The Santa Clara Girls Flag Football team reached the CCS Division II semifinals for the first time in school history, but fell 45-27 to San Mateo High School on Nov 4.

“The fact that our team was able to make it past this year and get into the semifinals just means so much,” junior captain Kalliana Flora said. “We put in so much work this year and it really felt great to see our effort paid off.”

Despite the loss, Bruins Flag Football Head Coach Pedro Martinez said that the team exceeded expectations in its third season.

“We met the goals that we set forward was to win a CCS playoff game and we did,” Martinez said. “So, it was a successful season.”

The Bruins finished their historic 2026 season with a 16-9 record overall and 3-7, finishing fifth in the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League (SCVAL).

“We didn’t know what team we were going to have with the amount of seniors we lost [from] last year’s team, and we had to replace the quarterback and other positions,” Martinez said.

Martinez believes the large amount of commitment of the players in the summer offseason program, starting from June to early August, contributed to the success of this season.

Junior Malia Perez praised Martinez for having the team extra prepared with the summer session practices and workouts.

Perez would become a star defender, leading the SCVAL league with 169 total flag pulls and racking up a team-high of 11 interceptions.

“He pushes you to be the best player you can be,” Perez said. “He always supports you, and through the summer, he did not let us take days off, and that is how we started off the pre-season so well because we already were prepared.”

However, with a revamped team, the Bruins started off scorching hot with a 10-1 record in the regular season.

A notable win was Santa Clara’s matchup against Monta Vista on the road, where the Bruins won, 24-20. 

“We scored at the 5-yard line and then I had to dive into the end zone and we ended up winning,” Flora said.

The junior had her strongest season, finishing with 182 points which ranked third and second with 29 total touchdowns in the CIF Central Coast Section.

Flora showcased her versatility on offense by leading the team in rushing touchdowns (13), receiving yards (1,159) and receiving touchdowns (14). 

However, Martinez noted the Bruins were hit with numerous injuries in October, including the loss of its starting safety due to a hamstring injury and several players on defense suffered concussions. 

The Bruins had a three-game losing streak from Sept. 30 through Oct. 7 and lost four of the last games during the regular season, including a combined 80-0 shutout loss in their last two games.

“We were playing some games with some girls that did not get as much playing time and experience as girls that were down, but they did everything they could, and they did tremendous filling in,” Martinez said.

Despite the injuries that piled up, Martinez is proud of his players pushing through and managing to win Santa Clara’s first playoff win in team history, beating Monterey 15-7 on Nov 2.

“Now we know what it took to get past the first round with last year’s work that we put in for this season,” Martinez said. “Now we have to do the work for this year into next year’s season, and it starts now.”

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