Girls flag football: Fremd, Round Lake, Libertyville among regional champions

Fremd held off Stevenson 28-26 to win the Vernon Hills flag football regional Thursday.

The defending state champion Vikings (17-4), who are seeded sixth, will meet second-seed Glenbrook South Monday at the Buffalo Grove sectional at 6:30 p.m.

“We had a hard-fought battle until the very end,” Fremd coach Rebecca O’Dette said. “Our defense was able to stop Stevenson on their last position and ensure a victory. Our team is excited to face Glenbrook South on Monday and are eager to win the sectional championship.”

Fremd had built a 28-14 halftime lead before Stevenson rallied to close the gap.

Grace Harper had a huge night for Stevenson (13-3). Harper had touchdown catches of 69 and 73 yards from Evie Syreggelas. Harper also added a 64-yard rushing touchdown and a 99-yard interception return.

Round Lake 12, Rockton Hononegah 7: Ariana Cabral’s two-yard run with 1:26 to play lifted the Panthers to their first girls regional title since 1991 when their softball team won. It is also just the 10th girls regional title in school history.

The Panthers had to rally from a 7-6 fourth quarter deficit to post the win.

“It is amazing,” Round Lake coach Molly Henning said. “Our girls were all in tears. We were so close last year and to win this is huge for us.”

During the final scoring drive, Aria Randolph had a 43-yard run while Sophia Beltran had a pair of runs for 32 yards. The Panthers also got an early touchdown pass as Maya Hago threw a 25-yard pass to Cabral.

Libertyville 19, Schaumburg 6: Quinn Krueger threw three touchdown passes as Libertyville (14-3) won its first regional title. Krueger threw a pair of touchdown passes to Ava Crivello and another to Ella Pawelczyk. Natalie Schmidt had an interception for the Wildcats while Mary Minogue was the top flag puller and Kenzie Hughes stopped a long run with a key flag pull.

“It was a great game,” Libertyville coach Tiffany Rafiner said. “We had to overcome a lot of injuries this season. But it has made the kids work harder and it has been so fun to watch them grow as a team.”

Glenbrook South 20, Elk Grove 18: Elk Grove (18-2) came up just a hair short in its regional final game. Glenbrook South scored with 50 seconds left to upend the Grenadiers.

Lindsay Bobowski, Brianna Magner and Payton Blakenship each had touchdown runs for Elk Grove.

“It was a tremendous turnaround from last season,” Elk Grove coach Courtney Lindfors said. “It was just great to see the success we had this year.”

Maine South 23, DePaul 6: Maine South (21-3), which is the top seed in the Lane sectional, cruised for the regional title.

Aribella Spandiary (24-of-35 passing for 247 yards, 48 yards rushing) threw a touchdown pass to Julia Laske (4 receptions, 85 yards). Spandiary also had a touchdown run.

Emerson De La Cruz threw a two-yard touchdown pass to Maria Korovila while De La Cruz and Laila Abukhala had conversion runs and Ella Rice had a safety. Tina Majka had 9 flag pulls for the Hawks.

“I have to attribute this win to our defense,” Maine South coach Carlos Panzino said. “They've been the driving force behind this team's success all year and they really came through tonight.”

McChesney Park Harlem 26, Lakes 20: Harlem scored with 15 seconds left to eliminate Lakes (16-5). The Eagles grabbed an early 7-0 lead, but Harlem (14-3) scored three consecutive touchdowns to surge ahead early in the fourth quarter. Lakes rallied for a pair of touchdowns, but the Huskies tallied at the end for the victory.

Evanston 40, Maine West 0: Maine West (9-6), which was seeded seventh, had a rough time in its regional final and fell to the second-seeded Wildkits (14-3).