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CIF-SS GIRLS FLAG FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS
All games Saturday, Nov. 7 at Huntington Beach High
Tickets available: gofan.co
OPEN DIVISION
Newport Harbor (23-4) vs. JSerra (27-0), 8:30 p.m.
Streaming: NFHS Network (live)
Outlook: Top-seeded JSerra and No. 2 Newport Harbor clash for the third time. The Lions beat the Sailors 23-6 in the finals in the Chargers Invitational and 21-6 in the championship of the MaxPreps Flag Football Showdown.
JSerra, ranked No. 1 in Orange County and in the nation by MaxPreps, is riding a 55-game winning streak. The Lions finished 28-0 last season in winning the CIF-SS Division 1 title. The Trinity League champion is led by the sophomore duo of quarterback Kate Meier and wide receiver/defensive back Tessa Russell. Meier has passed for 7,128 yards and 95 touchdowns and rushed for 771 yards and 23 touchdowns. Russell has 178 receptions for 2,299 yards and 33 touchdowns. She also has 10 interceptions and 87 flag pulls.
Newport Harbor, ranked No. 3 in the nation by MaxPreps, is led by the junior tandem of Scarlett Guyser and Skylie Cid. Guyser, the daughter of coach Jason Guyser, has passed for 2,752 yards and 46 touchdowns and rushed 864 yards and 10 touchdowns. She also has 15 interceptions at safety. Cid leads the Sunset League co-champion with 94 catches for 736 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Both teams feature strong defenses that pressure quarterbacks. Freshman Jordan Sanders (27 sacks) and senior Aliyah Chappell (21 sacks) have combined for almost 50 sacks for Newport Harbor, the Division 1 runner-up in 2024.
GG Szczuka leads JSerra with 15 sacks in 19 games. The reigning Orange County outstanding female competitor recently returned from playing for Argentina in the FIFA under-17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco. She is committed to SMU for soccer.
DIVISION 2
San Clemente (13-9) vs. Gahr (19-6), 8:30 a.m.
Streaming: NFHS Network
Outlook: San Clemente climbed from No. 23 in the final Division 2 rankings to reach its second section final. In 2024, the Tritons fell to Troy 33-32 in Division 3.
San Clemente, the Sea View League runner-up to Tesoro, is led by quarterback Chloe Williams. The sophomore completed 37 of 48 passes for 238 yards and four touchdowns in a 45-14 win against Chaminade in the semifinals.
For the season, Williams has passed for 6,130 yards and 58 touchdowns.
Williams’ top targets include Catalina Sarasua, Capyrce Mathis, Mary Camblin and Giselle Nacelli. The latter caught three touchdowns and had an interception in the semifinals. She is committed to Clemson for soccer.
Gahr finished 11th in the final Division 2 rankings. The first-time finalists placed fourth the Gateway League, which included Open Division qualifier Downey and Division 1 qualifiers Warren and La Serna.
San Clemente’s defense will face a dynamic offense. Gahr quarterback Maliah Gomez has passed for 7,856 yards and 67 touchdowns. Devynn Gourdine has rushed for 1,627 yards and 10 TDs, and has 110 receptions for 1,564 yards. Camarra Brown-Stanton leads the team with 147 receptions for 2,035 yards and 21 TDs.
The Tritons’ defense has been strong in the playoffs. Four opponents have tallied a combined 38 points or 9.5 points points per game. Kendyl Burke leads San Clemente with 18 sacks.