The Steele Canyon Cougars will head out on the road to take on the Bonita Vista Barons at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday. Both teams are coming into the game red-hot, with Steele Canyon sitting on six straight wins and Bonita Vista on 19.
On Thursday, Steele Canyon beat Helix 19-7. Given the Cougars' advantage in MaxPreps' California flag football rankings (they are ranked 58th, while the Highlanders are ranked 204th) , the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Ily (I-Lee) Barclay was her usual excellent self, picking up 90 receiving yards and one score, while also rushing for 34 yards and one touchdown.
Wins are hard to come by when you can't run the rock, something Steele Canyon proved: they limited Helix to a paltry three yards per carry. The team can thank Elisha Lewis for the heroic effort on defense: she. Steele Canyon hasn't allowed more than 5.6 yards per carry in three consecutive matchups.
Steele Canyon's defense didn't let the opposing QB, get away unscathed either: they got into the backfield for five sacks. The heavy lifting was done by Joelle Frazier and Lilah Black, who racked up all five sacks between them.
Meanwhile, Bonita Vista's offense rose to the challenge against a Crusaders defense that boasted an average of only 10.06 points allowed on Thursday. The Barons breezed past Mater Dei Catholic to the tune of 38-7. The Barons might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 11 contests by 21 points or more this season.
A big part of Bonita Vista's victory came down to the chemistry between Mia Ramirez and her top target Gabriella Meza. Ramirez threw for 192 yards and three TDs while Meza picked up 52 receiving yards and a pair of scores.
Steele Canyon's record is now 18-4. As for Bonita Vista, their record now sits at 19-0.
Steele Canyon came up short against Bonita Vista when the teams last played back in September, falling 25-19. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Ramirez, who threw for 172 yards and three touchdowns, and also rushed for 40 yards. Now that the Cougars know the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.
