Merced Union High School District

Atwater High senior quarterback Madi Hiler showed why she’s a two-time Central California Conference MVP and led the Falcons to back-to-back CCC championships on Tuesday night. Hiler accounted for six touchdowns, including a game-winning drive in the final two minutes that she capped off with the go-ahead touchdown run to propel the Falcons to a 39-34 victory over El Capitan at Dave Honey Stadium.

 

Hiler threw three touchdown passes, including a pair of scoring strikes to Saige Harksen. Hiler also scored three rushing touchdowns. “This is Madi’s third year, she’s kind of paved the way for Atwater High School girls flag football,” said Atwater coach Capri Abbasi, whose team improved to 11-3 overall and 2-0 in the CCC. “No matter what she does, the trust is in her, everyone has confidence in her so she knows if she’s composed then everyone down the line is composed.”

 

The matchup was an early season contest between two CCC contenders ranked in the top 10 in the Sac-Joaquin Section by MaxPreps. The Falcons are ranked No. 8 and the Gauchos (13-2, 1-1 CCC) are ranked 10th. It was also a battle of two dual-threat quarterbacks in Hiler and El Capitan senior Aallyah Simonian. The two signal callers took turns making big plays and driving their teams down field in a closely contested game.

 

“It was a  battle back and forth, and we really haven't seen that,” Abbasi said. “So it's good for our defense to see that and know they have to stay back. We came in this game knowing that (El Cap) was going to give us their all, because every time we play El Cap –  no matter what sport – it’s always going to be an intense game.”

 

The Falcons jumped out to a 12-0 lead behind two first-quarter touchdown runs by Hiler. However, the Gauchos didn’t go away as Simonian connected with Bailee Moniz for a short touchdown pass. Simonian then turned to her legs to keep the Gauchos in the game, scoring on four touchdown runs, including a long 40-yard run in the second half.

 

Simonian’s final touchdown gave El Capitan a narrow lead with just under 2 minutes left in the game. That’s when Hilar went to work, using her legs to pick up yards on the ground and throwing short passes outside to move the ball down the field. “Honestly, I knew they probably wouldn't let me throw deep,” Hiler said. “We knew that the outsides were open and they closed it up in the middle. So I tried getting the ball out of bounds as much as I could, just to stop the clock.”

 

Hiler delivered the game-winning touchdown on a run around the right side with 24 seconds left. As she crossed the goal line she let out a scream and celebrated with her teammates. “Tonight was a lot of fun,” Hiler said. “I’ve got to hand it to my teammates. They came through for us.”

 

The Falcons won’t have much time to celebrate the hard-fought victory because No. 6 ranked Merced (15-2, 2-0 CCC) comes to town on Thursday for another big showdown in the Sante Fe Flag Bowl with the winner moving into sole possession of first place in the CCC. “It’s going to be fun,” Hiler said. “It’s going to be a nailbiter, but we’re looking forward to it.”

Merced 66, Golden Valley 0 – The Bears did their part in setting up Thursdays’ showdown with Atwater by picking up another win in dominant fashion to improve to 15-2 overall and 2-0 in the CCC. Merced had opened CCC play by outscoring their two opponents 126 to 6. Bears quarterback Antonia Lejarde threw for 321 yards and six touchdowns and added another touchdown on the ground. Averie Steverson finished with 104 receiving yards and Ryann Perez added 78 receiving yards and a touchdown. Madison Cabral scored two touchdowns for Merced.

Shawn Jansen is the MUHSD Program Manager Digital Media. He can be reached at Sjansen@muhsd.org.