St. Francis etched itself into the history books this past weekend after the girls’ flag football team captured the program’s first-ever undefeated season in league play.
The Sharks capped off the 2024 campaign with back-to-back wins against Carmel and Rancho San Juan on Oct. 19 to finish 18-0 in the Pacific Coast Athletic League Mission Division standings.
Not bad for a school with just a little more than 200 students enrolled.
“It means a lot to know that I’m graduating and that there’s gonna be a banner, and I can always look back to it,” said St. Francis senior Mia Guardino, who had one catch for 10 yards in a 48-19 win over Rancho San Juan. “People, when they think of our school, it’s small and they doubt what we can do. It’s nice to know I’m gonna be leaving and that I’m going to have happy memories.”
It’ll definitely be a memorable moment for St. Francis head coach Frank Galvan. It’s the first team he’s ever led to a perfect season finish in any type of league in basketball, football and flag football.
“This is a huge, huge accomplishment, especially based on numbers and how small the school is,” he said. “Being 18-0 in any sport that you play or go undefeated in league, it’s really hard to accomplish. The Mission Division has good competition.”
Sophomore receiver Maya Calfee had a big game after recording five receptions for 195 yards and five touchdowns, and one flag pull.
St. Francis freshman quarterback Liliana Whitmeyer threw for seven touchdowns and had one flag pull, while fellow teammate freshman Keira Grio had four flag pulls and a pair of sacks. Chanel Venter, a sophomore, had six flag pulls.
Calfee had another huge performance with 210 receiving yards and three touchdowns on just three receptions for the Sharks in their 32-12 victory over Carmel. She also had a pair of flag pulls and one interception.
Whitmeyer tossed five touchdowns, and fellow teammate freshman Evonna Jordan had two catches for 85 yards and one touchdown, while recording one interception and four flag pulls on defense. Sophomore Talia Moakler contributed seven flag pulls.
Guardino is one just two seniors on a team that is composed of mostly underclassmen. She was also a member of last year’s inaugural team that finished with an 18-2 overall record.
However, there was a point last season when Guardino was on the verge of walking away from the Sharks. Galvan convinced her to stay, telling Guardino she might regret quitting.
“She’s one of the most positive players on the team. She tries the hardest regardless of the level of talent she has,” Galvan said. “To me it’s all about heart and effort.”
The thought of going undefeated in league play was a goal set by the Sharks. Guardino said reaching it became realistic after sweeping through Mission Division opponents in the first round of games.
“I think this year we did better and as we started playing more we realized we could do this,” she said. “We kept being determined, changing up our plays because we were being watched on film.”
The Sharks (22-3, 18-0) were awarded the No. 4 seed in the PCAL Tournament Champion Bracket, or Top-8, for this year’s end-of-the-season league tournament starting Oct. 28.
St. Francis plays No. 5 Alisal at Rancho San Juan High on Oct. 30 at 6:10pm.
“The truth is, we’re still young. There’s a lot of room for improvement,” Galvan said. “The competition is better, I’m not gonna lie…I think that any given day, anybody can beat you, or you can beat anybody.”
Gabilan Division
Watsonville is beginning to heat up just at the right time. They went 6-1 during the final stretch of the regular season, including a pair of big-time wins over juggernauts Salinas (15-3, 11-3) and Hollister (16-4, 13-1).
The ‘Catz handed the Hayablers their first defeat in PCAL Gabilan Division play following Monday’s 26-20 win on Senior Night in Watsonville.
“Hats off to Hollister, they set the tone for the league,” Watsonville head coach Zach Cook said. “I told the girls all season long we’re really good, especially when we lock in. We can hang with the likes of Hollister and some of these other teams, the Los Gatos.”
The Balers came out sharp with a six-play drive to score first. But the ‘Catz answered with 20 unanswered points.
Leading at half, the ‘Catz grounded out the rushing game with punishing runs. Yet, the Balers found the end zone with some short passes that cut the deficit at 20-12.
Watsonville freshman Isa Alvarez recorded the game-sealing pick six with an interception to the house. She also had one rushing touchdown.
Hollister scored once more but it wasn’t enough to overcome the 20-point swing.
Watsonville quarterback Fernanda Lazo, who tossed a pair of TDs, kneeled to kill the final seconds of the game and the stadium lights, which were on a timer that coincided with the scoreboard clock hitting all zeros.
Brianna Leon had one TD reception and 10 flag pulls for Watsonville, while fellow teammate Stephanie Martinez also hauled in a touchdown catch. Emily Solorio recorded one interception.
Just a few days later, Alvarez had more than 85 rushing yards and one TD reception in Wednesday’s 14-0 victory over Salinas. She also recorded a pair of interceptions, including another pick six and led the defense with eight flag pulls.
Lazo tossed one touchdown, and Leon had five flag pulls for Watsonville (9-13, 8-6), which plays Rancho San Juan at North Monterey County High on Oct. 28 in a play-in game to qualify for the PCAL Tournament Champion Bracket. Kickoff is slated for 6:40pm .
“They’re very optimistic, but they do know that they’re trusting in the fact that they have to lock in. They know it’s a one-and-done type deal,” Cook said. “They’re trusting the fact that we’ll prepare them really well and see how we do. Win or lose, they are very happy with the effort that they put in this season.”
PCAL Flag Football Tournament
The brackets are set for this year’s end-of-the-season tournament starting with a set of play-in games on Oct. 28.
The PCAL Tournament Champion Bracket, the Top-8, will feature the top teams within the league, while the Bottom-8 bracket will give league officials more information when selecting divisions for the 2025 season with the likely addition of four to five new teams to the PCAL.
Play-in games
Monday (Oct. 28)
At North Monterey High
• Monterey vs. North Monterey County, 5:30pm
• Watsonville vs. Rancho San Juan, 6:40pm
Top-8
Wednesday (Oct. 30)
At Rancho San Juan High
• No. 1 Hollister vs. Watsonville/RSJ, 5pm
• No. 4 St. Francis vs. No. 5 Alisal, 6:10pm
At Salinas High
• No. 2 Salinas vs. Monterey/NMC, 5pm
• No. 3 King City vs. No. 6 Palma, 6:10pm
Bottom-8
Wednesday (Oct. 30)
Site yet TBD
• No. 1 Monterey/NMC vs. No. 8 Marina, 5pm
• No. 4 Pacific Collegiate vs. No. 5 Soledad, 6:10pm
At Alvarez High
• No. 2 Watsonville/RSJ vs. Alvarez, 5pm
• No. 3 Carmel vs. No. 6 Pajaro Valley, 6:10pm
