With a new head coach and one of California's deepest collections of skill-position talent,
Orange Lutheran (Orange, Calif.) enters the inaugural MaxPreps Flag Football Showdown determined to reclaim championship status.
The MaxPreps Flag Football Showdown is scheduled for Sept. 11-12 at the Elite Athlete Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif. The event will feature 18 top programs from Alabama, California and Montana.
Dennis Hester takes over a program that has established itself as one of the nation's premier powers, inheriting a team that finished 24-3, reached the Southern Section Division 1 championship game and earned a No. 7 national ranking. Orange Lutheran's only losses last season came against national champion JSerra Catholic, including a 25-20 defeat in the Division 1 final.
Junior Ava Harrison is one of the top returning playmakers for Orange Lutheran, who will compete at the inaugural MaxPreps Flag Football Showdown Sept. 11-12. (PHOTO: John Luciano)
"I just got extremely excited for what we have coming up here with
the young talent that we have," Hester said. "Last year, we fell short,
losing to JSerra three times. When you look at the roster and how young
they were, all of that experience from last year and all the success
that they had, we're only going to build off of that."
Defensively, junior
Izzy Thomas headlines the unit after recording 86 flag pulls and 21 sacks.
Claire Dahman added nine interceptions.
"We're gonna be high tempo, high energy. That's what I'm all about as a coach," Hester added. "If we just focus on being urgent, being competitive, I think we'll have nowhere to go but up."
