The Merced High School girls flag football team will be traveling to San Diego this weekend to compete against some elite competition. The Bears will participate in the MaxPreps Flag Football Showdown. Their first game will be against Torrey Pines, who are the defending San Diego Section D-1 champions at 11:40 a.m. on Friday.

“This is our second year in a row playing down south and now we have made it a tradition,” said Merced coach Vic Nazario. “We will continue next season. It's a great experience to play teams from out of the area. We get to see different styles of play and competition we haven't seen before and different types of athletes. In Southern California it is a year round sport and the schools get to play more games than we do up north.”

The Bears are the defending Sac-Joaquin Section II champions and have picked up this season where they left off with a 9-0 start. Merced went 3-0 this weekend, defeating Wilson 44-6 in Hacienda Heights and then earning a 66-12 win over Rancho Cucamonga and 40-8 victory over Rialto at a college showcase at Rancho Cucamonga High on Saturday.

“The showcase was a great experience,” Nazario said. “The girls got to sit in on a clinic and learn about the college recruiting process and also got to meet one of the recruiting coaches from USA Flag.”

The Bears continued their torrid offensive pace, scoring 150 points in the three wins. Merced is averaging over 45 points per game this year. Senior quarterback Antonia Lejarde has thrown for 1,919 yards and 32 touchdowns and just two interceptions this year. She threw for 752 yards and 15 touchdowns in the three games this weekend. Lejarde leads the Sac-Joaquin Section in yards and touchdown passes. 

Fellow senior Averie Steverson leads the section with 749 receiving yards and 19 touchdowns. Steverson finished with 18 receptions for 330 yards and nine touchdowns in the three games this weekend. Aniayah Barron, Amachi Turner, Alyssa Osegueera, Passion Thao, Natalie Lopez, Ayasha Beavers and Aaliyah Garrett all came up with big plays on offense and defense for the Bears this weekend.

“We have been playing really well on both sides of the ball,” Nazario said. “We also have a great balance of seniors and returning players that understand what we are trying to accomplish. The players we have all compliment each other and everyone understands their role on the team.”

Shawn Jansen is the MUHSD Program Manager Digital Media. He can be reached at Sjansen@muhsd.org.