La Habra was led by from left Elizabeth Posada, Presley Cannon, Audrey Flores and Kaitlin Cauley in Wednesday’s win. (PHOTOS: Tom Connolly, For OC Sports Zone).
As La Habra girls flag football coach Robert Atanay put it, “Kaitlin is playing at another level.”
Atanay was referring to Highlanders sophomore Kaitlin Cauley, a wide receiver and linebacker, who turned in a game for the record books Tuesday afternoon at La Habra.
Cauley scored two touchdowns, had three interceptions and recorded four sacks as the Highlanders defeated Foothill 18-8 in a critical North Hills League game.
“After all the losses early in the season, we’ve turned it around and we have each others backs,” said Cauley, who also had six receptions. “We want to win bad and we want a league title.”
The Highlanders (6-8, 4-2) avenged an earlier season double-digit loss to the Knights (12-7, 4-2) and are now battling Troy and Foothill for first-place in league with two league games remaining.
With under a minute left in the opening quarter, Cauley took a snap from center, handed the ball off to Audrey Flores who launched a 16-yard TD pass to Eliana Corona, who made an excellent catch in the end zone for a touchdown, giving the Highlanders a 6-0 lead.
Then in a span of four plays, on the final play of the first quarter and the next 3 plays of the second quarter, Cauley changed the tide of the game almost single handedly.
On a Foothill second-down play, Cauley recorded a quarterback sack for an 8-yard loss. On the next play, Cauley picked off a Knights pass and then two plays later, she caught an 8-yard TD pass from quarterback Presley Cannon, increasing La Habra’s lead to 12-0 early in the second quarter.
As if she hadn’t accomplished enough, later in the final minute of the second quarter, Cauley picked off another Foothill pass and returned it 25 yards for a touchdown, boosting the Highlanders to an 18-0 halftime lead.
Cauley had plenty of help from her teammates. Journee Costello had two sacks, and Gisselle Virgen and Layla Bartosik each had a sack as the Highlanders registered eight sacks in the game, to go along with four turnovers. Cauley nearly had a fifth sack as she hurried Foothill’s quarterback into throwing a pass down field that resulted in an interception by La Habra linebacker Layla Bartosik.
“We’re coming together as a team and a family,” said Bartosik.
“It’s fun and we’re enjoying the winning,” added Flores.
La Habra also got outstanding performances from Elizabeth Posada, Makenna Caffrey, Flores, Cannon, Corona and Hayden Carson for the Highlanders, who notched their third consecutive victory.
La Habra has two league games remaining against Troy and Brea Olinda. Foothill has two league games remaining with Troy and Pacifica and Troy still has to play Pacifica and Foothill. So with the league title up for grabs, the final two weeks of league play will be exciting.
“Our team is continuing to develop and progress at every position,” said assistant coach and offensive coordinator Chris Gonzalez.
In the final quarter, the Knights got on the scoreboard on a 24-yard TD pass from Ashely Heringer to Sol Arellano. Foothill added the two-point conversion and trailed 18-8 with 9:55 to play.
However, down the stretch, the Highlanders defense led by Costello and Virgen prevented the Knights from any further comeback as they foiled Foothill’s drives with three sacks and a knocked down pass.
“After losing the league title over the last few years, we want it bad and we have a real chance to get it,” said Atanay. “Today, we played unbelievable and the girls want to be league champions.”
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