
By Robert Balajadia
Saturday afternoon’s featured game of the 2019 GWFTL Season kick-off ended in a familiar way: a clutch performance from Team Legacy’s Jalana Garcia to turn a 26-20 deficit into a 32-26 victory against their rivals the Island Stunnerz.
It was just another afternoon in the office for Garcia, delivering in the moments her team needed her most. The Stunnerz were celebrating a 20-yard touchdown catch from TJ Rodrigues as they put the seven-time defending champions against the ropes. Legacy didn’t buckle, using a 37-yard touchdown run from Garcia to tie the game only to be topped by a game-breaking 40-yard run to take the late lead.
“I guess I just play with my heart,” said Garcia on where she finds the drive to finish games. “The score doesn’t matter. We can’t give up, no matter what we think the outcome is going to be, we have to play our game at all times.”
Garcia’s final run required breaking three tackles while juking out safety Danielle Vaughn at the 20-yard line that garnered the biggest crowd reaction on the day.
“I saw [Vaughn] already waiting for me to make the first move and that she was setting up to tackle me. At that point it was just a matter of hitting the cut at the last second to get around her tackle,” said Garcia on the big move.
Both teams had to fight through in-game injuries, which prolonged the game under the grueling sun which went from 2 pm to 5 pm. The most notable injury was team Legacy’s defensive back Cierra Arriola, who injured her ankle early in the 1st quarter. The team was already without key player Dana Benavente on the day and losing Arriola was a big blow to their defense.
“It was definitely a big hit to us, but we just have to talk to our incoming players that are stepping up to the plate and let them know that we’re here for them and they just have to stick to the job they know they have to do,” said Flores-Elliott, who, along with Garcia and Paige Surber, were coming in exhausted from National Rugby practice in the morning.
Flores-Elliott provided plenty of big runs, but none bigger than her 15-yard touchdown early in the 4th quarter to go up 20-18. The back-and-forth against the Stunnerz was expected by Legacy given the nature of the league to improve in talent each and every season.
“Every team gets better every year. The original players know that the skill level of the incoming girls is dependent on them. It really brings up the talent they have on their team. We can’t take any team lightly this year and that’s a challenge we’re going to have to keep climbing if we want to stay on top,” said Flores-Elliott.
Game Recap
The Stunnerz struck first blood with a 72-yard run from Vaughn on their opening drive. Legacy responded immediately after with a 42-yard run from Garcia as neither team were able to convert on their 2-point conversions leaving a six-all game in the 1st.
Rodrigues added her first score on a 52-yard catch and run before halftime putting her Stunnerz up 12-6.
Garcia added her second touchdown of the day early in the 3rd to from 21 yards out to tie the game at 12, but Flores-Elliott punched in a conversion to give her team a 14-12 lead. Vaughn and Lani Jackson gashed Legacy with big runs to set up a late 3rd Quarter score from Vuaghn to once again change the lead 18-14.
Flores-Elliott’s touchdown to open the 4th briefly gave Legacy back the lead until Rodrigues hauled in the 20-yard score. Garcia refused to be denied with a 37-yard run and Legacy got the ball back on the following possession thanks to a fumble forced by Jessica Taitague.
Other Score
The morning game provided just as much entertainment with the Sindalu Raiders beating the SB Saints 24-18.
…more photos from Michael Ebio coming soon…



















GPS Sports Calendar
February 2023
- SU
- MO
- TU
- WE
- TH
- FR
- SA
Events for January
1st
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
2nd
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
ISA TRACK & FIELD MEET
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
Events for February
3rd
ISA TRACK & FIELD MEET
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
TRITONS BASEBALL INVITATIONAL PLAYOFFS
Events for February
4th
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
Events for February
6th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
7th
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
8th
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
9th
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
ISA TRACK & FIELD MEET
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
Events for February
10th
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
ISA TRACK & FIELD MEET
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
TRITONS BASEBALL INVITATIONAL FINALS
Events for February
11th
Events for February
13th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
14th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
15th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
Events for February
16th
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
ISA TRACK & FIELD MEET
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
Events for February
17th
ISA TRACK & FIELD MEET
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
Events for February
18th
BLACK HISTORY MONTH 2K/5K
World Athletics Cross Country Championships
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
Events for February
19th
SPRINT TRIATHLON, PACIFIC GAMES QUALIFIER
MONSTER ENERGY MOTOCROSS ROUND 2
Events for February
20th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
21st
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
22nd
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
23rd
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
Events for February
24th
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL QUARTERFINALS
Events for February
24th
Events for February
25th
Events for February
27th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL SEMIFINALS
ISA GIRLS SOCCER SEMIFINALS
Events for February
28th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL FINALS
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE SEMIFINALS
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL SEMIFINALS

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