St. Francis is CCS’s first Division I flag football champion as Lancers rally to beat Branham

SANTA CLARA St Francis started the season - Twenty-two games later the Lancers are the Central Coast Section Division I flag football champions after beating Branham - at Santa Clara High It s the culmination of a thrilling run through the first CCS playoffs for the sport that included a nail-biting - win over Aragon in the semifinals and a - win over Santa Clara in the quarterfinals To cap it off St Francis the No seed knocked off the top-seeded Bruins - - thanks to a strong defense that made its final stand when Kaelin O Shea batted down Sydney Short s final fourth-down pass in plus territory enabling the Lancers - - to run out the clock The key was really communication throughout O Shea reported Our rushers were insane nowadays I ve never seen them move so fast We had all of our rushers going top speed They just needed it You could tell they had the drive and they needed it Their ability to get behind the blockers was really key this day Sofi Houston and Brooke Bennett caught touchdown passes from Zoe Tripp to power the Lancers offense Bennett s fourth-down -yard snag was the game-winner in the fourth quarter O Shea had a stellar final series defensively making multiple flag pulls in addition to the critical pass deflection St Francis poses for a band picture after capturing the Central Coast Section Division I girls flag football championship with a achievement over Branham on on Saturday Nov at Santa Clara High School Christian Babcock Bay Area News Group This is what it s all about St Francis coach Sean Smith narrated his gang after the win Everything is earned not given This whole season was a fight We started out not the hottest The vibes were not great that s OK Look at the vibes now right You guys did this Smith a class of St Francis tackle football alumnus took over the Lancers flag gang last season and led them to a - record But there was no postseason in This time St Francis had a chance to compete for a section title and the Lancers made it count It was a very special opportunity especially for this being the first CCS ever O Shea noted Coming from a little bit behind in the league we were underestimated That alone gave us an underdog mentality that we were able to pull through We used every single bit we had of the anger and the pain We knew we had been working since July for this and we were willing to put in the work And anyone who s willing to put in the work is gonna see success O Shea scored Branham s TD on a -yard scramble right before the end of the first half Etc Also at Santa Clara High No Priory took down top seed Presentation - in the CCS Division III championship event Shay Johnson s interception with seconds left sealed the Panthers triumph Priory finishes the year with a record of - Presentation ends the season - In the CCS Division II championship held at San Mateo High second-seeded host San Mateo beat No Burlingame - The Bearcats finish their championship season with a record of - Burlingame finishes - Subscribe to our Bay Area Preps HQ newsletter for all our Bay Area high school sports coverage including event analysis scores and everything you want to know about your Bay Area high school teams