ROCKLIN, Calif. – Junior Reese Lieuwen and sophomore Cassandra Salvucci each earned all-tournament honors after leading St. Francis varsity and junior varsity, respectively, to third-place finishes at the Girls of the Gridiron flag football tournament at Rocklin High Saturday.
The Troubadour varsity improves to 3-6 for the season. The jayvees score their first wins of the year, moving to 2-3 overall.
Each St. Francis team won its first-round game to remain in the championship bracket, lost in the semifinal, then turned around with a win in the third-place game.
The Troubie varsity blanked Inderkum to open the tourney, with Lieuwen highlighting the defense with two interceptions while Emma Karamanoukian and Annie Swanson scored touchdowns. Lieuwen then had the only SF points, thanks to a her "pick six" interception return in a 31-6 loss to the host Thunder.
The Troubies then rallied back from a 13-0 hole against Granite Bay, scoring 20 unanswered en route to a 20-13 win. Caitlin Hafenstein hauled in a touchdown pass and a two-point conversion to close out the first half, bringing SF to within a 13-8 deficit. Then Tayli Paeu-Lindgren scored on Karamanoukian end zone strikes at 16:45 and 1:27 in the second, while the Troubie defense kept the Grizzlies off the board. Abbey Pavelchik, still on loan from the SF junior varsity team, nabbed a leaping INT on a long ball intended for Jadyn Perez-Guerrero to highlight the shutout second half.
In addition to the all-tourney T-shirt, Lieuwen and Salvucci each were recipients of a program award, which head coach Melissa Triebwasser unveiled on Saturday. Their respective pick sixes earned the team's Big Play medal, which will be awarded at the coach's discretion for key plays in Troubie wins.
Salvucci earned her awards for her pick six against Rocklin, which kicked off the scoring in a 19-0 win in the third-place game. The Troubie jayvees began the afternoon with an 18-0 shutout of Davis, then fell to Granite Bay by a 25-6 final in the subsequent round.
Freshman Ava Votaw collected two touchdown passes in the opener against the Blue Devils, while quarterback Haydyn Haecker found center Emma Robinson for a short-yardage score early in the second half.
However, the SF-Davis game largely belonged the secondary, which had four interceptions: two by Abi Hall, another by Sofia Rainbolt and still another by Olivia Alvernaz. In fact, either Rainbolt or Alvernaz could have accounted for a fifth pick: a deflected ball fell through each of their hands midway through the second. Alvernaz got her redemption in the next DSHS series, which set up the second Votaw touchdown.
Both Troubie flag football teams return to Sierra Foothill League road action next week, with doubleheaders at Whitney (Tuesday) and Davis (Thursday). The SF jayvees also confirmed the schedule addition of their first and only home game of the year: a game against West Park on October 11.
December 4, 2023
Hafenstein, Barger lead Troubies' All-SFL panel
November 29, 2023
Troubie duo earns Sac Bee All-Metro honors
October 24, 2023
Seniors star in section swan song at St. Mary's
October 20, 2023
SF draws Rams to launch inaugural SJS playoffs
October 18, 2023
Troubies honor seniors with shutout of Davis
October 17, 2023
Troubies roll past Bulldogs in home flag football
October 10, 2023
Troubies rally late in road loss to Grizzlies
October 5, 2023
SF defense steps up against unbeaten Golden Eagles
October 3, 2023
Big plays still fall short against Rocklin
September 28, 2023
Jayvees dominate, but turnovers doom varsity in road matchup at Davis
September 26, 2023
SF scores season high in win at Whitney
September 23, 2023
St. Francis varsity, JV each place third at Rocklin tourney
September 21, 2023
Barger highlights Troubies in loss at Rocklin
September 19, 2023
Swanson scores twice in loss to DO
September 14, 2023
Trafican, Haecker highlight JV flag football debut
September 14, 2023
Bashore scores first career TD in road loss at Folsom
September 12, 2023
Troubies fall to Whitney in home return
September 7, 2023
SF falls in first-ever Holy Bowl flag football rivalry game
September 5, 2023
Troubies prevail in inaugural flag football game
July 19, 2023
Troubie Spotlight: A New Era
July 18, 2023
Triebwasser named inaugural SF flag football coach
June 5, 2023
St. Francis adds flag football as new varsity sport