‘We want to be good’: 3 years in the making, Menlo flag football’s first CCS Open title showcases excellence

SANTA CLARA When flag football became a sanctioned girls high school sport in California schools had to decide how they craved to approach the sport Menlo School s response We want to be good Menlo athletic director Earl Koberlein recalled his new flag players saying in Menlo isn t just good The Knights are the best crew in the Central Coast Section after beating Los Gatos - in the section s first Open Division championship event cementing what several observers have thought for years In the third year of girls flag football in the Bay Area Menlo is the gold standard Menlo School celebrates their - win over Los Gatos for the Central Coast Section Open Division championship flag football battle at Santa Clara High School in Palo Alto Calif on Saturday Nov Nhat V Meyer Bay Area News Group It s not just the first flag Open championship Menlo coach Noah Lubarsky reported It s our first Open championship in the history of our school So I m incredibly happy for the girls and happy for everyone As usual the centerpiece of Menlo s success was junior Ava Allen a four-sport athlete who extends plays and runs through the open field like Menlo assistant coach Steve Young once did for the ers Allen completed three touchdown passes and accounted for four TDs overall The best of the bunch was her final one when she juked multiple Los Gatos defenders stretched the play out to the sideline and bought just enough time to thread a -yard TD to Maren Mulloy That throw put Menlo - up two scores with to go then Menlo s defense which pitched a second-half shutout took over from there Menlo School quarterback Ava Allen looks to throw against Los Gatos in the first quarter of their the Central Coast Section Open Division championship flag football contest at Santa Clara High School in Palo Alto Calif on Saturday Nov Nhat V Meyer Bay Area News Group The past two years obviously we ve been really good really dominant Allen noted But this year we faced particular adversity along the way To come out on top and be able to win CCS together means a lot For any of the teams who thought they were better than us or thought they could beat us or thought we were falling off we proved to them that we are still the best and we re still here Despite Menlo s dominance over the last three years Los Gatos - had a real shot to win the meeting late The Wildcats drove all the way down to Menlo s -yard line late in the third quarter and faced second-and-goal Then Menlo s Anika Shah intercepted her third pass of the tournament on the goal line giving Menlo a chance to take the lead The Knights didn t miss it driving yards on eight plays paid off by a -yard Allen scramble to the right pylon for the game-winning touchdown Ever since my freshman year we ve dependably demanded more football Allen announced It feels like we re not putting it all on the table when it just ends with a regular season challenge So to ultimately have playoffs to be able to show what we can do under pressure was really special Menlo School celebrates their - win over Los Gatos for the Central Coast Section Open Division championship flag football competition at Santa Clara High School in Palo Alto Calif on Saturday Nov Nhat V Meyer Bay Area News Group Menlo School's Ava Allen scrambles past Los Gatos' Callie Nelson on her way to scoring a touchdown in the third quarter of their the Central Coast Section Open Division championship flag football match at Santa Clara High School in Palo Alto Calif on Saturday Nov Nhat V Meyer Bay Area News Group Menlo School's Sierra Wynn sacks Los Gatos quarterback Helena Younan in the third quarter of their the Central Coast Section Open Division championship flag football championship at Santa Clara High School in Palo Alto Calif on Saturday Nov Nhat V Meyer Bay Area News Group Los Gatos quarterback Helena Younan throws the ball against Menlo School in the first quarter of their the Central Coast Section Open Division championship flag football challenge at Santa Clara High School in Palo Alto Calif on Saturday Nov Nhat V Meyer Bay Area News Group Steve Young assistant coach talks with Menlo School quarterback Ava Allen during their competition against the Los Gatos in the third quarter of their the Central Coast Section Open Division championship flag football match at Santa Clara High School in Palo Alto Calif on Saturday Nov Nhat V Meyer Bay Area News Group Subscribe to our Bay Area Preps HQ newsletter for all our Bay Area high school sports coverage including challenge analysis scores and everything you want to know about your Bay Area high school teams