Notre Dame girls flag football pounces on Oaks Christian in season opener

SHERMAN OAKS — The 7 a.m. practices and getting to practice an hour early paid off as a blue-and-gold sombrero sat atop the head of Notre Dame quarterback Cadi Kuntz.

The senior smiled and regaled in her first game for an Oaks Christian girls flag football team that adjusted and competed after Kuntz orchestrated two consecutive scoring drives in the first quarter Thursday.

Kuntz capped the contest by ripping through two defenders and connecting with freshman Olivia Gomez in stride for a 57-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter as Notre Dame earned a season-opening win over Oaks Christian 22-0.

The sombrero was part of a tradition set by Notre Dame head coach Brandon Alexander. It is his way of awarding the Knights’ MVP of the game.

“Stay tuned,” Kuntz said. “We’re only going to get better. First game and we are only going up.”

The hours throwing to the receivers for Notre Dame (1-0) had Kuntz orchestrating the team’s offense at an elite level during key moments. It was exactly the start the Knights wanted after capturing the Mission League title last season.

Besides the arm of Kuntz, Notre Dame earned the win with smothering defensive coverage led by senior safety Claire Cowell and junior cornerback Camilla Gutierrez. The Knights combined to force four interceptions after a 19-yard touchdown run by sophomore Saige Austin.

“The key with my position being the free safety is that I’m always the deepest,” Cowell said. “I have eyes on everybody. I’m checking the offense and reading the quarterback to see where their arm is going. Communication is huge, and the biggest component to being a safety is making sure you never get beat, and that you are aggressive every time the ball is in the air.”

Gomez’s second burst of speed into the end zone was met with chest bumps and laughter from her teammates. They were aware of the after-practice route running the freshman had put in, and it paid off when she scored with 7 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.

“To get the opportunity to be on this field and make something out of it is a really nice way to get a chance to play,” Gomez said. “I was practicing that scenario, stayed after practice, and you got to get a feel for the game and got to keep pushing.”

Gutierrez had a pass breakup and came away with her team’s first interception in the first quarter to set the defensive tone for Notre Dame.

“It was just a matter of pushing and keeping the morale up,” Gutierrez said. “We were staying so hyped and loud. It was about reading the quarterback, staying with your receiver. And if you made a mistake, just clap them on the back and keep going. It’s just about pushing through.”

Marc Tyler, who is Oaks Christian’s coach and a former USC running back, has seen improvement from his team, which lost to Notre Dame 39-7 last season.

The Lions’ roster is comprised mostly of underclassmen, but it showed vast improvement since the last meeting between these two teams.

After falling behind 14-0 in the first quarter, Notre Dame was held at bay.

Freshman quarterback Mia Wright led a third-quarter drive that brought Oaks Christian within 9 yards of the end zone, but she couldn’t connect with passes on third and fourth down.

The passes were targeted well but just slightly out of the reach of the receivers.

Tyler believes those kinds of passes will turn into completions in the program’s second year.

“We’ll get there, and it’s just about experience,” Tyler said. “(Wright) is going to have some bumps, but her future is bright. The girls who just started playing flag are going to get better. We have way more talent that is new to the game, but we are going to come around.”

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