West Park scores big wins over McClatchy, Antelope

What a week it was for West Park's varsity girls flag football team. On Tuesday, the Panthers upset previously unbeaten McClatchy 13-12, which was not only leading the Metro League with a 6-0 record, but was 23-0 on the season and had handed West Park its only four losses on the season. Then on Thursday, the Panthers defeated Antelope 26-25 in what has to have been one of the most entertaining games of the season. With West Park trailing 19-13, the Panthers drove down the field and scored the game-tying touchdown on a pass from Emily Cory to Ciara Miller. Cory then connected with Annalyse Braden for the conversion to put West Park up, 20-19, with about 2:40 to play in the game. On Antelope's next play from scrimmage, West Park's Laila Karzai intercepted a pass and returned it to the 13-yard line, and three plays later, Cory hooked up with Kayleigh Oseto for a six-yard touchdown pass, making the score 26-19 with 1:20 to play. Antelope's offense, led by quarterback Izzi Siegler, then drove down the field and scored with a second left on the clock and the ensuing extra point would send the game into overtime, but Siegler was sacked by Althea Mamcang, giving the Panthers an exciting 26-25 win. West Park's first two touchdowns in the first half came on a 22-yard pass from Cory to Miller and then a two-yard pass from Cory to Arzo Shinwari. Cory also threw an extra-point pass to Callie Gemmell. "Antelope definitely came out with more speed and better hands than they had when we played them previously," West Park coach Liz Danielson said. "We stuck to our short game, which is exactly what we needed to do. "We're a young team, but we're getting smarter. You see that whenever we're in short contention that we're able to place the ball, we're able to run the ball out of bounds, we're able to stay inside, find those gaps, find those routes and stick to those routes. These things are all general football knowledge, but these kids have only been around it for a year and a half. It's been a huge win for females and football." West Park is now co-leaders of the Metro League with McClatchy with a 7-1 record. With wins on the road against Kennedy (1-7) and Cordova (2-6) next week, West Park would earn a piece of the Metro League championship and with a 19-4 record overall would likely be looking a nice seed in the Division II playoffs. "We're really excited for the postseason," Danielson said. "We're hoping to have a few home games and put up some big numbers before things get tougher in the later rounds."