North Coast Section flag football playoff roundup: Granada stuns top-seed, unbeaten Las Lomas

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. — At this point in the North Coast Section flag football season, the coaches are nothing more than cheerleaders, Granada-Livermore head coach Jared Muela said modestly on Tuesday night. 

“The hay is in the barn at this point,” Muela said. “The players put in all the work and now we just have to put them in the right spots.” 

But anywhere on the field against high-powered Las Lomas Knight seemed to be a vulnerable position. The Knights, the top seeded NCS Division 1 team, came in 25-0, having outscored opponents by a ridiculous 728-155 count. 

Somehow the Matadors, seeded fifth, seemed always in the exact right path, especially with goal-line stands on the Knights’ first and last drive during a superbly-played, tight and crisp 13-7 semifinal playoff win. 

Katie Vail, the East Bay Athletic League’s Offensive Player of the Year, threw for more than 250 yards and first-half touchdown passes of 10 yards to freshman Bellamy Black and 11 yards to Marin Lnenicka, and the defense made it all stand up as the fifth-seed Matadors (15-6) moved into Thursday’s 7 p.m. championship against fellow East Bay Athletic League power San Ramon Valley-Danville, which upset second-seed and super nemesis California 24-13. 

"Loss for words"

The first stand ended at the 10 with a fourth-down pass deflection by Lnenicka, and the final drive, with 4:40 remaining, was blown up by Maile Nguyen, who forced prolific Las Lomas junior quarterback Maggie Kruger (4,141 total yards, 69 total touchdowns coming in) into a hurried throw into the ground. 

The Matadors basically ran out the clock from there, keyed by four completions and a big run by Vail. Her biggest completion came on third down to Gisela Badilla, who was also roughed, giving the Matadors first down past midfield. 

On fourth down from near the 50 and six seconds left, the Matadors decided to punt and Savannah Soares boomed one out of bounds inside the 5. Las Lomas, which had scored more than 30 points 12 times, had no miracle play and ended a landmark season 25-1.

The Matadors celebrated heartily on Las Lomas’ home field, a game plan executed perfectly, just as they did in a surprisingly lopsided 33-0 quarterfinal victory over a 17-2 Heritage-Brentwood squad. 

“I’m just at a loss for words,” said Lnenicka. I can’t believe we made it this far as a team. This is the furthest we’ve gone in three seasons. It's super exciting.” 

Said Badilla, a first-year player and basketball standout who had three sacks in the first half alone: “My heart was beating super fast (all game). We saw them on film at lunch today and I knew (Kluger) was really fast. Knowing they were undefeated too was really scary. But everyone played their roles just right.”

Especially on defense. 

“They’re such a high-powered offense,” Muela said of Las Lomas. “They have phenomenal athletes so we had to account for every facet of their game and do so under a quick two-day turnaround to prepare for a team we’ve never seen. We just needed to play to our responsibilities, play with confidence and let the girls make plays. That’s what they did.

“The girls played fantastic on both sides of the ball.” 

Wildest dreams

 Las Lomas coach Tim Kruger was clearly disappointed to finish one win short of the championship game, but he was also upbeat. 

“Honestly, to start the season we were hoping just to be around .500 and qualify for NCS,” he said. “To go 25-1 is beyond our wildest dreams, but of course we would have loved to have played in the last game. … Give Granada credit. They’re well coached and they’re a very good team. We missed some opportunities.” 

Like the first drive of the game that stalled at the Granada 10. A fourth-down pass intended for Violet Keeperman was knocked away at the last moment by Lnenicka. 

The Matadors then marched right down the length of the field and on the first play of the second quarter, Vail found Black, the youngest daughter of Granada tack head coach Brandon, who last week scored the game-winning touchdown in overtime — her first touchdown of the season. 

Tuesday’s catch, in the same left back corner of the end zone was similar to last week’s touchdown. Black failed her fists constantly after the touchdown, which was followed with a two-point conversion pass from Vail to Caitlyn Nguyen-Schertzer. 

Peaking at right time

“That’s the whole goal for any player or team is to peak at the right time,” Muela said. “That’s what Bellamy is doing. She’s worked her butt off to get meaningful time on the field. It’s great to see that work rewarded. And Katie has the confidence to throw it to her in those big moments.” 

