High school flag football top 5: North Coast Section playoffs heat up
· Yahoo Sports
In just the third season offering flag football playoffs, the North Coast Section evidently knows what it's doing.
At least when it comes to seeding.
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The top four seeds advanced to Wednesday's semifinals with quarterfinal victories Saturday in the top two divisions and in Division 3, only fifth seed Moreau Catholic-Hayward pulled a mild 31-25 upset over No. 4 Hercules. The other top three seeds also advanced in Division 3.
Considering each division started with 16 teams, that's impressive accuracy picking the best of the lot.
Unlike almost all other sports, flag football uses the traditional enrollment model (Division 1 with highest enrollment, Division 2 next highest, etc.) instead of competitive equity and computer rankings.
The old-school format has worked in the early stages of the nation's fastest growing high school sport, although there is one team - Cardinal Newman-Santa Rosa in Division 3 - that surely looks out of place.
The Cardinals, the defending Division 2 champions from a private school in the North Bay, had a first-round bye last week and then opened with a 52-0 quarterfinal win over ninth seed Vallejo. Newman is scheduled to host Moreau Catholic (12-11).
Last season, Newman went 24-0 and outscored opponents 951-95, including four NCS playoff opponents 209-25. Coach Tino Retamoza said he wanted to play in the Division 1 tournament, "but I understand we're just getting started in the sport. All will work itself out."
Most of their main players are back, including Metro Player of the Year quarterback Nicole Hayeems (6,000 passing yards, 77 touchdowns last season), her twin sister and receiver Naiomi (19 TD catches) and receiver-defensive back Molly Friedman.
Allowed to schedule out of league in 2026 (they weren't last season), the Cardinals (18-2) lost to top NCS Division 1 seed Amador Valley-Pleasanton (13-12) and defending Division 1 NCS champion San Ramon Valley-Danville (18-0).
They've outscored the other 18 foes 728-83. In Saturday's win over Vallejo, Nicole Hayeems was 16 of 26 for 237 yards and five touchdowns and Naoimi had six catches for 95 yards and two scores, two interceptions and a 45-yard punt return for a TD. Zella Grigg rushed for a 21-yard TD, Alina Kilstrom added two interceptions, one returned for a TD and Friedman hauled in a 46-yard TD.
In 20 games this season, Nicole Hayeems has completed 419 of 605 for 5,591 yards and 88 touchdowns, 24 to Naiomi, 22 to Friedman and 17 to Colbie Piehl.
Though it's unlikely Moreau Catholic will offer a big challenge, the other side of the bracket might. Another North Bay power Sonoma Valley (17-4) travels to Alhambra-Martinez (15-6).
Sonoma Valley features Player of the Year candidate Capri Delorefice, who had three more interceptions in a 26-13 quarterfinal win over Concord, giving her an NCS best 31 on the season. She's also rushed for 2,399 yards and 32 touchdowns, and added 76 receptions for 813 yards and nine more scores.
All NCS semifinal games are 7 p.m. Wednesday at host sites, except the D2 matchup between third seed Windsor (20-6) and second seed Carondelet-Concord (17-6), which will start at 7:30 p.m. at De La Salle-Concord.
The Division 1 and 2 title games are scheduled Saturday at Campolindo-Moraga. The Division 3 title game site and time have yet to be determined.
CCS opens playoffs:The Central Coast Section opens eight-team, one-week brackets in four divisions starting Monday. Los Gatos (Open), Los Altos (Division 1), Santa Clara (Division 2) and Castilleja-Palo Alto (Division 3) are the top seeds. All semifinal games are scheduled Wednesday and championship games are Saturday.
Top 5 teams
(records through Saturday)
1. Las Lomas-Walnut Creek (22-0, No. 1 last week):The top seed in Division 2 recorded another convincing win Saturday, 40-15 over Bishop O'Dowd-Oakland as Maggie Kruger completed 22 of 24 for 286 yards and five touchdowns, two to Violet Keeperman (4 catches, 50 yards) and one to Hannah Shank (9 catches, 146 yards). Shank and Keeperman each had interceptions and Kruger rushed for 58 yards and another score. Next:Monday hosts league rival Acalanes-Lafayette (15-4), a team it beat 18-6 at home on Sept. 14.
