In their final game of the season, the Aliso Niguel Wolverines Girls Flag Football team battled and eventually fell by a razor-thin 18-19 margin to El Toro High School Chargers. The game on Oct. 25 was round two of the CIF Southern Section playoffs.
Despite the loss, the Wolverines said goodbye to the season of their strongest footing yet, and are already looking ahead. The season had already been one for the record books.
Paige Wilson (10) reflected, “We made it the furthest into CIF that the program has ever had.”
She adds, “It felt great, we’re all really thankful for our coaches because if we weren’t at our 100 percent, we would not have reached our goal of making CIF.”
At the season’s start the Wolverines were loaded with talent, yet they lacked cohesion.
Kaylie Phung (10) said, “At the beginning of the season we were all individually amazing athletes. However, we weren’t really doing well as a collective team. But as we kept going and suffered some losses, we gained appreciation for each other and were able to become a cohesive unit.”
Phung added, “I learned that even if you’re on special teams helping the starting team you’re still an important member. And in the end it doesn’t matter where on the field you are.”
Wilson pointed to the game against the Warren High School Bears, a 39-6 win, as the moment everything clicked.
Wilson said, “The second-to-last game, against Warren, was the most memorable game because we had not been playing our personal best for the couple game before and we had been working so hard and it all paid off in that game.”
Leadership proved to be the backbone of the team’s turnaround.
Phung noted, “The seniors were such a strong foundation for our team, not only as athletes but also their fight and energy they brought every day. They know how to hype us up but also how to hold us accountable at times.”
Wilson added, “Sloan Lorenzo (12) is a great captain for us and whenever we felt unmotivated or down, she would find a way to cheer everyone up. She always wanted everyone to be upbeat and everyone to get their work in.”
Though the loss to El Toro ended the run, the season itself carried immense value.
Phung said, “It will definitely be an impactful season being that it’s the farthest we’ve gone in CIF.”
She added, “It also had some real tough losses. It will haunt our program for sure, but I think that will only make us more motivated for the future.”
As the season comes to a close, the message from the Wolverines is hopeful and reflective.
Phung concluded, “I’ll miss the seniors who’ve been with this program since the beginning and the team culture that came with such a strong group of competitive athletes.”
With the school’s deepest playoff run completed and strategic promise for next year, Aliso Niguel Flag Football looks ahead to rewriting the record books once again.
