The sport of girls flag football is in its third year. Each season has brought rule changes that has expanded the scope of the game.
But Castle Park High School senior Leilani Roche has navigated through all the rule changes to remain on top of the sport.
She’s the cover girl for female athletics at the south Chula Vista school and among the top talents in the sport among the Metro Conference’s 13 teams.
She’s seen the game grow each season, as well as her own prowess as a two-time team MVP, offensive league player of the year as a sophomore and league player of the year last season.
Well-rounded is the scouting report on her as she’s competed in seven sports in high school: lacrosse, flag football, soccer, tackle football (junior varsity), basketball, girls field hockey and volleyball.
She’s looking to ride lacrosse as the school’s all-time leading scorer, into a college scholarship.
“I like the aggressiveness,” Roche said succinctly.
She’s been almost unstoppable on offense and defense during the current flag football season.
She had three interceptions, including two for touchdowns, while passing for 165 yards and one TD and rushing for 115 yards and one score in a 39-12 league win at Sweetwater on Oct. 9.
CIF notepad
The San Diego Section will be going with five playoff divisions this year. Division I will include the top eight teams, followed by 12 teams for each following division. A total of 56 teams will qualify for the playoffs.
Bonita Vista (14-0) remains the section’s top-ranked team following decisive wins over Mater Dei Catholic (40-0 on Oct. 7) and Olympian (52-31 on Oct. 9). The Lady Barons have three games standing in the way of a potential 19-0 regular season finish, including an Oct. 23 rematch against No. 16 Mater Dei Catholic (11-2).
“In order for us to finish undefeated, we have to continue practicing extremely hard and take things game by game,” BV head coach Larry Schoen said. “We can’t look down the road and we need to stay committed to our goals, step by step. Step one is to win as many games as possible. Step two is to win the league title. Step 3 is to make it to the CIF championship. Step 4 is obvious.
“For us to keep the success on track, the hard work at practice turns up a couple notches. Usually as the season hits the tail end, teams put more focus on X’s and O’s. We also focus on the strategy side but keeping us in peak physical condition and speed is mandatory to execute the plays and game plans. We go hard on the speed and conditioning, circuit drills like it’s summer tryouts all over again, off-site practices with high intensity steep incline hill training, and we sprinkle those practices with full body weight room sessions.
“As a team. If we stay locked in and keep our eyes on the prize, chasing perfection becomes a reality.”
Junior Mia Ramirez passed for three touchdowns and rushed for two more in the high-profile encounter against the Lady Crusaders on Oct. 7. Senior Leiani Wilson had two catches for 57 yards and one touchdown whiel junior Sofia Garay had a 25-yard scoring catch.
Junior Layla Schoen lead the team with six tackles while sophomore Savanah Barttolome and junior Kayla Yaomoto each made interceptions.
San Diego Section Rankings
GIRLS FLAG FOOTBALL
(Through Oct. 11)
Top 25: 1. Bonita Vista 14-0, 2. Carlsbad 18-4, 3. Westview 13-2, 4. Torrey Pines 15-9, 5. Grossmont 15-3, 6. Mission Hills 14-4, 7. Classical Academy 14-8, 8. Cathedra Catholic 12-4, 9. Steele Canyon 14-4, 10. Imperial 18-3-2, 11. Poway 10-6, 12. Vincent Memorial 15-5, 13. Granite Hills 10-3, 14. Escondido Charter 12-2, 15. San Marcos 8-8, 16. Mater Dei Catholic 11-2, 17. Del Norte 11-4, 18. Clairemont 12-4, 19. Calexico 10-4, 20. O’Farrell Charter 13-2, 21. La Costa Canyon 6-5, 22. Helix 8-7, 23. Scripps Ranch 9-6, 243. Ramona 8-8, 25. San Ysdiro 10-4.
Others: 37. Castle Park 11-3, 39. Otay Ranch 5-8, 40. Hilltop 7-4, 53. Olympian 3-10, 55. Eastlake 4-10, 59. CVLCC 3-6, 60. Montgomery 3-4, 66. Southwest 5-8, 73. Chula Vista 1-8, 76. Sweetwater 3-10, 81. Mar Vista 0-11
Legend: 56 teams make playoffs.
Bonita Vista 40, Mater Dei Catholic 0
Photo Gallery by Jon Bigornia
