River Islands’ flag football team checked off a few more “firsts” on Wednesday when the Riptide made their debut in the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs.
Seeded third in Division V, the Southern Athletic League champions took care of No. 14 Leroy Greene Academy of Sacramento, 48-0.
“It’s an honor to be the first flag football team in school history to win a league championship, and it’s really next level to be the first team to win a playoff game,” River Islands coach Joe Cataline said. “It speaks to the character of the team. You could tell in June that something special was being built, because they had a laser focus that I’ve not seen in a long time.
“I know they appreciate it. It’s been a cool ride.”
River Islands (19-0) came up with big plays on both ends of scrimmage, starting with Kalina Rodrigues’ 26th interception of the season that resulted in the first points of the game.
It came on just the second play from scrimmage, as Greene Academy’s Nevaeh Cedillo floated up a deep ball for Rodrigues to pick off. She ran it back 27 yards, and just like that, the Riptide were ahead 43 seconds into the game.
“It felt phenomenal,” Rodrigues said. “Last year, we could barely get any interceptions, and this year I have 27 — it’s crazy. It’s a surreal feeling.”
The junior safety still thought she had 27th interception in the third quarter, but it was negated by defensive-holding penalty. Her interception total coming into the week ranked her third in the section and 12th in the state.
Sophomore quarterback Analeyah Trigos was the centerpiece of the offensive explosion. She completed 20 of 30 passes for 294 yards and four touchdowns, adding an eight-yard TD scamper in the third quarter.
The Riptide punted just once, which came on a second-quarter drive in which Trigos had three of her incompletions, including a dropped pass. Trigos otherwise had little trouble finding her weapons, connecting with seven different receivers.
“We just wanted to come out confident and play our game,” Trigos said. “I count on my teammates. Even if they drop the ball, I’ll keep throwing it to them.”
Sophia Tovar Delgado had three touchdowns, two receiving and one rushing. She totaled 57 scrimmage yards on seven touches. Octavia Orndoff (four receptions, 64 yards) and Brianna Lee (two receptions, 42 yards) each had one touchdown catch. Center Camila Tovar Delgado contributed four receptions for 50 yards.
The defense recorded its third shutout of the season. Sophia Tovar Delgado netted four flag pulls, a sack and a pass break-up. Cornerback Mahi Gill added four flag pulls and two pass break-ups. Jannat Sodhi collected a team-high five flag pulls to go with a pass break-up.
River Islands faces sixth-seeded Sutter (19-7) in the quarterfinals back at home next Monday. The Huskies defeated Foresthill, 21-6.
“The preparation doesn’t change regardless of who we play,” Cataline said. “I will say that we’ve been preaching from day 1 that if we are fortunate to get through the first round of the playoffs, the competition stiffens up pretty significantly. We’ve had some good tests in the regular season. Mariposa and Millennium come to mind — fantastic teams that I hope have prepared us.
“I know mentally we’ll be there, but its going to be a fight. The girls don’t take anything for granted. No one believes that they’re owed anything, and we have to go out and earn everything. That’s kind of been the focus the whole season.”
