In a game worthy of the top two ranked teams in the nation, Orange Lutheran held on late to defeat Newport Harbor 20-18 at Fred Kelly Stadium and win the first-ever CIF-SS Division 1 Flag Football Championship.



Trailing 20-12 with five and a half minutes remaining in the game, the 2023 Orange County player of the year senior Maia Helmar drove the Sailors the length of the field and capped a four-minute drive with a touchdown pass to Maddy Michel, setting up a critical two-point conversion attempt.  Lancer freshman Anna Paquette applied pressure to flush Helmar out of the pocket and force an incompletion out the back of the end zone to retain the lead.

With 1:23 on the clock and three timeouts, the Lancers still had some work to do.  After completing passes to freshman Maddie Milne and Capri Cuneo on the first three downs of the series, sophomore quarterback Makena Cook and the Lancers were faced with a 4th down attempt with less than a minute remaining in the game.  Lancers head coach Kristen Sherman made the critical decision to leave the game in the hands of the offense to close out the game.  Cook completed the championship-winning 12-yard pass to Milne, and the Lancers began to celebrate.



In a move indicative of the closeness of the squad, sophomore Keylee Baker, who suffered a season-ending injury in a game earlier in the season, took the field for a kneel down on the last play of the game.

Orange Lutheran trailed at the half 12-7 after two drives into the red zone stalled with an interception and a subsequent incomplete pass in the end zone as time expired. The Lancers frustration continued with a turnover on downs in the first drive of the second half before they finally broke through on their next drive.  Cook completed a 5-yard TD pass to Senior Laina Yasumura to regain the lead 13-12.

On the ensuing drive, senior AJ Hendrix intercepted Helmar's pass and returned the ball to the Sailor 20-yard line.  The pick by Hendrix was the turning point in the game as Cook promptly connected with Milne for a 4-yard TD, followed by a critical PAT conversion to Anderson, setting up the Sailor's final touchdown drive.

Cook finished the game completing 26 of 30 passes to eight different receivers for 243 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception, while Anderson led the receiving corps with six catches for 52 yards.

With the victory, the Lancers not only secured the number one ranking in the Nation by MaxPreps.com but also made flag football history in the state as the first CIF-SS Division 1 Champions ever.