Since flag football became a high school sport 4 years ago, Acalanes and College Park have been two of the top programs in the Diablo Athletic League. According to MaxPreps, Acalanes had the advantage in the rivalry with a record of 3-2 against the Falcons, including a nailbiting 13-6 win at College Park last year. This year, the Falcons came to Acalanes with an unblemished 3-0 record looking for revenge.
After three quarters the Falcons had staked out a 19 – 0 lead. Despite many great plays on both offense and defense by the Dons, things just seemed to go College Park’s way on a few key plays. Highlights for the Dons through the first three quarters included multiple sacks by Ines Coyne, who has been a terror for opposing offenses this year. Stella Beuchotte had several receptions on offense and numerous flag pulls on defense. Ashlyn McCoin applied consistent pressure to the College Park quarterback. Running back Isabelle Agnost gashed the Falcon defense for chunk yardage and Prime Time June Natal had a big reception for 30 plus yards. Natal added a nifty punt return of 20 yards and receiver Santana Tamayo had a huge reception of 30 plus yards. Despite all of these great plays for the Dons, the Falcons managed to keep the Dons off of the scoreboard.
In the 4th quarter, things would finally start to break the Dons way resulting in a furious comeback. Beuchotte was in at quarterback and had a fantastic 35 yard run to push the ball deep into falcon territory. Avery DeMent, a defensive standout, decided it was time to show off her offensive skills. Beuchotte fired a pass to DeMent for 15 yards before hitting DeMent again in the endzone for the touchdown. The point after was no good and the Dons now trailed 19 – 6.
The Falcons were rattled and had a bad snap on the first play of their next drive, pushing them back towards their own endzone. Coyne followed up with a great pull for a loss to pin the Falcons deep and force a punt. The punt was a low line drive. Agnost, who was back deep to receive, snagged the ball with a double overhead grab, and streaked through Falcon defenders, electrifying the crowd, as she made her way all the way back from near midfield to the Falcon’s own 7 yard line. On the next play, Beuchotte called her own number, and ran the ball in for the touchdown. Beuchotte fired a dot to DeMent for the point after to cut the score to 19 – 13.
The Dons defense would stymie the Falcons and give the offense one last chance to score with about a minute thirty to go. Alas, the Falcon’s defense would hold and the comeback fell just short. The final score was Falcons 19 Dons 13.
Next up for the Dons is an away game against the Knights of Las Lomas on Monday night. See you in the stands. Go Dons!