Defense wins championships and JSerra is out to prove it.
The game of the year in high school flag football in the Southland lived up to the hype and in a matchup of the top two teams in the nation by MaxPreps rankings, the No. 2 Lions picked off four passes to stun No. 1 Orange Lutheran 18-7 Tuesday night.
The Lions (20-0) have not won the Trinity League title (the teams will meet again in October in San Juan Capistrano) nor the Southern Section crown, but they established themselves as the favorites after ending the reigning CIF champion Lancers’ 23-game winning streak.
“We’ll celebrate tonight, but our work’s not done,” JSerra coach Brian Ong said. “We’re playing them again next week, so this is just round one of two, possibly three if we meet in the playoffs. This was probably the biggest crowd we’ve played in front of. You had fans on both sides cheering… it was exciting.”
JSerra has defeated every Southern Section opponent it has faced by double digits and continued that trend thanks to the ability to extend plays by quarterbacks Ava Van Heerde and Kate Meier, who rotated almost every play to keep Orange Lutheran defenders on their heels.
Orange Lutheran receiver Happy Dubois catches a pass over the middle for a first down Tuesday against JSerra.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
“Our double QB system keeps us both healthy and fresh,” said Meier, a freshman whose two-yard scramble to cap the Lions’ opening drive of the second half proved to be the winning score, putting them up 12-7. “Me and Ava have different techniques but we both know what to do.”
Freshman Tessa Russell intercepted two passes — returning the first 35 yards down the sideline for the game’s first touchdown, then leaping high to snare a desperation toss at the Lions’ 31 to seal the victory with 1:26 left. It was her team-leading 12th interception of the year. The other takeaways were by freshmen Sterling Flores and Ava Irwin. Irwin later caught a 42-yard touchdown pass from Van Heerde to extend JSerra’s lead to 11 points to open the fourth quarter.
“It was an out-route and I jumped it so it was a straight shot to the end zone,” said Russell, whose father, Brian, is JSerra’s defensive coordinator and was a safety in the NFL for nine seasons (2001 to 2009). “I love football because of him. We took our preparation seriously — we know [Lancers quarterback] Makena Cook is a great player and Dad game-planned for her.”
JSerra players celebrate their victory over Orange Lutheran on Sept. 30, 2025.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
JSerra had dealt Orange Lutheran its previous loss, 18-12, last October before finishing 4-2 in league and losing to Anaheim Canyon in the first round of the inaugural Southern Section Division 1 playoffs.
Cook, who entered the game having thrown for 4,295 yards and 72 touchdowns, added to that total with a six-yard strike to Josie Anderson on fourth and goal and added the one-point toss to Ava Harrison that gave the Lancers (18-1) their only lead, 7-6, early in the second quarter. It was Anderson’s 11th scoring catch of the season. She also intercepted the conversion attempt after Russell’s pick-six.
Lancers defensive back Summer Mele knocked away a long pass intended for Russell at the goal line to save a touchdown on the last play of the first half.