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Troy players celebrate the comeback win Saturday morning. (PHOTOS: Tom Connolly, For OC Sports Zone).
One thing is for certain is that the inaugural CIF Division 3 girls flag football championship game between Troy and San Clemente will go down in history as an instant classic.
The Warriors (17-3-3) scored three touchdowns in the final 1:54 to stage a miraculous and rather unbelievable comeback to defeat the Tritons 33-32 at Fred Kelly Stadium.
San Clemente running back Macady Gillie scored on a 12-yard TD run with under three minutes to play giving the Tritons (14-11-1) a comfortable 32-12 lead. It appeared San Clemente had the championship within sight.
However, the Warriors stormed back.
Troy quarterback Addyson Wink tossed a 31-yard TD pass to Montana Longcrier, and the Warriors added the PAT to cut the lead to 32-19 with 1:54 remaining.
On the Tritons ensuing possession, Mia Larosa intercepted a San Clemente pass and raced 40 yards for a touchdown. Troy added The PAT and cut the lead to 32-26 with 58 seconds left in the game.
The Warriors defense then stiffened and stopped the San Clemente offense on a fourth-down play at the Tritons 36-yard line. Troy took over with under 30 seconds to play.
Wink completed a crucial 29-yard pass play to Mikaela Thibodeaux, who made a spectacular catch, and raced to the six yard line with seven seconds remaining.
Two plays later, on the final play of regulation, Wink threw a pass into the end zone and Longcrier made a leaping catch among several defenders, tying the score at 32-32. On the extra point attempt, Wink completed a short pass to Larosa in the end zone, giving Troy the victory and the championship.
Larosa was mobbed by her teammates following the catch as the game ended.
“It was crazy, our girls were crying and dancing around,” said Larosa. “Even when we were down 20 points with two minutes to go, we knew we were going to fight to the end. It’s been an amazing season.”
“We were shaking when there was two minutes to play, but after Mia’s (Larosa) interception return for a touchdown, we started to feel that we still had a chance,” added Longcrier, who scored two touchdowns in the game.
Wink said the team got a little down when it trailed late in the game but regained its composure.
“We were set back, and our energy got low when we got behind, but we gathered our rhythm,” said Wink, who completed 11 passes for 130 yards and three touchdowns passes. “This was a special game. It’s an incredible feeling to win like this. I think one of the keys was how wisely we used our timeouts down the stretch.”
Troy running back Kenadi Spurgeon was also thrilled.
“It’s crazy that we came back like that to win,” said Spurgeon, who rushed for 77 yards and scored a TD in the game. “It’s the first championship game in this sport; I’ll never forget this game. It was incredible.”
Troy Coach David Shirota said all season long the team’s goal was to have fun.
“It’s exciting and this season has been an amazing experience,” said Shirota. “Our goal this season was to give everybody a chance to play and most importantly to have fun and look where we are. We didn’t worry about wins. We felt the wins will take care of themselves if we play well. But I must admit, when we were down 32-12, I was hoping we would score and make it closer. That showed me that our girls never quit, and the rest was magic.”
San Clemente Coach Marc Popovich was gracious in defeat.
“This loss will sting for a while,” said Popovich. “I feel like I want to jump in a hole, but I told the girls after the game how proud I was of them. This is the third time we played Troy this year and I thought all along that this game could come down to the last play. While I was walking off the field today, I felt a great deal of gratitude for these girls. They accomplished so much this season. They came together, bonded as a team, and became fantastic friends.”
Tritons quarterback Kirra Clavijo was impressive, completing 21 passes for 249 yards and two TD passes. She also caught a TD pass from Macady Gillie, who completed six passes for 64 yards. Keira Tuomi, Brynn Kalena and Giselle Nacelli combined to catch 15 passes for 211 yards for the Tritons.
For full view, click on the photo:
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