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ORANGE — An up-and-coming challenger made a bold move for a championship Saturday and pushed until the final second to complete its mission.
JSerra’s girls flag football team forced an incompletion on a fourth-and-goal pass from its 2-yard line on the final play to defeat defending champion Orange Lutheran 25-20 in a thrilling CIF-SS Division 1 final at El Modena High.
Bolstered by four standout freshmen, JSerra finished the season 28-0 to claim its first section championship. The Lions, ranked second in the nation by MaxPreps, went 3-0 against No. 3 Orange Lutheran (24-3).
“We pulled it out on the goal line,” said JSerra coach Brian Ong, who was drenched in the celebration. “I don’t think anyone in the country can play Orange Lutheran and beat them three times in a row.”
“There’s this belief in each other and there’s faith in each other,” the coach added. “It’s a season-worth of work. They have matured. They have battled. They have put in the work.”
On the final possession, Orange Lutheran swiftly drove from its 14 in the final minute to reach the JSerra 2. JSerra’s defense forced incompletions from the 2 on third-and-goal and fourth-and-goal.
Junior Avery Olson dove to defend a short pass into the end zone on the final play.
JSerra’s goal-line stand came after Lions freshman quarterback Kate Meier capped a stellar performance by rushing for a 6-yard touchdown for a 25-20 lead with one minute left in the fourth quarter. A 2-point conversion failed.
“We’re all very well prepared,” said Meier, who threw two long touchdowns to freshman Ava Irwin and one to junior Kai Beary. “I think we have the best team out there. We work so hard, and it shows.”
JSerra’s red zone defense delivered two other stops that proved critical.
Late in the first half, Beary leaped at the line of scrimmage to intercept a pass near her team’s 12 to keep Orange Lutheran from extending a 13-7 lead.
In the middle of the third quarter, the Lions held on another fourth-and-goal from their 2. Beary, who is committed to Texas as a soccer goalie, deflected a pass while defending a scramble.
JSerra’s defense produced interceptions from Beary, Irwin and freshman Tessa Russell to win the turnover battle 3-0. The Lions scored 13 points off turnovers.
“We prepared a lot going into the game and were super diligent defensively,” Beary said.
Ong added: “Our defense has been the rock of this team.”
Orange Lutheran took a 20-19 lead in the middle of the fourth quarter. Makena Cook tossed a 1-yard touchdown to Capriana Cuneo. The junior connected with Ruby Fuamatu for the 1-point conversion with 6:53 left.
Cook earlier threw a long touchdown pass to Ava Harrison and one to Fuamatu. She finished the season with 112 TD passes.
“They competed for the whole game,” Orange Lutheran coach Kristen Sherman said of her squad. “I wish we could have punched it in at the end … but hats off to JSerra. They played super hard, too.”
Meier completed 13 of 16 passes for 152 yards, including touchdowns of 36 and 32 yards to Irwin.
“Kate is a remarkable talent,” Ong said. “Kate has had a lot of growth this season in learning to check it down and learning to not just throw the ball down field but to run it.”
JSerra also received a key completion from Ava Van Heerde, who split the QB duties with Meier. On the Lions’ final drive, Van Heerde connected with Beary on fourth down to extend a possession that ended with Meier’s game-winning scramble.
JSerra beat Orange Lutheran 18-7 and 21-20 en route to the Trinity League title.
The Lions’ rise took off this fall with the enrollment of freshmen standouts Irwin, Sterling Flores, Meier and Russell. Irwin, Meier and Russell are on the under-15 national team for girls flag football.
Flores led JSerra’s defense with eight flag pulls. Junior Stella Day added seven.
Irwin tallied five catches for 117 yards.
“They embraced the moment,” Ong said of his young players. “This team has always shown up in big games.”
Freshman Happy Dubois and Izzy Thomas recorded sacks for Orange Lutheran.
Last season, Orange Lutheran rallied in the second half to edge Newport Harbor 20-18 in the inaugural Division 1 final.
