Flagging down history: Merced defeats Atwater for first time.
Merced High junior Averie Steverson couldn’t wait to play Atwater. She wasn’t alone as the Bears girls flag football team had gone winless at 0-5-1 in six games against their rivals down Santa Fe Drive the past two years. That would explain the exuberant celebration after Merced finally knocked off Atwater 27-6 on Thursday night at Dave Honey Stadium in a Central California Conference showdown between two top 10 teams in the Sac-Joaquin Section.
“This was a really big game,” said Steverson. “This is the game I've been waiting for all season, just to come out with a win against Atwater. It feels really great.”
The Bears (17-2 overall, 3-0 CCC) outscored the Falcons (11-4, 2-1 CCC) 21-0 in the second half to break open a 6-6 tie at intermission and elevate Merced to first place, all alone atop the CCC. Steverson played a big role, hauling in two second-half touchdown catches, including an amazing 20-yard touchdown reception in which she outjumped a Falcons defender for the ball and then raced into the end zone.
“We were pumped for this game because since we started this we have not beat Atwater,” said Merced coach Vic Nazario, whose team is ranked No. 7 in the section by MaxPreps. “We have coaches and eight or nine players who have been around all three years. We wanted this, but our message to the players was control the controllables. We can’t control who is officiating or what the other team does, but what we can do is catch the ball when it’s thrown to us, throw to the right players and pull the flags when we can.”
Merced quarterback Antonia Lejarde is one of those players who has been with the flag football program since its inception and she played great against the Falcons. Lejarde started the scoring with a 3-yard touchdown run midway through the first quarter to give the Bears a 6-0 lead. LeJarde then hurt Atwate with her arm in the second half, throwing three touchdown passes.
The Falcons, who are ranked No. 6 in the section, tied the game late in the first half as quarterback Madi Hiler connected with Saige Harcksen on a 20-yard touchdown pass with 21 seconds left in the second quarter.
However, the story of the game was the Bears defense, which found a way to limit the Atwater offense and two-time CCC MVP Hiler to just the one touchdown. “Honestly, we just used our speed against them,” said Merced freshman linebacker Ayasha Beavers. “We knew we had the speed.” Nazario credited the Bears two freshmen rushers Kyah Good and Aniayah Barron for putting constant pressure on Hiler and the Merced defense didn’t let Hiler get around the edge with her legs.
Steverson helped put the game away with her two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. She hauled in a 7-yard pass from LeJarde and then made the highlight 20-yard grab with 55 seconds left in the game. “I knew it was coming,” Steverson said. “I was ready. I've been waiting for it all game. I was just really excited. I said I was going to get two touchdowns and I did.”
El Capitan 14, Buhach Colony 6 – The Gauchos improved to 2-1 in the CCC as Aaliyah Simonian threw for 208 yards and two touchdowns. Avnoor Bains had 107 yards receiving and a touchdown for El Capitan and Leyooni Atkins caught the other touchdown. Isabella Magana led the Gauchos defense with two sacks.
Shawn Jansen is the MUHSD Program Manager Digital Media. He can be reached at Sjansen@muhsd.org.