The Acalanes JV flag football team completed a strong 4-1 preseason by hosting Liberty Ranch (Lodi) and traveling to Granada (Livermore). On Tuesday night in front of the home crowd, the Dons again relied on a stout defensive effort to shutout the visitors. Cornerback Ximena Espinosa Angel made the play of the game… on the very series! Ximena stepped in front of the Hawks receiver to pick off a pass and return it inside the 10 yard line to set the Dons up on a very short field and they punched it in for a 7-0 lead. The defensive pressure continued on the visiting Hawks and forced numerous punts. The Dons added another score in the second quarter by driving 44 yards in 7 plays, capped off by Daphne Hwang taking an option pitch into the endzone from a yard out. Bristow McSorley grabbed a pass down the middle from her center position to add the extra point and put the Dons up 14-0.
The Liberty Ranch offense couldn’t escape from Dons linebacker Dehliya Guiro, who made an astonishing 6 flag pulls and a pass breakup in the first half alone when the Hawks only ran 17 plays. Ivana Adoplhson made four tackles in the 2nd half while Amber Qin added 3 flag pulls from her rusher position and Hwang pulled another four from her linebacker position. Leah Andres and Grace Natal added two more tackles apiece as the Dons swarming defense stymied the Liberty Ranch offense. Aliyah Henik chipped in with two nice pass breakups down the middle from her free safety position to ice the game for the girls in blue at 14-0.
On Thursday, the Dons took their show on the road to Livermore to face the Granada Matadors. The Matadors feature a unique offense with lots of motion and downfield passing. The Dons defense held firm despite a long opening drive by Granada. The girls from Lafayette worked the ball down the field quickly in the 2nd quarter on a 52-yard drive. Clara Sargent grabbed a short pass from Adolphson across the middle and raced down the right sideline with some nifty zig-zag running to elude the whole defense and reach the endzone on a 38-yard touchdown. Sargent had quite an all-around game as she also nabbed an interception, broke up a pass, and had three flag pulls.
Guiro continued her oustanding play on defense by pulling SEVEN flags in the first half alone this time! Hwang caught three passes and Leah Andres snagged two including a beautiful 20-yard “wheel” route down the right sideline. When the Dons were stopped on offense, Guiliana Bishop helped the Dons by lofting a couple beautiful punts into the home team territory, giving them a long field against the Dons stellar defense and the Matadors were never able to score. The Acalanes offense finished the scoring with a short drive after a miscue by the Matadors punter when Natal passed to Sylvie Prado, who caught the crossing route and cut between two blockers to reach the endzone and put the Dons up 13-0 where the game ended.
The Acalanes JVers showed their usual determination and strong team spirit as they posted their third shutout in a row and 4th in five games! The Dons open league play at home next Wednesday against the College Park Falcons.