After a dominant first-round win, the Rangers move on to the second round of the playoffs against the Lompoc Braves.
By Jacob Serrato and Luis Flores
The 2026 CIF Central Section Girls Flag Football Championship continues; the No.8 seed Lompoc Braves are traveling to Visalia to take on the No.1 seed Redwood Rangers this Thursday night, October 29, at 6:00 pm in the Mineral King Bowl.
A rematch from Week 9 of the season, in which the Rangers took the close 13-7 OT win, can the Rangers win again, or will Lompoc get their revenge?
The Lompoc Braves enter after a 32-21 win against Morro Bay in the round of 16; they ended the season 12-11 and finished No. 4 in the Mountain League.
The Tribe offense has produced 139.3 passing yards a game, 66.2 rushing yards, and averaged only 18.3 points a game.
Led by Quarterback Tiana Terrones, this year she has put up 2,099 passing yards, with 105 passing yards a game, 25 touchdowns, 22 interceptions, .576 completion percentage, a passer rating of 67.9, 340 rushing yards, and 5 rushing touchdowns.
The run game is led by Karen Nanclares with 515 yards, 25.8 yards a game, and 6 touchdowns, but not too far behind her is Madison Caballero with 407 rushing yards, 18.5 yards a game, and 3 touchdowns.
The receiving core is where the magic happens; four different players have more than 300 receiving yards. Karen Nanclares, Lynette Miguel, Madison Caballero, and Ava Adams combine for 2,189 receiving yards and 23 touchdowns. Caballero is the leader, racking up 877 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns. Just behind her is Miguel with 667 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns.
The defensive side of the ball has 50 interceptions, 76.0 sacks, and has given up only 17.2 points a game. Lompoc’s secondary is a hungry ball-getting team, averaging 2.3 interceptions a game. Caballero and Nanclares, who combined for 24 interceptions, are the main two pass defenders to watch for.
This is the same defensive unit that was able to hold the Rangers to only 13 points in Week 9. That marked the only time all year Redwood scored less than 20 points in a game.
Lompoc tends to be a better team away than at home. On the road, the Tribe went 8-4; on home grounds they went 4-7. So expect Lompoc to bring a fight.
Their opponents are the Redwood Rangers. In their inaugural season, the Rangers went 18-1, 6-0 in league play, earned the No.1 seed in the playoffs, and are coming off a blowout win against Madera 36-0.
The Redwood offense is led by Emma Crisp, the sophomore quarterback who has put up numbers destined for the history books. 3,359 passing yards, 186.6 passing yards a game, 71 touchdowns, 9 interceptions, .693 completion percentage, a passer rating of 122.9, 470 rushing yards, and 6 rushing touchdowns.
The run game is led by Blake Duncan; the speedy running back has rushed for 859 yards and 12 touchdowns.
The receiving core of Redwood is by far the scariest part of the team. Analizah Balderas has been the main target, racking up 965 receiving yards and 17 touchdowns, but on the other side lies Adriana Soria-Rosales with 939 receiving yards and 21 touchdowns; the duo alone combines for 1,859 receiving yards and 38 touchdowns.
Four more players have also put up remarkable numbers: Blake Duncan, Jaelyn Bruce, Apple Espino, and Miranda Ortiz have all accumulated 300+ yard receiving seasons.
With all this power, the Ranger offense has put up 43 points a game, 215.3 passing yards a game, 80.7 rushing yards a game, and 218.1 receiving yards a game.
The defensive core has 40 interceptions and 43.0 sacks, led by a deadly pass rush duo, Tori Ochoa and Jema Serrato, and the unit has only given up 6.4 points a game.
They can keep you outta the end zone, bring the pass rush, and cause incompletions, all things that make this unit special.
2026 CIF Central Section Girls Flag Football Championship Bracket: Quarterfinals
No.1 Redwood vs. No.8 Lompoc
No.5 Paso Robles vs. No.4 Santa Ynez
No.3 San Luis Obispo vs. No.6 Templeton
No.7 Torres vs. No.2 Bakersfield Christian
The winner of this game tonight will play the winner of No.5 Paso Robles vs No.4 Santa Ynez.
What is sure to be an exciting matchup tonight is the Redwood Rangers and Lompoc Tribe; the winner moves on, and the loser goes home.
Jacob Serrato
Jacob Serrato is a senior and first year sports writer for the Redwood Gigantea, he is beyond thrilled to be apart of the Gigantea and to cover Redwood sports all year long.
Luis Flores
Luis Flores is a sophomore that is apart of Redwood Gigantea, he loves to write about sports topics and can't wait to write plenty of stories and cover every sport of Redwood.
Tags: flag football, gobigblue, Redwood, redwood high school, redwoodvslompoc, rhs, sports, visalia ca
