WOODLAND HILLS — El Camino Real girls flag football has earned a spot in the L.A. City Section Division II finals for the first time in program history. The Royals earned the spot despite not starting their season until September, several weeks after most teams in the area.
After a second-place finish in the West Valley League, the Royals have dominated in the postseason. They continued their playoff journey with a 41-18 victory over San Fernando on Wednesday in the Division II semifinals.
In each of their three postseason wins, the Royals have scored at least 40 points and held their opponents to 21 points or less. The Royals will face WISH Academy or Cleveland in the final Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at Crenshaw High School.
“San Fernando is good,” said Royals head coach Rick Hayashida. “They worried us a little bit. The score looks one-sided, but it really wasn’t a one-sided ball game. Hats off to them. This team hasn’t played a whole lot of games, so we are kind of hitting our stride now. I’m fortunate to be able to coach such a good group of girls. We got some great leadership on this team so I think we’ll be OK this Saturday.”
Both teams came out firing to start the game. The Royals and the Tigers scored on their first possessions and then the Tigers produced the first stop of the game.
Tigers quarterback Daniella Martinez ended her day with 153 total yards and two total touchdowns, but an interception hauled in by Amaya Perry on the Tigers’ second drive of the game helped the Royals grab the momentum.
From that point on, the Royals outscored the Tigers 35-12.
“We just couldn’t get it done on the defensive end today,” San Fernando head coach Ted Painchaud said. “Offense was clicking a little bit today but we really needed our defense to step up. Overall, we had a great season.
“Last season we went to the semifinals and lost in the Open Division to Birmingham. We only had one returning starter from last season. As far as losing that many seniors, we did a really good job and we’ll be returning a lot more next season. Hopefully, we can make some noise.”
A bright spot for the Tigers was Bernyce Villegas, who ended her day with 13 touches for 97 total yards and one touchdown.
El Camino Real used only two rushing plays all game. Both plays went for at least 30 yards, including a 37-yard rushing touchdown by Victoria Brown.
It took 34 pass attempts to score 41 points, but the offense was clicking on all cylinders for the Royals.
Abby Liebtecht ended her day with six catches for 35 yards, including three one-point conversions.
Bianca Espiritu finished with seven catches for 100 yards and two touchdowns. Perry, who recorded the first interception of the game, also had nine catches for 80 yards and three touchdowns.
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“All the work we put in this season has really paid off,” said Perry. “Everyone was locked in today and playing with their heads and bodies. I needed to understand that I can trust myself and it showed on the field today. Winning the championship would mean everything, especially considering it’s our first year playing flag football.
“We’ve never had anything like this at El Camino and to win in our first season would mean everything.”
Putting it all together on offense for El Camino Real was Talya Haim, who threw for 252 yards and five touchdowns.
“We played connected. It was probably one of our best games,” said Haim. “When we get to the point when we’re guarded, we know how to get open and have the trust that the ball will get there. When we play as a team, we are unstoppable. To win the championship our first year would be so much fun. We’ve just got to lock in and make it happen.”
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