ROCKLIN, Calif. – Senior Elizabeth Barger posted two interceptions, a pass break-up and a key flag pull at the goal line to thwart at fourth-and-18 conversion attempt, but St. Francis could not capitalize offensively, ultimately falling by a 13-0 final to Rocklin in Sierra Foothill League flag football action Thursday night.
The Troubadour junior varsity was also shut out by a 14-0 score in the opener. The two flag football games were part of a tripleheader at RHS, with the Thunder frosh boys hosting Tracy prior to the girls' contests. St. Francis varsity drops to 1-5 for the year while the jayvees slip to 0-2.
Barger notched her first pick on Rocklin's first play of the game, giving SF a fresh drive on the Thunder 30-yard-line. Unfortunately, the hosts answered with an interception of their own on the subsequent Troubie series. Sophomore Annie Swanson had pulled in a pass inside the RHS red zone for a first and goal, but Thunder sophomore Skyler Linehan snared a third-down conversion attempt and scampered back to the SF 20.
Barger's second pick came with six minutes left in the first half. The Troubies went three-and-out on the next series. Then Reese Lieuwen came up with a third St. Francis takeaway against Rocklin sophomore quarterback Robyn Nguyen. Once again, the Troubies could not turn this break into points. Linehan posted her second INT, snaring a deflected pass deep in her own territory with seconds left in the half. Rocklin maintained that 6-0 lead at the break.
Barger came up big yet again early in the second half. Linehan turned a shovel pass into a first-and-goal at the SF 18-yard line on the second Rocklin series. The Troubie soccer and lacrosse star broke up Nguyen's first attempt at the end zone. Two more passes to wideout Livy Maeyama missed their mark, giving the Thunder the long fourth-down situation. This time, Nguyen found Angelina Abdelmessih on the right side. The St. Francis defense has sagged back in a prevent mode, and Barger stepped up to deflag Abdelmessih just shy of the goal line. This was Barger's team-leading fifth pull of the game.
Eva Karamanoukian and Lauren Herbelin each led St. Francis offensively with four receptions.
In the JV opener, freshman Madison Trafican grabbed nine passes while the quarterback platoon of Jocelyn Villaflor (13-for-23) and Haydyn Haecker (6-for-8) combined for 19 of 31 on passing attempts. Defensively, Luna Romo and Lena Schnack deflagged Rocklin six and five times, respectively. Still, Rocklin managed a touchdown in each half, the first of which was set up by an interception in SF territory.
Both varsity and JV teams return to Rocklin for the Girls of the Gridiron tournament on Saturday. The eight-team varsity bracket plays at 8 a.m., 9:15 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., then the JV teams compete beginning at noon. Full brackets plus ticket information are available at the RHS flag football website: https://rhs.rocklinusd.org/subsites/Flag-Football-Girls/Girls-of-The-Gridiron-Tournament/index.html.
