High school girls' flag football is back for its second season as an official sport in the 209. Last season, 17 San Joaquin County schools participated in the Sac-Joaquin Section’s first full season of girls' flag football.
Eight of those teams landed a spot in the SJS Girls Flag Football playoffs competing in Division 1 or 2 for the first-ever blue banner in the sport. St. Mary’s girls' flag football got the closest of any area school competing in the Division 2 championship game against reigning champ Christian Brothers.
This year, more schools are getting in on the action and other teams are back looking to bring a girls' flag football championship to the 209. With the season set to start on Aug. 23, The Record has you covered with the preseason Top 10 SJ County teams and some key returners to look out for ahead of the 2024-25 season.
This list will include teams from the San Joaquin Athletic Association, Western Athletic Conference, Valley Oak, Tri-City Athletic, and Trans Valley leagues.
1. St. Mary’s (18-6-1, 13-3 TCAL)
Summary: The Rams' young squad shined during postseason play beating team after team but was halted in the SJS D2 championship. The 6-0 loss to the Falcons may have stung but it won’t deter them from bouncing back with the most returning players of any team on this list. St. Mary’s balanced offense and defense puts it in the top spot with senior Victory Bragg leading its offense and junior Khairun Burkhalter leading its defense.
Top returners:
Victory Bragg, senior, quarterback
2023-24 stats: 4,258 passing yards (7th nationally), 40 touchdowns, 10 interceptions, 77.3% completion
Raia Brown, senior, ATH
2023-24 stats: 1,328 receiving yards (16th nationally), 974 rushing yards (13th in California), seven total touchdowns, two sacks (as defensive back)
Khairun Burkhalter, junior, defensive back
2023-24 stats: 159 total tackles (3rd nationally), six interceptions
Presley DaCruz, junior, ATH
2023-24 stats: 1,447 receiving yards (11th nationally), eight receiving touchdowns, three passing touchdowns, 12 total tackles (as defensive back)
Geianna Gonzalez, sophomore, ATH
2023-24 stats: 1,896 receiving yards (3rd nationally), 154 points (7th nationally), 24 total touchdowns, 79 total tackles (as defensive back), 13 sacks (12th in California), two interceptions
2. Escalon (21-5 overall, 6-1 TVL)
Summary: Next to St. Mary’s, Escalon was the most successful postseason team from SJ County last year. After winning the TVL championship, the Cougars beat Millennium and Vista del Lago before being stumped in a heartbreaking loss 12-6 to St. Mary’s in the SJS D2 semifinals. They aren’t returning a ton of players but will still have a host of weapons to get them back in the playoffs.
Top returners:
Haley Barker, senior, defensive back
2023-24 stats: 15 total tackles, two interceptions
Jasmine Barron, junior, ATH
2023-24 stats: 171 passing yards, two passing touchdowns, 435 rushing yards, seven rushing touchdowns,179 receiving yards, two receiving touchdowns
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3. Tokay (15-6-1, 13-3 SJAA)
Summary: The Tigers only lost three games during SJAA play earning them a league championship and the third spot in the preseason polls. Senior Aria Khan led them throwing for nearly 5,000 yards leading the SJS and finishing fifth in the nation. Despite having a strong offense, Tokay’s luck ran out in the plays losing in the SJS D1 first round to Woodcreek but will look to go further this year.
Top returners:
Aria Khan, senior, quarterback/ATH
2023-24 stats: 4,497 passing yards (5th nationally), 57 touchdowns, 11 interceptions, 71.5% completion, 642 rushing yards, four rushing touchdowns
Christina Ochoa, senior, wide receiver
2023-24: 992 receiving yards, 10 touchdowns, 164 rushing yards, three sacks (as defensive back)
Kayleen Tuavao, senior, ATH
2023-24 stats: 26 interceptions (3rd nationally), 357 receiving yards, seven touchdowns (as wide receiver), 56 total tackles
4. Tracy (17-6-1, 12-2 TCAL)
Summary: During TCAL play not too many teams could get the best of the Bulldogs. They ended with only two losses snagging the championship before making their SJS D1 playoff appearance. Tracy would go on to lose 12-6 to Granite Bay in the first round ending the season sooner than expected. The Bulldogs will look to return 15 players and snag yet another TCAL championship this upcoming season.
