ELK GROVE — In only its second season of fielding a flag football program, Hilmar High School has claimed a blue banner.

Under the sunny sky of Elk Grove at Cosumnes River College on Saturday, the No. 5 Yellowjackets scored on the first possession of overtime and stifled a 2-point conversion attempt by No. 3 Colfax to hold on to a 13-12 victory in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV championship game.

It marked the second straight game in which the Yellowjackets pulled out an overtime win, the first coming in the semifinal round Wednesday, 25-19, in double-overtime against Trans-Valley League rival Orestimba.

Knotted at six at the end of regulation Saturday, the Yellowjackets possessed the ball first in overtime and needed just two plays to find the end zone, as quarterback Brisa Gonzales delivered a pass down the sideline to wideout Alexis Aguiar, a fellow senior, for a 30-yard touchdown. Moments later, Gonzales found Aguiar again over the middle for a successful extra point.

The Lady ‘Jackets quickly forced a fourth and goal in the Falcons’ turn to possess, but allowed quarterback Kaylee Fore to find Sophia Smiley open in the end zone to make it a one point game. Instead of playing for a tie, Colfax head coach Tony Martello elected to attempt a 2-point conversion from the 10-yard line. Hilmar sophomore Milana Lacey quickly recognized the pass play, and was able to catch up to Fore, who was rolling out to her right, and snagged her flag for a sack to clinch the championship. Lacey was promptly mobbed by teammates on the field.

“I wasn’t actually sure what was happening, it was kind of a blur,” said Lacey. “It's my job to pull the flag, to play defense, so that’s all I was doing. And to see everybody come out on the field, it was just so strange and crazy, because I don’t think I or anybody else expected (the game) to end like that, but it’s so great that it did.”

Lacey finished with a team-high 12 tackles and three sacks.

Once Colfax elected to go for the win, Hilmar head coach Anthony Leal had a good idea of what was to come.

“I told my defense right before that 2-point conversion, ‘Hey, rushers, we have to get in there.’ We know the way (Fore) rolls out. She rolls out deep, takes all the depth. I said, ‘Hey, just know that’s coming.’ And we have a great pass coverage defense, so I told them to just do their thing and we'll be fine.

“To be honest, I'm still kind of light-headed… it’s just a lot of emotions, a lot of rush to my head right now, and my heart rate's probably higher than it should be.”

Gonzales, who won a section title in soccer alongside Aguiar in 2023, described the feeling of lifting another blue banner as “unbelievable.”

“Oh man, it just feels so, so great,” she said.

Gonzales shared that the touchdown to Aguiar was on a play that they ran successfully against Orestimba three days prior.

“(Colfax) is a really good team, but they didn't know a lot about us, so we ran the same play and it worked,” Gonzales said.

Aguiar said she had a strong feeling that the ball would go to her when the play was called, and admitted that she had lost the ball in the sunlight as she was running her route. 

“I honestly lost it,” she said. “I couldn’t see it when it was up there, and I reached my hands out, prayed that I would catch it for my team, and I ended up doing it, so it felt really good.”

The extra-point play, meanwhile, was drawn up specifically for Aguiar. “Me and Brisa had talked about it before, and so when I was able to get open, she saw it too.”

The efficient scoring from both teams was a stark contrast from what transpired in the 48 minutes of regular time.

Gonzales scored the first points of the contest when she broke off a 55-yard touchdown run late in the second quarter. She totaled 135 yards on 15 carries, while passing for 94 on 10 completions to overcome three interceptions.

The Falcons tied the game, 6-6, with 56 seconds left in the first half when a Fore pass was tipped twice by Hilmar defenders only to land in the hands of Maya Smiley, who ran the 35-yard distance for a touchdown.

Colfax received the ball to start the second and were stumped when Hilmar junior Mia Westmoreland recorded an interception of her own. Westmoreland had five tackles, including two in overtime.

The Yellowjackets finished the season 20-6 overall, including a 7-3 record in the Trans-Valley League. It was an 11-win improvement from their inaugural campaign a year ago, when they were bounced by TVL foe and eventual D-IV champion Hughson in the quarterfinal round.

Leal believes the biggest difference from this year to last was that — instead of treating flag football like another extracurricular option for students — he, his staff, the players and the rest of the Hilmar High campus community began taking the sport more seriously and holding the program to the same high standards as its other athletic teams that have won their share of section, regional and state championships over the past decade.

“I felt like last year, this flag football team didn’t mean anything to anybody,” Leal said. “I said, ‘This year, as coaches, at least let’s make it mean something to (the players).’ I think that's what changed. The whole culture, just caring and wanting them to learn and get better, I think that was huge.

“To be here, this really is an amazing feeling.”