Flag Football Showdown: No. 1 JSerra Catholic defeats No. 3 Newport Harbor to capture inaugural championship

Sophomore Tessa Russell named MVP while Kate Meier takes home Offensive Player honors for the Lions.

By Nick Pecoraro

Sep 12, 2026, 7:00pm

JSerra Catholic capped off an impressive Day 2 with a 21-6 win over Newport Harbor to claim the 2026 MaxPreps Flag Football Showdown championship. Check out the top plays, biggest moments and highlights from championship day.

FLAG FOOTBALL SHOWDOWN: JSerra Catholic wins inaugural championship 5,381 views 1:00

CHULA VISTA, Calif. – Day two of the MaxPreps Flag Football Showdown crowned No. 1 JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) as its inaugural champion after a 21-6 victory over No. 3 Newport Harbor (Newport Beach, Calif.) in the final Saturday at the Chula Vista Olympic Training Center.

Kate Meier had three touchdown passes in the final, including two strikes to Tessa Russell and a third to Abby VanderWeerd to boost the Lions' offense. Russell, who was a dominant presence on both sides of the ball, was a major reason why JSerra didn't allow a single point until the final game of the tournament.

JSerra Catholic celebrates after winning inaugural Flag Football Showdown title. (PHOTO: Dale Edwards)

FLAG FOOTBALL SHOWDOWN: Bracket

The Lions ended up playing three games on Saturday. The first two were victories over West Park (Roseville, Calif.) 19-0 and No. 25 Merced (Calif.) 27-0 in the semifinals.

Newport Harbor was the only team to score on JSerra during the tournament with Scarlett Guyser finding Blakely Irvine for a touchdown to make it a 7-6 game in the second quarter. JSerra scored twice in the second half to extend and secure its lead.

Russell was named the tournament's MVP after a dominant two-way performance throughout the Lions' four-game stretch. Meier was the Offensive Player of the Game while Guyser was named the game's top Defensive Player.

Newport Harbor defeated Carlsbad (Calif.) 14-13 and won an overtime thriller with Huntington Beach (Calif.) 8-7 in the semifinals to reach the championship game.

MAXPREPS FLAG FOOTBALL SHOWDOWN ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

MVP

Tessa Russell, JSerra Catholic

OUTSTANDING OFFENSIVE PLAYER

Kate Meier, JSerra Catholic

OUTSTANDING DEFENSIVE PLAYER

Scarlett Guyser, Newport Harbor

ALL-FFS

Antonia Lejarde, Merced

Averie Steverson, Merced

Emily Cory, West Park

Roxie Shaia, Huntington Beach