Seth Gilefsky is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Seton Catholic Preparatory

 

 

The Seton Catholic Varsity Girls Flag Football team picked up its first win of the season on Tuesday, October 1, in dominating fashion, 54-0, against the Central Bobcats.

Both teams entered the clash winless. Seton Catholic was coming off a 24-0 loss to the Paradise Panthers and a 26-7 loss at the hands of the Leading Edge Academy Spartans the week prior.

Head Coach Billy Baker said he felt the team had been putting in a lot of effort and the result would soon shift in their favor. 

“All of the hard work that they've been putting in for the last two months is coming together. Every game we've been getting better,” Coach Baker said. “That's our motto: Get better every day at practice, and then every game.”

The hard work paid off early in the first quarter when Addie Sanders intercepted the Bobcats quarterback, which led to an Alysa Williams touchdown giving Seton Catholic an early 7-point lead. The defense continued to stifle the Bobcats offense as Giovanna Di Scala created another turnover when she picked off the quarterback.

Di Scala finished what she started, catching a touchdown from freshman quarterback Ava Pongratz, and extending the 14-point lead.

“We were much better communicating, because we all basically knew where we were supposed to go at the right time, fixing where we had to line up on the line of scrimmage to be able to execute the right route to get the ball into the end zone,” Di Scala said.

Not long after, Pongratz found Di Scala once again for a 40-yard touchdown pass to extend the lead to 21. Seton Catholic dominated in all three phases of the game, and special teams were no different.

Halfway through the second quarter, Williams caught the Bobcats punt at her own 30-yard line and returned it for a touchdown making the score 28-0 and in turn, putting Seton Catholic in control.

Seton Catholic found the end zone a final time before the half ended on Di Scala’s third touchdown of the day, this one on the ground from just a few yards out. It would enter halftime up 34 points on the opposing Central Bobcats.

The first-half shutout however was what really pleased Coach Baker. 

“The defense sets the tone,” Baker said. “We’ve been on the other end of the ball. We’ve thrown six picks in a game and put our defense behind the ball and a short field. You can only defend that for so long before you get tired and you’re going to break, so it was good to be on the other side and give our offense a short field to play with.” 

The dominance from Seton Catholic continued in the second half even with a quarterback change that saw freshman Sofia Barios enter the game and run for two touchdowns of 50 and 30 yards, respectively. An interception from Emelia Hall sealed the game for the Sentinels who walked away with a 54-0 win.

“It was a change of scenery and a different vibe from past games, feeling it definitely feels a lot better to win,” Williams said, who ended the day with a touchdown and interception.

This message was echoed by Coach Baker: “I'm proud and happy for them, I don’t care about the accolades, I coach for them, not for me.”