THE JSERRA FLAG FOOTBALL team stepped onto the field 28 times this season. And 28 times, the Lions walked off as winners.
JSerra’s crowning achievement to cap its perfect 28-0 season came in a 25-20 victory over Orange Lutheran to capture the CIF SS Division 1 championship on Nov. 8 at El Modena High School.
JSERRA LIONS FLAG FOOTBALL TEAM CELEBRATE AFTER DEFEATING ORANGE LUTHERAN TO WIN THE CIF SS DIVISION 1 CHAMPIONSHIP. PHOTOS COURTESY OF JSERRA FLAG FOOTBALL
The Lions trailed, 20-19, with six minutes remaining in the game, drove down the field and scored the go-ahead touchdown with one minute remaining. Orange Lutheran took possession and drove to the 2-yard line when the Lions forced an incompletion on fourth down in the final seconds to preserve the victory.
“I remember we were all so excited, hugging everyone,” said junior Avery Olson, who defended the intended receiver on the final play. “That feeling that we were able to hold them off and have a goal line stand there for the last couple seconds. That was super, super remarkable.”
The Lions finished the season as the No.1 ranked team in state and in the nation according to multiple polls.
Looking back to where the Lions started in 2023, when flag football became an official CIF Southern Section sport, the perfect season becomes much more incredible. The Lions went from 7-8 in 2023, to 20-7 in 2024 and losing in the opening round of the CIF SS playoffs before finishing the 2025 season an unblemished record and a championship plaque for the trophy case.
Coach Brian Ong attributes the improvement from season to season to multiple factors, but most importantly it was about establishing a winning culture and getting his players to buy into that culture.
COACH BRIAN ONG HOLDS THE CHAMPIONSHIP PLAQUE.
“The girls have dedicated themselves to flag football, to studying in the film room and just giving a tremendous effort on the field,” Ong said. “You start in the summertime and you’re not playing any games, but I feel like that’s where championships are won. And in the offseason, the girls do a ton of work.”
Ong also said he is fortunate to have “phenomenal athletes,” including four freshmen who made an immediate impact. One of those freshmen was quarterback Kate Meir, who threw 59 touchdown passes this season.
Meir had been on the verge of attending Corona del Mar but chose JSerra after taking a tour of the school. And some teammates from Meir’s Friday Night Lights youth team followed her to JSerra.
“I thought it was really nice to have kind of that connection already going into it and it gave me some confidence knowing that there were other freshmen on varsity,” Meir said. “And then the juniors were super welcoming. They definitely just took us under their wings, and they treated us as though we had been here as long as they were. They showed us a lot of respect, which I appreciate.”
Among those freshmen was receiver Ava Irwin, who had 27 touchdown catches for the season, including two in the championship game.
Meir and some teammates point to a subpar performance in a pre-season scrimmage against Trabuco Hills that served as motivation for the rest of the season.
“And it was really bad,” Meir said. “So, we made this group chat, and we called it “Trabuco L” because we lost to them. And I think that was kind of a reminder of where we started. As we worked our way through the season, everyone’s connections got better. So, I think it was a big learning process at the beginning and about halfway through the season is when we really had our tempo and knew what we wanted.”