Merced High girls dominate in flag football playoff victory over Rocklin, Atwater upset
Antonia Lejarde had never played flag football growing up. She spent her time on the diamond playing travel softball.
However, being a part of the first girls flag football at Merced High School was an opportunity she couldn’t pass up.
Lejarde earned a spot as the starting quarterback as a freshman.
Lejarde displaying her throwing skills on Thursday evening, throwing three touchdown passes to help lead the No. 4 seeded Bears defeat No. 5 Rocklin 24-6 in the second round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I playoffs at Cathie Hostetler Stadium.
“We’re making history being the first team at Merced High,” Lejarde said. “This win means a lot. I think we can go even further in the playoffs.”
The Bears (23-4-1) will travel to No. 1 seed Woodcreek on Wednesday for a semifinal game at 7 p.m.
Lejarde orchestrated the Bears offense against the Thunder, spreading the ball to different receivers and making some tough throws at crucial moments.
The Merced freshman helped give the Bears a 6-0 lead midway through the first half with a 2-yard touchdown pass to Julissa Guzman.
Lejarde led the Bears down the field again on their next possession and capped the scoring drive with an 8-yard touchdown pass to Rossoni Hughes to give Merced a 12-0 lead at the half.
“Our girls executed tonight,” said Merced coach Victor Nazario. “Our quarterback made some great throws and our defense shut them down.”
The Bears put the game away in the second half as Lejarde connected with fellow freshman Averi Steverson on a 15-yard touchdown pass and sophomore Ryann Perez scored on an 8-yard touchdown run to extend the lead to 24-0 with 5:16 left.
The defense set up the two second-half scores with interceptions by Taquisha Thames and Leah Perez.
Rocklin threatened to score throughout the game, driving the ball inside the Bears’ 20-yard line three times, but Mered’s defense forced the Thunder to turn the ball over on downs or came away with a turnover to stop them.
“We just came out here and wanted to play and keep our momentum going,” Lejarde said. “We had fun out there.”
Ceres 34, Atwater 0 — The Falcons couldn’t contain Bulldogs quarterback Marrisa Renteria.
The Ceres senior dominated, running in two touchdowns, throwing for three scores adn intercepting two passes on defense as the sixth-seeded Bulldogs (17-2) upset the No. 3 Falcons at Dave Honey Stadium.
Atwater finishes the season with a 21-5-1 record. Ceres advances to face No. 2 seed Del Oro on Wednesday in the semifinals.
