Fullerton girls flag football team outlasts North in Division 4 semifinal – Press Enterprise

FULLERTON — The disappointment on Marley Keller’s face was pretty clear when she dropped a couple of passes during the first half Saturday night.

But Keller’s emotions were on the different end of the spectrum when Saturday’s CIF Southern Section Division 4 semifinal game came to a conclusion.

Keller possessed the surest hands on the field after halftime, as the junior wide receiver and defensive back caught a touchdown pass in the second half and then intercepted two passes in overtime to help the Indians outlast North 32-26 in a double-overtime thriller.

Fullerton (18-6) plays Santa Monica (13-6) for the Division 4 section championship at 11:15 a.m. Saturday at El Modena High School.

“It’s unbelievable. We didn’t even have our first practice until July 8th,” Fullerton coach Frank Ramirez said of the first-year program. “We started slow. We got off to a 2-4 start. These girls just believed in the system and put the team first. It’s amazing to see them come this far so fast.”

Keller was one of a handful of heroes for the Indians in Saturday night’s game. She caught a 42-yard touchdown pass from Ava Flores to cut Fullerton’s deficit to 20-18 with 11 minutes remaining in regulation. But Keller was at her very best on defense at the end, as she intercepted passes to end both of North’s overtime possessions. The second ended matters and sent the Indians to the finals.

Ramirez had Keller play man-to-man on North’s 6-foot-tall wide receiver Amillion Hamilton. Keller did not allow a completed pass.

“Marley was the DPOY (Defensive Player of the Year) for our entire league for a reason,” Ramirez said. “I saw No. 21 (Hamilton) in warm-ups and told Marley she was going to follow her around everywhere on the field. She is an exceptional player with great character.”

The teams traded scores throughout regulation. North (11-9) grabbed a 6-0 lead when Naomi Shannon connected with Angelina Martinez for an 18-yard touchdown with 14:20 left in the first half. Fullerton responded with a 2-yard touchdown pass from Flores to Mahlia Jordan with 9:50 remaining in the half.

North put together a 10-play drive and regained the lead at 13-6 lead when Sophia Gonzales caught a 2-yard pass from Shannon with 2:25 left to the half. Fullerton needed only 83 seconds to come up with an answer, as the Indians trimmed the deficit to 13-12 after Flores tossed a 7-yard touchdown pass to Alynna Ortiz with just over a minute left on the clock.

North scored on the opening drive of the second half to extend its lead to 20-12. Malaiah Mayo completed three passes for 59 yards, and Shannon capped things off with a 4-yard touchdown pass to Martinez. Hamilton intercepted a pass on the next play from scrimmage, but the Huskies could not convert the turnover into points as two penalties and a sack forced them to give the ball back to Fullerton.

Ramirez kept the offense on the field on forth-and-2 with 11 1/2 minutes remaining in regulation. That proved a smart decision, as Keller caught a pass from Flores and avoided a flag pull and a mighty tug on her shorts before racing away for a 42-yard touchdown. The Indians looked for the tying 2-point conversion, but Hamilton broke up a pass in the end zone to preserve North’s 20-18 lead.

Fullerton took its first lead of the game when Flores connected with Brianna Gaytan for a 63-yard touchdown with 2:14 remaining in the second half. The Indians added the 2-point conversion to extend the lead to 26-20.

Then it was North finding an answer. Mayo ran for gains of 14 and 11 yards and caught a 3-yard touchdown pass from Shannon to tie the score at 26 with 13 seconds left. The Huskies had the opportunity to take the lead, but a pass by Shannon on the ensuing 1-point conversion attempt fell incomplete.

North started the first overtime period on offense. Mayo completed a 15-yard pass to Martinez, but Keller picked off a pass in the end zone on the next play. Fullerton had the chance to win but turned the ball over on downs to force another overtime period.

This time, Fullerton began on offense. A roughing-the-passer penalty on North moved the ball from the 20 to 10, and two plays later Flores tossed a 5-yard touchdown pass to Jordan to put the Indians in top. Fullerton failed on the ensuing 2-point conversion try.

North faced fourth-and-goal at the 14, and Keller once again was in the right spot at the right time to pick off another pass in the end zone.

“I think I got inside my head a lot in the first half,” Keller said about the early dropped passes. “Something switched in me in the second half, and I just knew I had to step up in some way to help my team. I knew the best way to do that probably was on defense.”