The inaugural season of girls flag football as sanctioned by the Colorado High School Activities Association was a big-time success across the board.
Ten Aurora area schools fielded programs in that debut season and even more will be on the field in the 2025 season, as Hinkley is among a double-digit number of programs added throughout the state, which boosts the total number to 74 across the 5A and 4A classifications.
Overland got off to a fast start to the new campaign Aug. 16 with a 32-0 home triumph over Thornton, which gave Olando Mason a victory in his debut as head coach. It was a satisfying victory for those returning players such as Sahniya Vaughn, who was on the other end of a lopsided defeat last season.
“This one was personal,” Vaughn said. “Last season, they beat us pretty bad so we had to get back this time.”
Vaughn — who said Thornton allowed her to play with them during the summer in a tournaments — made a huge impact on both sides of the field as she did last season on her way to All-Aurora first team and All-Centennial League second team honors on both offense and defense.
A dual threat as a quarterback (who accounted for , Vaughn threw three touchdown passes and found a way to get her hands on the football on defense multiple times with two interceptions, including one that went back to the end zone.
Overland will have to replace the production of Lezlee Napier, who was an All-Aurora first teamer last season and contributed in a variety of areas. In the early going, junior Jalena Flores — formerly of Thomas Jefferson — looks to be key addition. Flores had a pair of interceptions against Thornton, including one she took back to the end zone and another in which had her flag pulled just shy of the goal line, while she caught two scoring passes from Vaughn.
Another key performer on both sides of the ball in the opener for Overland was sophomore Joy Jamison, who provided the offensive highlight of the contest when she broke free from her defender along the sideline and hauled in a perfectly throw deep ball from Vaughn for a touchdown. Jamison also had an interception and nearly more.
Mason — a former Arena League player — likes what he has seen thus far, even as the offense is a work in progress.
“I have a good group of girls who are great athletes and they are really close, so I’m loving it right now,” Mason said.
The only Aurora area program that earned enough votes to make the Colorado High School Activities Association’s preseason top 10 was Regis Jesuit, which debuts at No. 9. The Raiders had massive interest in the sport last season and finished with an 8-9 record and a 5A postseason appearance, which ended with a first round loss to eventual state champion Mountain Vista.
Regis Jesuit has undergone a coaching change in the offseason, as Terry Ellis has taken over for Ben Danecki.
The Raiders certainly have production to replace, especially from leading receiver Catherine Eure, who had 641 yards and nine touchdowns receiving a year ago on her way to first team All-Aurora honors. Senior Delaney Sitzmann took over the quarterback job after a few games last season and threw for more than 1,300 yards and used a bevy of receivers.
Defensively, the Raiders had an unstoppable rusher in Jasmine Lugo, who was the Continental League’s Defensive Player of the Year as a freshman with 37 sacks, which also landed her an All-Aurora first team position
The area’s other state playoff qualifier last season was coach Mark Fisher’s Grandview team, which was one of only two local programs to finish with a winning record at 9-8. That included a loss to Arvada West — the eventual state runner-up — in the first round of the 5A playoffs.
The Wolves had one of the top two-way threats in the area last season in Brooke Sullivan, who was an All-Aurora first team performer as both a quarterback and defensive back/linebacker.
Vista PEAK Prep finished the inaugural season 4-11, but has a new outlook this season and a young core that is playing for a new head coach in Marcus Pinillo.
The Bison showed the difference between last season and this season immediately in their season opener against Aurora Central Aug. 19. Shut out in its final two games of last season — and three of its last four — Vista PEAK Prep exploded for a 38-0 victory over Aurora Central, which it lost to by two points last season.
Senior Goretty Vazquez De Leon — last season’s leading receiver and a captain — got off to an outstanding start and appears to be one of the favorite targets of sophomore quarterback Rilee Bergquist, who Pinillo said has a stronger arm than he does and a fiercly competitive nature to match. Against Aurora Centrakl, Bergquist threw the ball all over the place and found De Leon, juniors Joanna Byrd and Oriah Owens (a 1,000-yard rusher last season) and others regularly.
“These girls are amazing athletes, they listen and they get the details,” Pinillo said. “They lost a lot last year, didn’t score a lot last year, so it was a little demoralizing, so getting that pride and hope back for them is big.”
Vazquez De Leon has enjoyed the increased complexity of the Vista PEAK Prep offense, which still has room to grow despite its strong start.
“I think we’re feeling confident,” she said. “We’ve got more plays and we’re getting more comfortable. Everything is looking good.”
In its inaugural season, Rangeview was the only Aurora area team to crack double figures in the win column, as coach Eric Mosley’s team finished 10-5, but fell just shy of a postseason berth. The Raiders had a young core that included All-Aurora first teamer Mia Stanton and will look to build.
Aurora West College Prep Academy will be in the third season with Phil Robinson at the helm. The Spartans — who kick off the new season with a home game against Denver West on Aug. 28 — got off to a 3-3 start last season before dropping their last five games to finish 3-8. Among those returning for Aurora West College Prep Academy are three juniors in Maria Gutierrez, Setou Sy and Nevaeah Flores Duran.
The trio combine for nearly all of the team’s offensive production last season as Sy was the team’s leading rusher (692 yards, 5 touchdowns), Guttierez led in receiving (263 yards, 1 touchdown) and Duran was the leading passer (223 yards, 2 touchdowns).
Robinson said the school’s small enrollment creates a challenge in recruiting large numbers, but he started coaching middle school kids this summer and hopes that will lead to more athletes coming out in the fall.
Eaglecrest finished with a 4-10 mark a season ago with a very young roster that could take a step forward this season under Duke Williams. Smoky Hill is coming off a 3-11 campaign under coach Augustine Agyei and will be without standout Kiyah Enoch, who suffered a major injury during track season in the spring. Sophomore Sailor Roth is a versatile threat for the Buffaloes. Aurora Central also was a three-win team a year ago and lost some key contributors to graduation, but junior rusher Naw Moo Sher racked up a whopping 24 sacks last season and provides consitstent pressure on opposing quarterbacks.
Gateway did not finish a complete season a year ago, but Nick O’Laughlin has come aboard for the new season, while Rico Henderson will try to get the program at Hinkley going after it was unable to generate enough numbers last season.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
