Del Oro blanks Rocklin, splits SFL title with Oak Ridge

The Sierra Foothill League championship was on the line Thursday night on the final day of the flag football regular season. Rocklin, Del Oro and Oak Ridge were all in the mix. The Thunder needed a win and an Oak Ridge loss to force a three-way tie for first, while the Golden Eagles and Trojans each needed a win to lock up at least a share of the title. Thursday's matchup began as a defensive stalemate, as neither side could muster any offense. In the end, Del Oro's defense prevailed with a 6-0 victory over Rocklin to secure its second consecutive SFL crown. The lone score came on a 29-yard touchdown pass from Delaney Osborne to Sam Pitzer, who snagged the ball in traffic and outpaced her defender, stretching for the end zone and crossing the plane with 12:26 remaining in the game. "We needed that," Pitzer said, crediting teammate Payton Hyde for nabbing an interception that set up the touchdown. "After that pick, our energy was high. We knew we needed that and we just delivered." Pitzer said Hyde's interception changed everything, especially after Del Oro's previous drive stalled after reaching Rocklin territory for the first time. "We hadn't been scoring or moving the ball and our energy was kind of low, but that pick got everyone hyped," Pitzer said. "We knew that we had to use that energy to score." Hyde said she knew it was going to take a big defensive play to get the momentum on Del Oro's side and she was waiting for her opportunity to strike. "I'm always wanting to get the pick. That's what I do for our team to get the momentum going," Hyde said. "I know that Rocklin likes to go to the middle a lot so I just read the QB's eyes and saw a player was wide open. It wasn't a great pass, so I just went up and I got it." Hyde made the play of the game to seal the deal for the Golden Eagles as well. Rocklin marched into Del Oro territory after back-to-back big plays. The Thunder had one final chance at the end zone, but Hyde nabbed her second pick with seven seconds left to slam the door. "I know they were gonna go long and I just stayed back and I saw the ball coming to me," Hyde said, noting it felt good to ice the game, especially after Rocklin snapped Del Oro's 31-game winning streak earlier this season. "It feels great. I really don't like Rocklin so it feels really nice to win against them more than any other team." Del Oro (18-2 overall, 12-2 SFL) split the league championship with Oak Ridge (15-4, 12-2), which beat Whitney 35-6 Thursday night. The Golden Eagles and Thunder (14-10, 10-4 SFL) will await their draw for the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs. Brackets were to be released Friday afternoon with the playoffs beginning Tuesday.

Del Oro blanks Rocklin, picks up SFL co-title