Las Lomas, like it has done all season, immediately responded and capitalized on a fourth-down personal foul that extended its drive and put the ball at the 10. Kruger, perhaps a better defender than even a passer or runner, ran it home from the 10 to make it 7-6, before a contested conversion catch in the back of the end zone by Madison Farvar, tied the score at 7-7 with 4:40 left in the half. 

Undaunted, Vail, utilizing a short, crisp passing game, capped another long drive with a touchdown pass, but Lnenicka’s toughness keyed the TD catch. The left-handed Vail rolled left but her 11-yard pass was tipped high into the night, where Lnenicka outmuscled 50-50 ball away from a Las Lomas defensive back, giving the Matadors a 13-7 halftime lead. 

Though both teams moved the ball, there were no scores in the second half. 

“We’ve seen it most of the year,” coach Kruger said. “When two great competitive teams play, then the game will be low-scoring. “

Tough spot

With all that defense, both quarterbacks took care of the ball, neither throwing an interception, which is noteworthy, especially for Vail. Las Lomas came into the game with 58 interceptions, including 13 by Keeperman, who was nursing a bad ankle, and 12 by Kruger. 

Vail came in 420 of 624 for nearly 4,000 passing yards and 46 touchdowns, along with 432 rushing yards and four more scores. She was harassed all night by Lexie Kou (three sacks) but didn’t make any big mistakes. 

“When she gets in a tough spot, she just continues to progress and make good decisions on the fly,” Muela said. “That’s really what allows our offense to go and keep moving down the field.” 

And moving through the playoffs. They beat San Ramon Valley at home 13-6 on Oct. 7 in the rugged East Bay Athletic League. In that game, Vail threw 19 of 27 for 171 yards and two touchdowns to Isabelle Dunn, and she rushed for a game-high 83 yards on 11 carries. 

“She’s always able to get creative, and she’s a threat with her legs,” Muela said. “Defensives have to respect it. When it comes to her movement, she’s not an overly anxious runner. She doesn’t want to do it all the time, but when it’s there, she’ll take it, which is great.” 

Especially on defense.&nbsp: At last, the Wolves won the one that counted. 

After losing eight consecutive times to the Grizzlies (17-5) over the last three seasons, including 14-7 for the EBAL championship two weeks ago, the sixth-seeded and visiting Wolves (17-6) prevailed thanks to a four combined touchdowns from sophomore quarterback Gia Ryan and two receiving scores by freshman tight end Tatum Prindiville and one by Lena Clark. 

Rusher Emma Kozak keyed the victory with a remarkable seven sacks. .Teammates Olivia Wheatley and Mackayla Chojnacky each had interceptions. The Wolves, who had lost seven of the previous eight to California all by one score or less, will attempt to beat their third EBAL team in the playoffs after opening with a 13-7 win over Foothill-Pleasanton. They also beat third-seed Liberty-Brentwood 8-2 in the quarterfinals. 

“As lights out as the offense played, the defense did an amazing job,” said San Ramon Valley coach Chad Cochran. 

DIVICheap Rs-flyfishing Jordan OutletON 2 PLAYOFFS

Acalanes 19, Saint Mary’s-Berkeley 13: The top-seeded Cardinals (23-0) continued to dominate with another blowout as, according to the At last, the Wolves won the one that counted.&nbsp, Nicole Hayeems threw for four touchdowns and ran for two in the home semifinal victory. Hayeems sister Naomi caught three touchdowns, Colbie Piehi had two and Hannah Maida rushed for two scores. Makenna Homan, Juliet Diehl and Molly Friedman added interceptions. Newman, which has outscored foes 917-89, including a 79-0 first-round win over De Anza-Richmond, now plays second seed Acalanes-Lafayette (17-2) for the title in a 5 p.m. game also at Clayton Valley Charter. 

Acalanes 19, Saint Mary’s-Berkeley 13: Down 13-0 in the first half, the host Dons scored 19 straight led by junior quarterback Ines Coyne who ran for two touchdowns, one more than 30 yards, and added a TD pass to Santana Tamayo. Her favorite target was Maya Shoenhair and Isabelle Agnost had some key runs. The Acalanes defense was keyed by Avery Dement and Stella Beuchotte, who each made loads of tackles, while June Natal added an interception. Saint Mary’s finished 20-1 with a point differential of 668-148. The Panthers were led by the section’s top yardage quarterback Gabby Clement, who entered with nearly 5,000 total yards and 68 touchdowns. 

“A huge win for our program,” Acalanes co-head coach Mike Ivankovich said. “Our team never gave up.”