Northwood preparing for a battle in CIF Division 2 final Saturday against Trabuco Hills

Northwood was represented at the CIF luncheon by (from left) Coach Mike Stewart, Sailor Kensrue, Ava Cruz, Elisa Kung and Natalie Keith. (PHOTO: Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone).

Northwood High School’s girls flag football team has counted on a strong defense and an opportunistic offense to reach the CIF Division 2 championship game Saturday against Trabuco Hills at Fred Kelly Stadium.

The Timberwolves (18-6) have outscored opponents 603 to 304 and have an eight-game winning streak going into the inaugural final at 2:45 p.m.

Northwood, which finished second in the Pacific Coast League, upset No. 4 seeded Woodbridge and on Monday, defeated top-seeded Long Beach Poly to advance to the final.

“I’m really excited, I think it should be a really good game,” Northwood Coach Mike Stewart said Wednesday at the CIF media luncheon in Long Beach. “It should be fun for both of the schools. They’re a very good team, very similar to us in how they got to where we both are.”

Northwood has been able to turn turnovers into touchdowns in the playoffs. Stewart hopes that trend continues.

“For us, I think it’s going to be creating a couple turnovers and limiting our turnovers,” Stewart said on the keys to the Timberwolves’ success Saturday. “If we can do that, we could be doing some good things.”

Northwood is led by quarterback and defensive back Natalie Keith, who had three touchdown passes and two interceptions on defense in the semifinal, wide receiver Marissa Lee, defensive back Rebekhah Welch and linebackers Ava Cruz and Sailor Kensrue.

Four Northwood players were among those who attended the luncheon on Monday. Stewart acknowledged their accomplishments.

“Senior Sailor Kensrue plays linebacker for us, she’s very steady and a great flag puller and an inspiration to a lot of people on our team,” Stewart said.

“Senior Ava Cruz, another one of our captains, plays middle linebacker for us and was a first-team all-league selection and she’s really the heart and soul of our defense and senior Elisa Kung, a wide receiver who has great hands and runs great routes and she’s probably our leading receiver by far.

“Junior Natalie Keith plays quarterback and safety, Natalie is the epitome of a true Warrior, not the Woodbridge kind, and she is the heart and soul of our team and does amazing things on both sides of the ball.”

Northwood head coach Harry Lee has had another commitment the past week so Stewart has assumed head coaching duties.

Trabuco Hills, the No. 2 team from the South Coast League, brings a 17-3 record into the game and has won nine games in a row.

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—Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com