Flag Football Showdown: No. 25 Merced highlights Day 1 by snapping No. 2 Central's 62-game win streak

CHULA VISTA, Calif. – No. 25 Merced (Calif.) brought home perhaps the biggest win Friday at the inaugural MaxPreps Flag Football Showdown.

After a 20-0 win over Torrey Pines (San Diego) in the opening wave of games, Merced snapped the nation's longest active winning streak of 62 games held by No. 2 Central (Phenix City, Ala.) with a 20-12 victory. Led by the 2025 MaxPreps All-American duo of quarterback Antonia Lejarde and receiver Averie Steverson, the Bears improved to 12-0 ahead of Saturday's action.

Lejarde connected with Steverson for three touchdowns while the defense collected three sacks from Aniayah Barron and an interception from Ayasha Beavers to stall the Alabama powerhouse. Central, which defeated Del Norte (San Diego) 39-7 earlier in the day, hadn't surrendered a single point defensively in its first four games of this season.

In the Central win, seventh grade phenom Kinley Rasmus dominated with two interceptions on defense and a touchdown on offense. Orange Lutheran beats Sierra Canyon

Makena Cook and Angelina Dubois played for Orange Lutheran (Orange, Calif.) last season and connected for a touchdown Friday for No. 22 Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) but that wasn't enough to knock off their former teammates.  

No. 4 Orange Lutheran knocked off Sierra Canyon 18-6 in the final game of the afternoon. 

Senior quarterback Alyssa McClure, who saw limited time as Cook's backup at Orange Lutheran last year, tossed three touchdown passes. Two of those went to Ava Harrison and one to Capriana Cuneo, helping the Lancers improve to 13-1 after one of the most highly-anticipated matchups of the tournament.

The Lancers survived an overtime game with San Ramon Valley (Danville, Calif.) earlier in the day, winning 13-12 as Harrison accounted for two touchdowns and the game-winning extra-point try in overtime.

Sierra Canyon, playing back-to-back games to finish the first day, beat No. 20 Bonita Vista (Chula Vista, Calif.) 13-7 to avenge an early-season loss to the Barons. MaxPreps All-American Ava Irwin had two interceptions and Dubois added another for the Trailblazers while Cook found Yianna Zaky-Papantoniou and Ayden Klaiber in the end zone.

Huntington Beach (Calif.) jumpstarted a 2-0 day with a 14-0 win over San Marcos (Calif.), which entered the tournament at 7-0. After a scoreless first half, quarterback Roxie Shaia threw two second-half touchdowns to Shelby Nguyen and freshman Kyla Uno.

The Oilers took down McClatchy (Sacramento, Calif.) 27-0 in the third wave of games.

MaxPreps All-American Kate Meier accounted for three touchdowns, two rushing and one passing to Avery Olson, as No. 1 JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) took down Carlsbad (Calif.) 20-0 in the first wave of games.

The Lions improved to 12-0 and extended their winning streak to 40 games after a 28-0 campaign a year ago. JSerra is scheduled to play West Park (Roseville, Calif.) in the first wave of Saturday games. West Park defeated Glacier (Kalispell, Mont.) 20-0 behind big performances from Emily Cory, Nylea Esteban-Avilla and Annalyse Braden.

No. 3 Newport Harbor (Calif.) shut out Mission Hills (San Marcos, Calif.) 21-0 behind a big day from Scarlett Guyser, who had a scoring run while adding touchdown passes to Blakely Irvine and Emma Yokoi.

Central 39, Del Norte 7

Merced 20, Torrey Pines 0

JSerra Catholic 20, Carlsbad 0

Huntington Beach 14, San Marcos 0

McClatchy def. Vincent Memorial (forfeit)

Orange Lutheran 13, San Ramon Valley 12 (OT)

Newport Harbor 21, Mission Hills 0

Merced 20, Central 12

Huntington Beach 27, McClatchy 0

Sierra Canyon 13, Bonita Vista 7

Torrey Pines 24, Del Norte 0

Orange Lutheran 18, Sierra Canyon 6

West Park 20, Glacier 0