When the brackets were released for the inaugural Southern Section flag football playoffs, Orange Lutheran coach Kristen Sherman admitted she would have preferred her team be in the underdog role.
Instead, the Lancers were seeded No. 1 in the 16-team Open Division and thus far they have handled the pressure just fine. Riding the accurate arm of sophomore quarterback Makena Cook, Orange Lutheran took care of Anaheim Canyon 19-6 in the rain Saturday evening to reach the championship game next Saturday at El Modena High’s Fred Kelly Stadium.
Cook tossed five touchdown passes against Roosevelt in the Lancers’ playoff opener, threw six in Tuesday’s quarterfinal victory over Corona del Mar and added three more Saturday to offset two interceptions.
“I didn’t pay too much attention to it,” Cook said, referring to the seedings. “I just focus on each game but we proved we’re No. 1 for a reason.”
Orange Lutheran (22-2) will face second-seeded Newport Harbor (25-2) for the title after the Sailors downed Sunset League rival Huntington Beach 12-7 in the other semifinal for their 24th straight win. Cook threw for four touchdowns in a 28-12 triumph over Newport Harbor at the Chargers Invitational in late August and it was that head-to-head win that ultimately earned Orange Lutheran the No. 1 seed.
“We were both different teams then,” said Sherman, whose husband Rod is the head coach of the Lancers’ football team (currently ranked No. 4 in the Southland by The Times). “I don’t put a lot of stock in that game.”
Lancers receiver Julia Oberholtzer sprints through the secondary after catching a pass against Anaheim Canyon in the first half Saturday.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
Freeway League champion Canyon (18-3) was confident it could pull off another upset after knocking out two other Trinity League teams in No. 4 JSerra (which split its two meetings with Orange Lutheran to earn a share of first place) and Santa Margarita in the first two playoff rounds. The Comanches also sought to avenge a 35-12 nonleague defeat Aug. 30.
Cook threw touchdown passes of two and seven yards to Josie Anderson to give Orange Lutheran a 12-0 lead but Canyon pulled to within 12-6 on a two-yard pass from Ella Feldhaus to Caroline Hicks on the last play of the first half.
Five completions and a short run by Cook set up her six-yard scoring strike to Brooklyn Vanderkallen and Capri Cuneo caught the one-point conversion from the five-yard line to make it 19-6 with 14:30 left.
Orange Lutheran picked off three passes on defense, Cuneo making the last on a tumbling interception in the end zone for a touchback with 4:10 left. The home team proceeded to pick up two first downs to run out the clock.
As time expired, Cook turned to her teammates and yelled, “One more! One more!”
“It’s going to be a great game,” Cook said of the matchup with Newport Harbor, winner of the Sunset League. “We have film on them and we’ll be studying it. Only one team can say it’s the very first [CIF champion]. That would be super special to make history.”
Top-seeded Long Beach Poly, which scored 18 unanswered points in the second half to stun Esperanza in the quarterfinals, will face Northwood while Edison hosts Trabuco Hills in the Division 2 semifinals Monday. The Division 3 final will pit San Clemente against Troy, the Division 4 final features Santa Monica and Fullerton while Antelope Valley will battle Northview for the Division 5 title.
