Granite Bay caps off flag football season with section title

Granite Bay's flag football team knew they had something good going last year when they reached the quarterfinals of the playoffs. This year they set the bar a little higher and they had a fantastic regular season, losing only twice to Oak Ridge, the Sierra Foothill League champions and No. 1 seed in the Division I playoffs. Granite Bay earned the No. 1 seed in the Division 2 bracket and ended up winning the Sac-Joaquin Section championship on Saturday at Cosumnes River College, ripping SFL rival St. Francis, 39-6, the team's third win over the Troubadours this season. St. Francis scored the first points of the game, but then the Grizzlies scored 39 unanswered points to win the game easily. "It was an amazing performance," said Granite Bay sophomore quarterback Paige Smith, who scored three rushing touchdowns and threw for two others. "We came out strong. Even though our first drive didn't go well, we kept going and didn't give up. I feel like the offense did incredible. Even if we made a mistake, we just kept rolling and kept doing our thing. Our defense was also amazing. We watched so much film and we knew what we were doing today. We wanted to win this game really badly and we did so I'm happy." St. Francis quarterback Lola Fox hooked up with Monet Zauner for the game's first touchdown, but after that the Grizzly defense pitched a shutout. Meanwhile, the Grizzly dynamic offense featured a lot of effective pitching of the ball backwards like rugby and proved to be tough to defend, as the Grizzlies ran for a lot of yards, which opened up some passing gains. Running back Leilani Teaupa had many big runs, alongside Smith. "I play rugby and we do a lot of option passes so I know that from rugby, our lateral passes, so that's our gameplan," Teaupa said. "We just run the ball and that opens up the pass plays and that's how we got here. "I would say my rugby experience helped me along with my athleticism, which helped me read the field more, see the gaps and learn when to pitch and when to keep it." Smith ran the first two touchdowns in from two yards and eight yards and Smith passed the ball to Hallie Tapuosi for a conversion, as Granite Bay took a 13-6 lead in the second quarter. The team's third touchdown was a four-yard pass from Smith to Madeline Benedyuk, which made the score 19-6 and the rout was on. Smith threw a second touchdown pass of the quarter to Tapuosi and the Grizzlies led comfortably at halftime, 25-6. Teaupa said Smith played great. "She's so great and she's just a sophomore," Teaupa said. "Last year as a freshman she started on varsity. She's already led us to a section title. I can't wait to see her do more things as the years go on." The Grizzlies scored the first two times they had the ball in the second half to finish off the Troubadours. Teaupa scored on a 16-yard touchdown run and a conversion pass from Smith to Benedyuk made the score 32-6. After Chloe Smith intercepted a pass to get the ball back for the Grizzlies, Smith ran for her third touchdown of the game from two yards out and another conversion pass to Benedyuk made the final score Granite Bay 39, St. Francis 6. Molly Palmer led the Grizzlies defense, as she had a couple sacks and was constantly pressuring the quarterback. "The defense did great," Palmer said. "We have such a good team, and we all came together and played well. It was so much fun. We have a great defense. "Even though we had already beaten them twice, St. Francis is really good so you never know how the game's going to go, but we had a great game and it was so much fun. Everyone on the team was so hyped for this game and we're all just good friends. We're a great group of girls." Teaupa credited the coaches for the win. "We couldn't have done it without our coaches," Teaupa said. "They brought us everything and taught us everything about flag football. They've been here since the beginning of the program so it's nice to finally come out here and win a section championship for them." Granite Bay coach Jason Arnold was proud of his team. "These girls have fallen in love with a sport that's brand new, and to be a small part of the success that they've had, they've laid a foundation," Arnold said. "There's a bunch of little girls that are in our community that are now excited about playing flag football because of what these girls have started. I'm super proud of this group, and they've made themselves legends in our community."