Throughout a thrilling run to the CIF-SS Division 1 quarterfinals, the San Marcos High flag football team elevated its level of play to meet every challenge. But the Royals welcomed a buzzsaw to Warkentin Stadium in defending CIF champion Orange Lutheran on Monday night.
The visiting Lancers exploded offensively behind six touchdown passes from junior quarterback Makena Cook, eliminating San Marcos with a 42-18 victory.
“We knew it was going to be an uphill battle,” said San Marcos coach Walter Bazylewicz. “We wanted to jump on them quickly, and when that didn’t happen, it was just kind of ‘hang on and hope to try and stay in it somehow, some way.’”
The Royals dominated defensively this season on their way to a 22-3 regular-season record. They allowed opponents to reach double digits in only five of their 26 games heading into the quarterfinals, including a season-high 25 points surrendered in a win over Ventura.
Combating Orange Lutheran’s passing attack, however, was a different experience entirely.
“They are a really powerful offense, and the biggest difference is just the timing — with the ball coming out so quickly and with great velocity,” Bazylewicz said. “That’s something that our girls hadn’t seen all year and something you have a hard time replicating in practice.”
Cook is widely considered one of the top flag football quarterbacks in the nation. She helped the U.S. 15U National Team to back-to-back gold medals at the Jr. International Cup in 2023 and 2024.
San Marcos received the ball to open the game, but the drive fizzled after four plays. Orange Lutheran took over, and four plays later, Cook connected with Ava Harrison on a five-yard touchdown pass to put the Lancers ahead 7-0.
The Lancers added to their lead with a 15-yard touchdown pass from Cook to Harrison, making it 14-0 with 2:46 remaining in the first quarter.
The Royals gained some traction on their third drive of the game but failed to convert a fourth-and-nine from the Orange Lutheran 29-yard line. Seven plays later, Orange Lutheran increased its lead to 21-0 on a 13-yard pass from Cook to freshman Happy Dubois.
San Marcos was intercepted on its ensuing drive, and Orange Lutheran took advantage with a 26-yard touchdown pass, extending its lead to 28-0 with 4:39 remaining in the first half.
“Makena had a really solid game. She was making some really good reads and just finding her open receivers,” said Orange Lutheran coach Kristen Sherman. “I think sometimes the knock that people have on her is that she only wants to throw the ball vertically, but we’ve been trying to show she can throw the ball anywhere on the field and sustain drives.”
Despite the large deficit, the Royals finished the first half strong. Victoria Aldana connected with Rio Chesluk on a four-yard touchdown pass with 1:03 remaining to cut the deficit to 28-6.
That momentum carried over to the second half, as the Royals were only outscored 14-12 after the break. Aldana tossed touchdown passes to Peyton Sperling and Drea Obispo to cap off her spectacular sophomore season.
“It means that we are heading in the right direction. We are really proud of the milestones that we hit this year,” Bazylewicz said. “We are not surprised; we felt like we had a good team, and we proved that on most nights.”
Dos Pueblos, 12; Edison, 6
After falling behind 6-0, Dos Pueblos tied the score on a 50-yard touchdown pass from Kacey Hurley to Ruby Streatfeild.
The Chargers struck again in the fourth quarter with a touchdown pass from Hurley to Taylor Grant to take a 12-6 lead. Edison’s final drive was stopped by another interception from Brooklyn Hedricks to secure the win.
Dos Pueblos will now host top-seeded and unbeaten JSerra in the CIF-SS Division 1 semifinals on Saturday at 5 p.m.
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