2. Amador Valley (23-2, No. 2 last week):The Dons were given a tough quarterfinal home tussle against College Park-Pleasant Hill, but prevailed 36-20 after opening NCS play with a 33-8 win over San Leandro. Amador Valley has won 15 straight since losing two games to Southern Section power Beckman-Irvine at the Cal Poly-SLO tournament. Next: Monday hosts Castro Valley (24-4), which has shutout two NCS opponents, Granada-Livermore (26-0) and 2024 NCS champion Alameda (37-0). Amador Valley beat visiting Castro Valley 19-18 in overtime on Oct. 16.
3. Menlo School-Atherton (13-3, No. 3 last week): Closed the regular season with tune-up wins over San Francisco's St. Ignatius (27-14) and Sacred Heart Cathedral (60-0). Despite being the defending champions and returning most of their key players, the Knights enter the CCS Open Division playoffs Monday as the No. 2 seed. Next: Hosts St. Ignatius (14-7), which also lost last week to Sacred Heart Prep-Atherton (19-18), the No. 4 seed in the Open Division.
4. Liberty-Brentwood (25-1, No. 4 last week): The Lions, the second seed in NCS Division 1, had two very competitive games, beating Foothill-Pleasanton (27-14) and Clayton Valley Charter-Concord (21-14). In the win over Foothill, junior quarterback Elenoa Malu threw for nearly 300 yards and three touchdowns and she rushed for a score, while receivers Alannah Lopez and Tessa Numazu combined for 18 catches, 221 yards and all three scores. Next:Wednesday host third-seed San Ramon Valley, which beat Redwood-Larkspur 33-7 in a Saturday quarterfinal game. The Lions won at San Ramon Valley 32-19 on Oct. 10.
5. Los Gatos (15-1, No. 5 last week):The top CCS Open Division seed closed the regular season with a 40-0 win over Division 2 top seed Santa Clara (15-6), as junior quarterback Helena Younan completed 33 of 43 for 320 yards and five touchdowns, three to Paige Purcell (9 catches, 96 yards) and two to Sophie Riese (10, 105). Next:Open CCS playoff action Monday hosting St. Francis (13-8), which it beat 31-13 at home on Sept. 2.
5 Players to Watch
(all numbers according to MaxPreps.com)
Stella Beuchotte (Acalanes): The 5-7 senior quarterback is a first-year starter for the Dons, but she's been fantastic, completing 170 of 270 for 1,831 yards and 22 touchdowns and just five interceptions while rushing for seven more scores. She's spread the wealth as three different Dons have nine TD receptions, including last year's quarterback Ines Coyne (73 catches, 795 yards), June Natal (51, 719) and Santana Tamayo (29, 339).
Kylie Dang (Castilleja-Palo Alto):The 5-1 junior is an absolute menace for quarterbacks as she ranks third in the CCS with 49 sacks for a section best 242 yards in losses. She also has added 171 quarterback hurries for the Division 3 top seeded Gators (14-3) who open the playoffs Monday against Soquel at King's Academy-Sunnyvale.
Janel Nevares (Carondelet-Concord):The 5-8 senior receiver and defensive back is among the NCS leaders in receiving yards (1,142) along with 21 touchdowns among her 92 catches. She's the top target of junior quarterback Ava Hansen, who has thrown for 3,005 yards and 48 touchdowns and rushed for 949 and seven more. Nevares, also a basketball standout, has 45 flag pulls, five interceptions and five pass deflections. The Cougars (17-6) host Windsor (20-6) in the other NCS Division 2 semifinal at De La Salle.
Allie Rummelhoff (Monta Vista-Cupertino): A 5-6 wide receiver and safety for the Matadors (15-11) who visit top CCS Division 1 seed Los Altos Monday, leads all CCS players in interceptions with 27 in 2026. She's also hauled in 78 passes for 1,110 yards and 25 touchdowns. For her three-year prep career, she has 160 receptions, 2,214 yards, 40 touchdowns to go with 217 flag pulls and 56 interceptions.
Gia Ryan (San Ramon Valley):A first-team All-Metro performer last season as a sophomore, Ryan has probably been even better in 2026, completing 424 of 714 for 4,470 yards and 60 touchdowns. She's also rushed for 386 yards and five more scores. A top softball recruit, the shortstop is an Oklahoma commit. She threw for 344 yards and three scores in the home loss to Liberty last month, but she threw three interceptions. The highly competitive junior is glad the Wolves have a shot to avenge that defeat.
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