JSerra girls flag football handles Sierra Canyon in CIF-SS playoff opener

Support our high school sports coverage by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribe now

Read more Visitor killed by piece of roof blown off Frank Lloyd Wright’s winter home in Arizona

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO — JSerra’s girls flag football players ran to their defensive positions screaming playfully Wednesday night as rain pounded the field at the start of the second half.

One player even completed a cartwheel.

“We were dancing around,” pass rusher Kai Beary said of the CIF-SS Open Division playoff game. “Some people can say about this game, ‘Oh, it was cold. It was miserable. It wasn’t any fun.’ But we would never have that mindset in a game. We just always have fun.”

Yes, JSerra embraced the challenging weather and a final showdown against four-year rival quarterback Makena Cook in a Group A opener.

Kate Meier threw four of her six touchdowns in the half half to open a 28-point lead and the top-seeded Lions raced to a 41-20 victory against Sierra Canyon at JSerra High.

Tessa Russell caught two of the touchdowns and Stella Day added her team-leading 11th interception to help power the Lions.

Sterling Flores, Abby VanderWeerd, Dylan Sakayan and freshman Kate Edgar each grabbed one touchdown.

JSerra (25-0), ranked No. 1 in Orange County and the nation by MaxPreps, led 28-0 at halftime and 41-0 after three quarters in extending its winning streak to 53 games.

The streak includes five wins against teams led by strong-armed Cook, who transferred to Sierra Canyon (20-6) from Orange Lutheran after last season.

JSerra beat Orange Lutheran three times last fall en route to dethroning the Lancers as the Division 1 champion.

But as a freshman and sophomore, Cook helped Orange Lutheran post a 3-1 record against JSerra.

Read more Two 15-year-old girls arrested for alleged school shooting plot at Corona High

The Lions credit the rivalry against Cook as one of their several motivating factors.

“It’s fun to play Makena Cook because it’s fun to play the best,” JSerra coach Brian Ong said of The Register’s 2024 Orange County player of the year. “Makena has done a lot for the game. Four years ago, she was a freshman at Orange Lutheran. I think she elevated the game with her level of play. Sky is the limit for her.”

Day, a senior cornerback, had an interception in the first half that led to a touchdown.

She said facing Cook — the first girls flag football player to receive a scholarship offer from a Power Four school (Nebraska) — was a challenge for four years.

“She’s definitely one of the toughest quarterbacks that we face,” Day said of Cook, who threw three touchdowns in the second half. “Every time I get to go up against her, it’s fun to have a challenge like that and go into the game being a little nervous. But I just love the challenge being able to know that if I get play off of her, it’s really awesome.”

JSerra also faced former teammate Ava Irwin — the Orange County player of the year in 2025 — and former Orange Lutheran All-County wide receiver Happy Dubois.

In the third quarter, Meier threw an 8-yard touchdown to Edgar that split Cook and Irwin.

“They’re just a good team with good players,” Sierra Canyon coach Michaeltore Smith said of JSerra, which beat the Trailblazers 33-12 on Oct. 1. “(They) got a lot of players with a lot of experience.”

“We’re building,” the coach added of his first-year program.

On Saturday, Sierra Canyon plays at Edison (21-6) in another Group A game. JSerra plays host to Edison on Wednesday, Oct. 28 to close the group. The group winner advances to the semifinals Oct 31.

Read more WNBA Finals: Angel Reese, Dream rout Valkyries for 2-1 series lead