Aniya Gonzalez-Padilla watches the ball on her way to scoring the lone TD. Photo by Stephanie Burgoon/Alaska Sports Report
A defensive battle boiled down to one big third-quarter play Thursday as host Dimond stunned previously unbeaten South 6-0 in a Cook Inlet Conference flag football game on a rainy night at Don Winchester Field.
Facing a 3rd-and-17 at her own 43-yard line, Dimond quarterback Kinsey MacDonald smartly stepped up in the pocket to avoid a South pass rush that had recorded two sacks on the same possession. The junior launched a strike 25 yards downfield to do-it-all senior Aniya Gonzalez-Padilla, who used every bit of her speed to outrace the Wolverine defensive back to the end zone with 52 seconds left in the third quarter.
The game’s lone touchdown helped Dimond hold off its rivals and avenged a 20-0 loss to South earlier this season.
Limited to just 81 yards of offense through the first three quarters, the South offense would start to hit its stride late. The Wolverines got four straight completions from quarterback Jillian Preston and a pass interference call to move the ball to the Dimond 19 with six minutes remaining, but Preston’s fourth-and-goal heave sailed just over the outstretched hands of Lexi Luff at the goal line.
The Lynx took over with 4:30 left, but could gain only one first down and punted back to the Wolverines with 1:26 to play.
Preston – who threw 31 times for 120 yards and one interception – used big completions to Brianna Bailey and Lindsay Dahlstrom to move to the Dimond 27 with under 20 seconds remaining.
Jillian Peterson lets one fly. Photo by Stephanie Burgoon/Alaska Sports Report
The Lynx defense would stand tall again, however, as Nyah O’Neil chased down Preston for a short gain on the next play, and the clock ran out after a bad snap on South’s final chance.
South slipped to 7-1 on the season while defending league champion Dimond improved to 7-5.
Dimond’s defense featured several heroes, including former South player Kaebrii Weaver, who broke up two passes late in the first half in Lynx territory, and Gracie Embley, who had an interception and another pass breakup.
Meanwhile, Gonzalez-Padilla accounted for more than half of her team’s total yardage, picking up 64 yards on two catches and rushing four times for 24 yards. Kinsey MacDonald finished 6-of-11 through the air for 101 yards and no interceptions.
South 0 0 0 0 – 0
Dimond 0 0 6 0 – 6
FIRST QUARTER
No Scoring
SECOND QUARTER
No Scoring
THIRD QUARTER
Dimond – Gonzalez-Padilla 57 pass from MacDonald (pass failed)
FOURTH QUARTER
No Scoring
Dimond’s Kaebrii Weaver breaks up a pass intended for Niveah Heartwell. Photo by Stephanie Burgoon/Alaska Sports Report
