The Pioneer High School girls varsity flag football team has a Golden Empire League championship in their sights following a big win in Dixon on Wednesday night.

The Patriots (10-2, 9-1 GEL) avenged a 20-8 home loss against the Rams (6-2, 6-1) from Sept. 11 with an empathic 18-6 victory at Finney Field this week. With the win, Pioneer now controls its own fate to win the GEL in its inaugural season before moving to the Monticello Empire League next year.

“This honestly feels so good because the girls were hurt after that league loss,” said coach Alyssa Phenix. “That was a very tough day. We’ve prepared, trained and practiced so hard for this game specifically. I’m very proud of these girls because they were focused, dialed in and knew they wanted to come here to win.

“This is definitely a championship game before playoffs, big time!”

Superb sophomore Naomi Navarro led the charge for the Patriots on Wednesday, as she has all season on both sides of the ball. Navarro recorded two hat tricks against Dixon with three interceptions and three total touchdowns.

Pioneer led 6-0 at halftime after a pick-six by Navarro. The Patriots doubled their lead midway through the second half on a 40-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Keziah Maldonado-Lemus to Navarro down the left sideline.

Maldonado-Lemus got in on the action defensively with a red zone interception as the Rams went for it on fourth and goal. Pioneer drove down the field following the turnover. Maldonado-Lemus attempted a deep pass into a crowded area and was intercepted by Dixon sophomore Emily Morris in her own end zone.

“You just have to stay calm and be confident,” Maldonado-Lemus said. “If you make a bad play, you’ve got to keep your head up because you know your team is depending on you.”

The Rams attempted to mount a comeback as Morris connected with sophomore wide receiver Jordin Callen for a touchdown, ending the shutout with two minutes to play. Dixon initially appeared to convert the two-point conversion attempt but the catch was made out of bounds behind the end zone, leaving the score at 12-6.

The Patriots punted back to the Rams at midfield with 1:23 remaining. After Dixon drove into the red zone, the game appeared to end as a pass was broken up with no time left on the clock. However, Navarro was called for pass interference on a jump ball and the Rams were given an untimed fourth and goal attempt with a chance to tie the game at 12 and potentially win with a two-point conversion.

Navarro, unphased by the controversial call, ended the game with a pick-six. The sophomore safety read the play, caught the interception at the line of scrimmage, sprinted past Morris down the left sideline en route to the end zone for an 18-6 victory.

“I was just reading the quarterback’s eyes and seeing where her eyes go, that’s how I play at safety,” Navarro explained. “Once I caught the ball, I knew I was gone. You just gotta run past the QB and it’s over.”

Senior Cassandra Valdez and sophomore Ava Brooks each tallied one sack.

In the flag football team’s inaugural season, Pioneer only has two losses. The Patriots lost by one-point in their first game on Aug. 28 and avenged that loss with a 26-point win two days later. Pioneer had to wait nearly a month after losing by 12 points to Dixon but that makes Wednesday’s 12-point win that much sweeter.

“It feels amazing. I think we all came in to this game knowing we aren’t going to lose twice to this team,” Navarro said. “We all wanted first place so we knew what we had to do to tie for first place.

“Our defense was really good and so was our offense. Today was one of our perfect games in my opinion.”

Maldonado-Lemus has alternated starting at quarterback with sophomore Zayda Rodriguez on a game-to-game basis according to Phenix.

“We decided to make Keziah the QB during this game because we knew how big of a game this was in order to take first place,” Phenix explained. “The person that played well today would be Keziah. She did well under pressure, she didn’t let it get to her and she made the moves and decisions that she needed to do on defense and offense.”

With four games remaining, the Patriots now control their own fate to win the GEL with a 9-1 league record. The Rams have six games remaining with a 6-1 GEL record. Therefore, if Pioneer wins out, the Patriots will be GEL champions in their only flag football season before leaving the league.

“We’re gonna win (league),” proclaimed Maldonado-Lemus.

The Patriots conclude the regular season on Oct. 18 at crosstown rival Woodland.