On Tuesday night, the Liberty Ranch Hawks made the long trip from Galt to play the Acalanes Dons. Liberty Ranch was coming off an outstanding 2025 campaign in which they finished with a record of 22 – 3 and reached the quarterfinals of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division 4 playoffs. The Hawks had a dangerous senior quarterback who would put the Acalanes defense to the test. With Liberty Ranch in white and green and the Dons in their home blues, the game kicked off with the National Anthem and helmets held high.
Liberty Ranch started with the ball and stellar linebacker, Stella Beuchotte, immediately went to work. Beuchotte had a great pass defensed and after three ineffective plays the Hawks were forced to punt. The Dons took over at their own 19 yard line and started the game with perhaps their best drive of the young season. SF Chronicle All-Metro quarterback Ines Coyne came out razor sharp, immediately hitting her new favorite target for 2026, Prime Time June Natal, for gains of 10 and 12 yards. To keep the Hawks defense on their toes, Coyne’s fellow All-Metro selection, Isabelle Agnost, chipped in a gain of 5 yards on the ground before Coyne used her legs and quickness on a 20 yard gain. The combination of running and passing had the Liberty Ranch defense on skates. On first and goal, Coyne hit Beuchotte over the middle to set the Dons up around the Hawk 10 yard line. On the next play, Coyne sprinted left, pitched to Agnost who turned on the jets, and behind an excellent screen by wideout Mira Clark, raced up the sideline into the endzone. The PAT was no good and the Dons were out to a 6 – 0 lead. The ball never touched the ground on the drive.
Beuchotte would continue to terrorize the Hawks offense on their next possession. Beuchotte had another pass defensed and a flag pull to force Liberty Ranch to punt. The ensuing Acalanes drive would stall and on the Hawks’ third drive, Beuchotte had another flag pull. It was as if she could be in 3 or 4 places at once. Good for the Dons, bad for the Hawks. On the Dons third possession, the offense would kick into high gear! On a late 3rd or even 4th down, Coyne hit super star Avery DeMent down the far sideline for a 45 yard gain. Unable to pull DeMent’s flag, the Hawks defenders resorted to gang tackling DeMent which added a bonus 10 yards to the play. A few short plays later, Coyne would find her other favorite target for 2026, Santana Tamayo, for the touchdown in the right corner of the endzone. The PAT was no good and the Dons led 12 – 0.
With the game in full swing, Beuchotte decided to take things to the next level. After taking a few more flags on the Hawks ensuing drive, Beuchotte decided to just take the ball instead. Beuchotte read the Hawks qb perfectly on an underneath crossing route and stepped in front of the pass for the interception. A nifty return set the Dons up in great position at the Liberty Ranch 19 yard line. Ultimately the offense could not capitalize on the play, turning the ball over on downs. The next defensive series for the Dons saw Natal knock down a pass and Beuchotte’s sticky fingers pull two more sets of flags. Natal would have an electric punt return of 35 yards, slicing up the Hawks defense, however, the halftime whistle blew with the Dons out front 12 – 0.
The second half started with a quick Acalanes three and out but with the sun fully set, it was officially Prime Time. The Hawks quarterback lofted an arcing pass towards the endzone on the far side. Like Lynn Swann in Super Bowl X, Prime Time Natal leaped in the air, over the Liberty Ranch receiver, and snagged the pass for the interception. Great play right? Prime Time was not finished. On the next offensive possession, in a sight that has become all too familiar, Coyne hit Natal deep down the near sideline. Natal snagged the pass, put the shake and bake on the last Hawks defender and raced 65 yards for the TD. What a sequence! The Dons now led 18 – 0.
Later in the second half, defensive back Leah Roth had an excellent pass defensed to stymie the Hawks offense. Then, on a critical 4th and 5, fab freshman Eloise Kemp streaked into the backfield and recorded her first varsity sack to kill the drive. Get used to it D.A.L. On their final few drives, Acalanes would turn to the speedy legs of running back Noelle Dobies to eat up clock. Dobies’ runs included a blistering 15 yard rush in front of the electric home stands. With the game in hand, the Hawks would score a late touchdown making the final score Dons 18 Hawks 6. Next up for the Dons is an away game versus Granada. Like the Dons, Granada came tantalizingly close to winning an NCS championship the year before. Granada lost to San Ramon Valley in the NCS Division 1 championship game. It should be an exciting match up. See you in the stands!
