains of this team and our captains of our past teams,” said JSerra Coach Brian Ong, who’s team extended its winning streak to 56 games. “They set the tone, the culture, and the foundation for our teams. Our first year we were 0–8, but these girls bought into our system and embraced it. I am very proud of each one of them.”
Lions’ sophomore quarterback Kate Meier was simply unstoppable. Meier completed 24 of 32 passes for 243 yards and threw four touchdown passes. The fleet-footed Meier also rushed for 63 yards and scored two touchdowns.
“We maintained our focus and that was the key for us,” said Meier, who guided her team to double digit victories in 27 of the JSerra’s 28 games this season. “We never got too far ahead of ourselves. Our team chemistry on and off the field is incredible and that’s what made our team so strong.”
Trailing 20-7 at halftime, the Sailors embarked on an 11-play scoring drive to begin the second half. Junior quarterback Scarlett Guyser threw a 12-yard TD pass to Emma Yokoi to trim the lead to 20-14 at the 4:46 mark of the third quarter.
However, any hopes of a Newport Harbor comeback quickly vanished as Meier guided the Lions to three touchdowns on their following three drives to put the game out of reach.
Meier tossed a 19-yard touchdown pass to Abby VanderWeerd on the first play of the fourth quarter to up JSerra’s lead to 27-14.
“It’s an amazing feeling to be champions again,” said VanderWeerd. “It all has to do with our team chemistry.”
Following a Sailors punt, Meier capped a seven-play drive with a 12-yard TD pass to Russell, making it 33-14 with 5:13 to play.
Russell had a huge game catching 10 passes for 145 yards and three touchdowns.
“Newport Harbor is a really good team, the best team we played all season,” said Russell. “Our team has put in a lot of hard work this season and it’s an amazing feeling to be champions for the second year in a row.”
Newport Harbor Coach Jason Guyser remained upbeat after the game, despite the loss.
“When we cut it to a one-score, 20-14, in the third quarter, I was happy,” said Guyser. “We had nothing to lose today. We played loose. We just didn’t have the ability to stop them. They kept moving the ball and we couldn’t stop them.”
Meier added another short touchdown run late in the game to close out the scoring and secure the win and the championship for JSerra.
JSerra got on the scoreboard in the first minute of the game. On the second play of the game, Meier launched a 62-yard TD pass to Russell to give the Lions 6-0 lead. Following a Sailors punt, Meier capped a five-play scoring drive with a four-yard touchdown run, as the Lions increased its lead to 13-0.
Guyser rallied the Sailors as she tossed a 14-yard touchdown pass to Cora Jordan on the first play of the second quarter to cut the lead to 13-7. However, the Lions put together a scoring drive late in the half as Meier threw an 11-yard TD to Russell with 30 seconds left, propelling JSerra to a 20-7 lead at the break.
Meier finished the season with 99 touchdown passes while throwing for 7,367 yards. Russell caught 188 passes this season for 2.443 yards and she scored 36 touchdowns.
Guyser completed 21 passes for 154 yards and two TD passes in the game and Skylie Cid caught 10 passes for the Sailors (23-5).
“I’m happy to be part of this team,” said Cid. “We have a great group of girls who wanted to be part of a team and make a difference and look how far took it.”
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