Santa Barbara High girls flag football traveled north and battled to a championship win at the inaugural Lompoc Surf and Turf Tournament on Saturday.
The Dons won three straight games en route to the title, defeating Santa Maria (21-6), Cabrillo (32-36/OT) and Lompoc (27-25).
In the championship matchup against Lompoc, Santa Barbara High found itself trailing 25-21 with less than a minute to go and possession of the ball.
After a few plays, Elina Stump ripped off a 37-yard run and Lompoc was called for a penalty, moving the ball up to the 8-yard line with just four seconds on the clock.
On the final play of the game, Dons quarterback Dayzia Mendoza dropped back to pass and found Shea Gannon in the corner of the endzone for the touchdown and the championship win.
Earlier in the title game, Elina Stump, Alannah Salas and Alyssa Ortiz all recorded touchdowns. On the other side of the ball, Elina Stump and Krystal Valdez each recorded 10 tackles.
"We battled injuries and physical games today," Santa Barbara High coach Carlina Gonzalez said. "We figured out how to be calm in the storm and play disciplined football. It took each of these girls on our team to make today happen."
The day started with a comfortable win against Santa Maria thanks in part to a three-touchdown performance by Mendoza. She threw two scores to Natalia Dovgin while Ortiz hauled in the third.
Defensively, Alexandra Arnold and Stump led the way with seven and five tackles, respectively.
"We had incredible defense all day by Elina Stump who made some key tackles in critical times," Gonzalez said.
The second game of the day came down to the wire, with Mendoza making the difference. The quarterback threw four touchdowns in the win to Dovgin, Ortiz, Salas and Gannon.
"Big-time plays were made by Alannah Salas and Shea Gannon on the offensive side," Gonzalez said. "Those two rose to the occasion today."
In overtime, Mendoza came away with a key interception and scored the game-winning touchdown on a 14-yard scramble to punch the Dons' ticket to the title game.
"Dayzia Mendoza was calm and collected during crunch time," Gonzalez said.