Foresthill flag football locks up league title

Foresthill High School's flag football team made school history with Wednesday's 31-6 victory over Leroy Greene Academy, as it wrapped up the first Sierra Delta League championship in program history. The Wildfires scorched through the competition, going a perfect 12-0 and outscoring opponents 287-82. Senior quarterback Brianna Miller has led the charge offensively by passing for 2,214 yards and 26 touchdowns, spreading the ball around to a deep group of playmakers that included Amy Saxelby and Maddy Marquez. Junior Carly Clarke has shouldered the workload on the ground with 494 yards rushing and four scores. As impressive as the offense has been, the defense has been the driving force behind Foresthill's success. "Our defense has been the cornerstone of this program since day one," coach Patrick Marquez said. "Nat Grant, Rose Mellady and Maddy Marquez were our original starting defenders from the inaugural season, and they've been the backbone of this unit ever since. Both Nat and Maddy have been first-team all-league selections in past seasons, and we'll see what happens this year." While Grant, Mellady and Marquez have anchored the defense, multiple new faces have contributed, including Dara West, Frankiejane Farinha and Nova Heaton. "They have solidified what I believe is one of the best defenses in our division, if not beyond," Marquez said. "With multiple shutouts, this group just understands the game on another level." Marquez has made it a note to inspire the team more this season, giving the girls weekly pep talks on Mondays to start the week on the right note. It's a page he has taken out of Deion Sanders' playbook as he tries to preach to his team that if you look good, you feel good and if you feel good, you play good. "I tell them all the time that Deion Sanders was my favorite player growing up, and now he's my favorite coach," said Marquez. "We've built a culture around that same swagger and belief Coach Prime talks about. Our girls roll into every home game with a custom Bluetooth boombox on their shoulder, music playing, energy high and smiles everywhere. We dance in warmups, celebrate each other and even have a big gold chain for our 'Queen of the Game,' just like the Sacramento Kings' chain." The Wildfires (15-2) are preparing for the postseason now, where they will likely have to hit the road as the No. 10-ranked team in Division IV. Foresthill knows it will be considered underdogs in the postseason but is confident with a 12-game winning streak it can make some noise in the playoffs.