Petaluma’s defense came up with stop after stop as the Trojans won 12-0 Wednesday night.
A night after its defense recorded six interceptions in a win over Analy, the Petaluma flag football team put together another defensive showcase to stay undefeated on the season.
Petaluma’s defense came up with stop after stop as the Trojans pitched a shutout in a 12-0 win Wednesday at Cardinal Newman to move to 12-0 on the year with one game left on the schedule.
“Cardinal Newman is a really good team and it’s a little nerve-wracking play them, but we’ve played together for a long time and we’re just used to each other and where the ball is going to go,” said Petaluma senior Emma Hale, who caught both touchdown passes for the Trojans. “We’re just all on the same page and it feels like with each win it’s getting easier and easier.”
The Trojans will now have a chance to finish out an undefeated season in their regular-season finale Monday against crosstown rival Casa Grande (3-10).
“One win away,” Petaluma head coach Dan Gemma said. “Against Casa on Monday night, and they always bring it. Regardless of what their record is, they always bring it. I’m pumped.”
Wednesday was the fourth consecutive game in which Petaluma has held an opponent to one or fewer touchdowns. They started the streak with a 30-6 win over Novato, then beat San Marin 30-8 before taking down Analy 21-8 on Tuesday night.
Their game against the Cardinals (9-3) had a few key moments. They got the scoring started midway through the first half with a short touchdown pass to Hale from quarterback Lauren Wilson. The Trojans then took their 6-0 lead into halftime after getting a goal-line stop with under a minute to play.
They then extended their lead on a clutch play early in the second half, converting a fourth down for a touchdown at Newman’s one-yard line. Hale hauled in the pass from Wilson and snuck around a few defenders on the outside for the score.
To their credit, Newman kept up the fight and regained some momentum on an interception from Sofia Kerrigan with around 12 minutes to play. Their possession, however, stalled out and the Trojans got the ball back with eight minutes to play.
Petaluma’s defense then put the game on the ice when Emma Walker picked off quarterback Callie Howard with three minutes left in the game.
Both Hale and Gemma credited the work of their reserve players in practice for the team’s defensive prowess.
“We wouldn’t be able to do what we do without those second- and third-stringers that play offense against our defense in practice,” Gemma said. “Every girl is a spoke in this wheel.”
The Cardinals are done for the regular season and will wait to learn their playoff seeding at the end of next week.
You can reach Staff Writer Gus Morris at 707-304-9372 or gus.morris@pressdemocrat.com. On X (Twitter) @JustGusPD.