Top returners:
Bayli Brown, senior, ATH
No stats available
Izabella Gutierrez, junior, linebacker
No stats available
Eva Palumbo, sophomore, defensive back
No stats available
Addison Perry, senior, outside linebacker
No stats available
5. Millennium (8-11, 6-10 WAC)
Summary: The Falcons rose to the top of the WAC last season taking home first place and the championship. Their strong spot was defense and freshman defensive back Jael Bernard led the charge recording nearly 100 total tackles. Millennium landed a spot in the SJS D2 playoffs but couldn’t get past Escalon in the first round losing 30-14.
Top returners:
Jael Bernard, sophomore, defensive back
2023-24 stats: 91 total tackles (20th in California), two sacks, two interceptions
Isabella Gomez, senior, wide receiver
2023-24 stats: 367 receiving yards, nine touchdowns, 16 tackles (as defensive back)
6. Lodi (17-6-1, 12-4 TCAL)
Summary: Lodi ended the 2023-24 season in third place of a loaded TCAL with four losses to its name. The Flames played solid all season earning them an SJS D1 playoff appearance facing Ceres in the first round. They would lose to the Bulldogs 30-14 ending the season short. They will return only four players from last season this year as they look to rebuild.
Top returners:
Emma Fuentes, senior, running back
No stats available
7. Bear Creek (9-8, 7-2 SJAA)
Summary : Despite only losing two league games all season, the Bruins finished in third place in the SJAA. They still landed an SJS D1 playoff spot but were shut out 22-0 by Atwater in the first round. This go-round, Bear Creek will look for its junior-led squad to get them back to the postseason and past the opening round.
Top returners:
Elle Choeun, junior, running back
2023-24 stats: 574 rushing yards, eight rushing touchdowns, 251 receiving yards, three receiving touchdowns
Siannah Rios, junior, quarterback
2023-24 stats: 1,698 passing yards (9th in SJS) 22 touchdowns seven interceptions, 74.6% completion, 2,070 total yards (12th in SJS)
Alanah Yuw, senior, defensive back
2023-24 stats: 46 total tackles, 4.2 tackles per game (team high), one interception
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8. Stagg (8-3, 8-2 SJAA)
Summary: With just one non-league game last year, the Delta Queens still managed to compete at a high level earning them an SJS Division 1 playoff spot. They ended SJAA play with two losses and in second place behind Tokay. Stagg couldn’t get past the first round losing to Mecerd but will look to be back in the postseason conversation with six returners coming back this year.
Top returners:
Angelie Hernandez, senior, center
No stats available
Jonae Moreno, senior, wide receiver
No stats available
Imani Stull, junior, wide receiver/defensive back
No stats available
9. McNair (9-5, 6-3 SJAA)
Summary: Sneaking into the SJS D1 playoffs last season was McNair who finished fourth in the SJAA with a 6-3 league record. They managed to pick up some notable wins against Bear Creek twice outsourcing the Bruins 65-58 within three meetings last year. They couldn’t carry over that offensive success in the playoffs losing to Woodcreek 28-0 in the first round.
Top returners:
Zariah Harris, sophomore, running back/wide receiver
No stats available
Anjuile Navarro, junior, quarterback/wide receiver
No stats available
10. Sierra (4-10, 3-9 VOL)
Summary: Sierra is the lone team in the preseason Top 10 to miss out on the playoffs last season despite finishing in second place in the VOL. The Timberwolves struggled at the start of the season but recovered and ended with a big-time 28-20 victory over Millennium in their season finale. This year, the postseason will be at the forefront of their mind as they look to land a playoff berth with 11 returners.
Top returners:
Janessa Barnes, junior, wide receiver/safety
2023-24 stats : 652 receiving yards, eight touchdowns, 37 total tackles, two sacks, two interceptions
Maitland Kohoutek, junior, quarterback
2023-24 stats: 1,740 passing yards (8th in SJS), 19 touchdowns, 24 interceptions, 53.6% completion
Taylor Zalunardo, senior, running back/linebacker
2023-24 stats: 788 rushing yards (21st in California), nine total touchdowns, 72 total tackles, four interceptions
Record reporter Shannon Belt covers sports. She can be reached at sbelt@recordnet.com or on Twitter @ShannonBelt3. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at https://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow.
This article originally appeared on The Record: Check out the Top 10 SJ County girls flag football teams ahead of 2024-25 season
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