For the second year in a row, Newbury Park girls flag football has won the Coastal Clash Tournament at Hueneme High School.
The tournament Saturday included Agoura, Ventura, Oxnard, Lompoc, Dos Pueblos, Highland and Santa Barbara.
The Panthers needed to win three consecutive games to win the championship, and it seemed the first game against Santa Barbara was what propelled the Panthers forward to eventually win it all.
“Santa Barbara is a tough team,” said Panthers head coach Steven Wood. “We came out pretty flat defensively. Once we got into the game a bit more our defense got stronger. They woke up and when that happened, that was our key moment. It was a hard-fought victory in the first round and that helped our play the rest of the tournament.”
The Panthers had their closest matchup of the weekend against Santa Barbara and came out with a narrow 39-32 win.
Quarterback Greta Heath scorched the Dons with six passing touchdowns, completing 21 of 25 passes for 137 yards. Heath also added seven carries for 60 yards.
Newbury Park quarterback Greta Heath threw 15 touchdown passes during the Coastal Clash Tournament at Hueneme High School on Saturday, Oct. 5. (Courtesy of Rich Bateman)
It was a big victory with even more heightened competition in comparison to last year, which was a point of emphasis Wood was trying to make for his team in order to help prepare them moving forward.
“It was really important for us to win,” said Heath. “Last year was the starting year for flag football, so the competition got so much higher this year. With a ton of offseason practice teams were just focused on getting better. Hopefully, we can carry the momentum from this tournament and beat Westlake next time we play them.”
The Panthers’ second matchup in the tournament was against Oxnard, which they won handily 26-6. Heath led the way again with 112 passing yards and four touchdowns.
Wide receiver London Leffler finished with four catches for 40 yards and two touchdowns against the Yellowjackets.
Leffler arguably was the next most impactful player for the Panthers in the entire tournament, as she finished with 13 catches for 111 yards, six touchdowns and five extra points.
In the tournament final, the Panthers had another decisive victory, a 33-19 win over Dos Pueblos.
Heath threw for five more touchdowns and 168 passing yards. Leffler had five catches for 36 yards and two touchdowns.
“It was another great experience,” said Wood. “Two years in a row and I can’t say enough of what Hueneme has done. We will definitely be back. They run a first-class event.”
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