By Kyle LoJacono
The Freedom flag football team clinched the top seed in the District 16 tournament by winning its final three league contests.
Securing the No. 1 spot appeared nearly impossible for the Patriots (6-1, 5-1) after dropping a 12-6 home contest to Steinbrenner April 1 thanks in large part to the Warriors’ (5-2, 5-1) fourth-quarter interception returned for a touchdown.
“After we lost to Steinbrenner we knew we’d have to win our last three district games to have a chance at the No. 1 seed,” said Freedom coach Dennis Derflinger. “That was a really tough loss because we had the ball near the end zone when they intercepted it, so we go from looking like we’re going to take the lead to losing by six.”
The Patriots responded with a win at Wharton three days later, but faced a much tougher challenge April 8 when two-time defending district champ Alonso came to their field.
The squads entered halftime 0-0, but the Ravens scored on their first possession after the break to go ahead 6-0.
“We didn’t have any doubt that we could come back because we trust each other,” said senior linebacker/wide receiver Ashle Thompson (32 flag pulls, 368 receiving yards, five touchdowns). “We knew what we had to do to beat them. That’s all we were focusing on.”
Sophomore rusher/wide receiver Taylor Mort (eight sacks) rose to the challenge by scoring on a 2-yard run with about four minutes left in the fourth quarter. Senior Veronica Bell tacked on the extra point with a catch over the middle to put the Patriots ahead for good 7-6.
“We have some extra point plays that we’re pretty confident in,” Derflinger said. “The bigger thing was stopping them on their extra point. I tell them that can be the game when you stop an extra point, and it was for us.”
Derflinger pointed to a key 24-yard pass from senior quarterback Missy Dunbar (13 touchdowns) to sophomore wide receiver Mackenzie Dyer to set up the winning score.
Alonso beat Steinbrenner April 4, tying the three squads atop the district. The outcome gave Freedom the inside track for the top seed because the Patriots have three road wins within the league to the Warriors’ and Ravens’ two, which is the third tie-breaker.
Freedom just had to beat Sickles at home April 11 to clinch the No. 1 seed.
The Gryphons (1-6) scored on their opening possession to go ahead 6-0, but the Patriots responded with three first-half touchdowns to win 21-6.
Sickles threatened to make it a one-score contest, but senior linebacker Lauren Repp’s interception with 2:40 left in the contest iced the game.
“I saw that she was going to throw over the middle, so I thought I could make a play on it,” said Repp, who had a game-high nine flag pulls. “Just stepped in front and caught it.”
Dunbar completed 14 of 25 passes for 196 yards and two touchdowns. She also picked off three passes while playing safety.
Sophomore running back Tia Jackson (355 yards, four touchdowns) had 72 receiving yards, including a 52-yard touchdown. Thompson had five catches for 94 yards and a 30-yard score.
The District 16 tournament is at Alonso April 22 to 24, with the final April 24 at 7 p.m.
Freedom hosts East Bay April 15 and Chamberlain April 18 to close the regular season. Both contests start at 7 p.m.
—Follow Kyle LoJacono on Twitter: @Kyle_Laker
