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AHS Hornets Win NCS Flag Football Championship

On Thursday, November 14, the Alameda High School Hornets etched their names in history as the first North Coast Section (NCS) flag football champions. Alameda (25-4) beat the Alhambra High School Bulldogs (20-7) in a dramatic 26-20 overtime victory at California High School in San Ramon.

Alameda Post - the AHS Flag Football tag poses for a group photo with a plaque and raises one finger in the air to indicate they are number one
Photo Gabriel Caraballo.

“It means a lot to us and the school,” said junior receiver Lei’yan Molina. “We’re the first flag football NCS champions and it’s good to represent the women in our community.”

Despite a penalty-ridden final minute of regulation and overtime period, the Hornets persevered and sealed the championship win with a Hail Mary heave from senior quarterback Aaliyah Soderlund to junior receiver Leaira Robinson.



“It’s good, as a quarterback I led my team to the championship,” said Soderlund. She added, “It helped me grow just being with this championship team. …It means a lot.”

Hornet quarterback and team leader, Soderlund was a force of nature all season. She ranked fourth in the NCS with 4,423 passing yards and 74 touchdowns thrown. One of her leadership qualities was how she helped manage her team’s frame of mind.

“We’re all such different people,” she said. “… I learned a lot about everybody individually to keep them positive and (keep) everyone together.”

The one who brought home the glory, wide receiver Leaira Robinson, also deserves big kudos. Robinson, who ranked 10th in the NCS for receiving with 1161 yards, caught the championship winning touchdown.

Another major player for the Hornets was junior receiver Zalayah Cobarruviaz. She ranked seventh in the NCS for receiving yards with 1337, ranked fifth in total touchdowns, and third in total points with 185.

“No matter what, if we needed a touchdown or a long play you could trust Aaliyah to bomb it and Zalayah to catch it,” said senior running back Elsa Chin. Chin, a Swiss Army knife kind of player, ranked fourth in the NCS in rushing with 984 yards on the ground and caught for 818 receiving yards.

The Hornets earned the NCS title through a lengthy 29-game season filled with perseverance, growth, and trust between players and coaches. Alameda’s perseverance was shown early in the year when the team suffered straight losses to San Ramon Valley (33-13), Oakland Tech (20-12), and Liberty (21-0).

Alameda Post – Alameda High School facing Central Avenue.
Alameda High School. Photo Adam Gillitt.

“The girls are all very talented… you have to let them get going and figure it out,” said Hornets head coach Michael Lee. “I’m okay with letting them make mistakes and figuring it out on their own.”

Alameda did in fact, figure it out. After that brief early losing stint, the Hornets went on a dominant 12-game winning streak.The streak ended with their final loss of the season, to island rival Encinal High School (36-20), but the Hornets ultimately took the season series over Encinal, beating them in two out of three games.

After that first loss to the Jets, the Hornets went on an eight-game winning streak and claimed the NCS championship title. This incredible display of perseverance was a product of the team’s growth during the year.

“We were at our best when we had something to fix. …We really tried to emphasize certain points,” said Lee, who noted corner depth and discipline in the trenches. “And the girls tended to rise to the occasion.”

Growth was essential for this Alameda High flag football team, and was demonstrated through one of the team’s coaching philosophies—understanding. Assistant coach Akeem Diaz spoke highly of the team’s ability to converse and understand their position.

“The way we ran our practices was very intentional,” Diaz said. “…We are talking, we are having conversations. When we create plays, we are doing it with the kids’ strengths in mind.”

This approach to coaching clearly exemplifies how communication and understanding help the team itself to become stronger. This type of growth is achieved when both the players and coaches have great trust in each other. Coach Diaz explained that going into the championship game they “felt extremely confident.”

That confidence did not falter, even during one of the game’s most uncertain moments. Late in the fourth quarter a tipped pass from Alhambra, which if incomplete would seal the deal for Alameda, but instead it was caught and tied the game. Diaz emphasized that despite the misfortunate play, he and coaches still had the utmost confidence in their girls to get the job done. The Hornets went on to do just that and won the 2024 NCS Flag Football Championship.

“First thing we want to do is take a break,” said Lee on what’s next for the newly crowned champions. He then alluded to preparations in the spring to develop a better routine and work on versatility, because, the defending champs now have a target on their backs.

Contributing writer Gabriel Caraballo covers local sports for the Alameda Post. Contact him via [email protected]. His writing is collected https://alamedapost.com/Gabriel-Caraballo.

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