Dimond dominates South to take Cook Inlet Conference flag football title

The Dimond flag football team went against tradition Tuesday in its semifinal game against West High. Instead of taking the ball as they had all season, the Lynx decided to defer the opening kickoff, eventually earning a closely contested 14-0 win.

But in Thursday’s CIC championship, Dimond reverted to form, both by taking the opening kickoff and with a rejuvenated, pinpoint offense.

Dimond took the first possession and completed a scoring drive that ate up most of the first quarter, taking a 27-9 win to earn a third consecutive Cook Inlet Conference title.

“Last week we deferred for the first time,” Dimond head coach Brad Lauwers said. “The girls said today they wanted the ball first. That showed a lot of confidence and that first drive set a good tone.”

Maile Wilcox found Ellie Cunningham on a running back option pass in the back of the end zone with less than three minutes to play in the quarter to open the scoring.

The two teams had split a pair of games this season, with South winning 21-19 in overtime on Sept. 6 and Dimond earning a come-from-behind 20-7 win on Oct. 1.

“We’ve played two very close games with them and we expected to have another close game so it was nice to have that lead,” Lauwers said.

Not only did the drive give Dimond a lead, it kept South’s offense with dynamic senior quarterback Olivia Heartwell off the field until the final minutes of the first quarter.

“They were talking about deferring and I was like, we need that ball,” Lynx senior quarterback Kali Hibbert said. “It was really important to score on that first drive. To hit them like that, it was so important.”

Hibbert scored on a run from two yards out with just under nine minutes remaining in the second quarter to extend the Dimond lead to 14-0. And just minutes later, the Dimond defense, which had already been staunch against South’s offense, added to the scoring itself.

Wilcox jumped a route and returned it for a short pick-six to extend the Dimond lead to 21-0 before halftime.

“We’ve been focusing on that,” Wilcox said. “They do that set play over and over where the receiver goes across the middle. We’ve been watching a ton of film on it and I just locked in on that girl.”

Dimond continued to pull away in the second half as star running back Mai Mateaki shifted her way through the South defense for big chunks of yardage.

Hibbert and Lauren Tufaga connected on a touchdown pass late in the quarter to make it 27-0 entering the final quarter.

South finally got on the board as the passing of Heartwell pushed them downfield in the fourth and the legs of Heartwell pushed them in the end zone. Heartwell found Sierra Sterling for a 3-point conversion for the final 27-9 count.

The title was not only the third in a row for Dimond but the 10th in the history of the program since flag football was introduced as a high school sport in Alaska.

Lauwers said a longstanding and consistent coaching staff and dedication by the players have allowed Dimond to continue to be a contender annually.

“There’s a good group of seniors who really care about flag football,” he said. “They play basketball and they play soccer, but you know, they come to flag football practice every day and they care about what they do on the field and I think it shows.”

CIC Awards

Offensive Player of the Year: Olyvia Mamae, senior, East

Defensive Player of the Year: Zoe Witter, senior, Service

Punter/Kicker of the Year: Anna Rajek, junior, Chugiak

Head Coach of the Year: Tony Maldonado, Service

Assistant Coach of the Year: Kristen Melican-Nevala, Dimond