Chaminade wins 27-20 after forced flag change in CIF quarterfinal

Chaminade's flag football team lost its primary equipment during the second quarter of its CIF Southern Section Division 2 quarterfinal game on Tuesday. Officials ruled that the team's orange flags blended in too well with their blue shorts, which featured an orange stripe. The team switched to white flags and continued playing against Canyon of Anaheim in West Hills.

The color change did not stop the scoring. Junior Lauren Jesic threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to junior Kaitlyn Nelson just three plays after the switch. Jesic also completed a 31-yard touchdown pass to junior Maeve Enright. Enright made that catch while wearing a splint on her broken right index finger. Jesic added two rushing touchdowns in the third quarter to build a lead.

Canyon of Anaheim fought back late in the game. Freshman Reese Yoast threw three touchdown passes for Chaminade earlier in the contest. However, Yoast's pass to freshman Hollee Kea with 4:30 remaining narrowed the lead. Canyon's final drive ended when Nelson swatted away a pass toward the end zone. The final score was 27-20 for Chaminade.

Sophomore Lexi Dozier led the defense. She recorded four sacks, six pass deflections, and nine flag pulls. Dozier made two sacks on Canyon's second-to-last drive. "I just came in with a mindset we weren't going to lose," Dozier said.

Chaminade coach Cory Skinner noted the team's resilience. "I don't know what that was about," Skinner said of the flag switch. "Honestly, they're awesome. This is one of the best groups of girls I've coached. They care about each other deeply, and that's something you can't coach."

The team has faced inconsistent rule enforcement all season. Enright noted that officials sometimes allow sunglasses during games and sometimes do not. "There's been a lot of controversy all season, and it feels like all the rules are never set in stone in girls flag football," Enright said. "Different people have different opinions. Sometimes they let us wear sunglasses during the game, sometimes they don't. We just go on the fly."

Chaminade, now 19-6, will host San Clemente (12-9) on Saturday. The winner will play in the championship game at Huntington Beach High on Nov. 7. This is the first time in program history that Chaminade has advanced to the section semifinals.