The girls flag football team took down the Jefferson Grizzlies 33-0 on Wednesday night.
The Bears started off the game strong, with big runs from sophomore wide receiver Cassidy Thomas. Two minutes into the game, Senior quarterback Mae Kunihero followed this momentum by dodging the Jefferson defense to secure a quick touchdown for M-A. Despite an unsuccessful conversion, the Bears established an early 6-0 lead.
The Bears’ tight defense prevented the Grizzlies from converting on offense. Junior defensive back Juliana Pandolfo knocked down an attempted Jefferson pass, which was followed by a sack by senior linebacker Elise Koo, overall forcing the Grizzlies to punt. On the punt return, junior wide receiver Mo Rhai Balinton weaved through the Jefferson defense to score another impressive 40-yard touchdown for M-A. A successful one-point conversion by the Bears extended their lead to 13-0, with five minutes left in the first quarter.
M-A’s defense continued to dominate as they quickly forced another Jefferson punt. Through the crowd of Jefferson defenders, Balinton snagged a catch on a throw from Alvarado to end the first quarter.
Several runs by junior wide receiver Miya Yu weren’t enough for the Bears’ offense, as they turned the ball over to the Grizzlies. M-A stayed strong on the defensive end, with a sack by junior linebacker Jasmine Abedi leading to another Jefferson punt. The Bears were again unable to convert on offense, and the Vikings got the ball back with 2:50 left in the half. Jefferson’s run was immediately stopped by senior defensive back Kelsey Gardner, driving a Grizzlies timeout. However, M-A’s defensive stability continued, and the Bears held Jefferson scoreless at the half.
The Grizzlies started the second half with the ball, but junior linebacker Mackenzie Scirpo halted their offense with two swift pulls. A Jefferson punt resulted in a 20-yard run for senior wide receiver Sam Shirley, followed by a pass from Kunihero to senior center Bailee van Loben Sels for a Bears first down. Kunihero scored another touchdown for the Bears as she zigzagged through the Vikings’ defense for a touchdown. A handoff from Kunihero to Thomas for a 1-point conversion extended M-A’s lead to 20-0 with 7:30 remaining in the third quarter.
“We worked really well as a team,” Balinton said. “We had really good communication, and we cheered each other on the whole time.”
The Bears’ swarming defense left the Grizzlies with nowhere to go, as senior linebacker Ryland Caelius immediately pulled several Jefferson flags. The Bears were able to get the ball back with 2:20 left in the quarter, having successful runs by both Alvarado and Yu.
Alvarado’s pass down the middle to Balinton resulted in another M-A touchdown less than a minute into the fourth quarter, bringing the score to 26-0 with the Bears in the lead. The Grizzlies continue to struggle against M-A’s suffocating defense, as a deflected pass by senior defensive back Allie Orzechowski gave the ball back to the Bears.
Senior wide receiver Sammy Ruiz added yet another touchdown to the M-A’s total, and a run by Kunihero for a successful conversion increased the Bears’ lead to 33-0 with 2:10 remaining in the fourth quarter. Jefferson was unable to counter, and M-A stretched their winning streak to four games.
“Our team did very well this game,” said senior linebacker Siman Patel. “It was overall a pretty easy win. I feel like everyone had a lot of fun on the field and off the field.”
“I’m looking forward to how we’re gonna do this year, because I think we work really well together,” van Loben Sels said.
The Bears will face Redwood at Oakland Tech High School on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. in the Oakland Tech tournament.
*Audrey Majzun is a journalist for the M-A Chronicle
