News - Orange Lutheran and JSerra will play for the CIF-SS girls' flag football title.

Support our high school sports coverage by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribe now Orange Lutheran and JSerra’s girls flag football teams cleared their respective hurdles on Saturday to set up a CIF-SS Division 1 championship showdown. No. 2 seeded Orange Lutheran intercepted three passes, including two by senior Julia Oberholtzer, to roll past visiting No. 3 Huntington Beach, 33-0, in the semifinals. No. 1-ranked and undefeated JSerra advanced earlier in the night with a 20-0 semifinal win over fourth-seeded Dos Pueblos behind three interceptions by freshman Tessa Russell. Oberholtzer and Russell both returned interceptions for touchdowns as Trinity League rivals booked a Division 1 final showdown on Saturday, Nov. 8 at El Modena High. Trinity League teams, they're a different animal, Huntington Beach coach Zack Pannell said after his team’s 21-game winning streak was snapped. We had a great season. Makena Cook tossed three of her four touchdowns in the second half as Orange Lutheran (24-?) — the reigning Division 1 champion — extended a 7-0 halftime lead. The junior connected with Josie Anderson for a 5-yard touchdown and Oberholtzer for a 33-yard strike in the third. In the fourth, Oberholtzer’s first interception set up a 25-yard touchdown pass from Cook to Ava Harrison. Oberholtzer capped the scoring by returning an interception 17 yards for a score. Orange Lutheran disguised coverages and pressured Roxie Shaia to hand Huntington Beach (25-2) its first shutout. Izzy Thomas fought through sickness to record a sack while freshman Happy Dubois created havoc as a pass rusher and grabbed an interception. We know that Roxie is a really good quarterback, Orange Lutheran coach Kristen Sherman said. Our goal was to make her as uncomfortable as possible. Huntington Beach almost scored at the end of the first half. Senior standout Taylor Savage was stopped on a reception at the Orange Lutheran 1 with six seconds left. The Lancers then forced an incompletion on the final play. Whether Savage was in or not, we had to punch it in there. That's a big momentum swing, Pannell said of the sequence. It's a different ballgame going into the second half tied at 7-7. JSerra defeated Orange Lutheran twice en route to the Trinity League title. Our theme this season was 'raise the bar,' Sherman said. Being in the finals back-to-back years really raises the bar and the expectations. We're really thankful to get another crack at JSerra. In other semifinals Saturday: In Division 2: Corona del Mar 27, Newbury Park 18: Addison Stern threw a fourth-down touchdown to Brooke Morrison and Samantha Matlaf added an interception to lead the visiting Sea Kings to their first final. Corona del Mar will play Westlake in the championship. In Division 5: Anaheim 32, Vasquez 7: Sophia Sewell had five interceptions and Ashley Guzman added four to lead the host Colonists to their first final. Anaheim will take on Castaic in the championship.