Captains shake hands at the start of the game.

 

ELK GROVE, CA (MPG) - The top two flag football teams in the Delta League – Pleasant Grove High School and Sheldon High School – faced off Oct. 21 for the league championship.

Pleasant Grove came into the game with an overall record of 11-4, and a league record of 9-2. Pleasant Grove was ranked No. 2 in the Delta League. In their previous game they came out on top 25-6 against Monterey Trail High School.

Sheldon, however, came into the game with an outstanding 22-4 overall record and the Huskies were 10-1 in league play.

No. 8 Jayla Woodard returns an interception that would turn into touchdown.

Sitting at No. 1 in the Delta League, Sheldon was riding a five-game winning streak following a loss to Pleasant Grove 18-15 in late September.

The championship game started out slow as both defenses were playing strong, stopping each other and forcing turnovers. With neither offense catching a stride, the first quarter went fast as both teams went scoreless.

Sheldon took the ball into the second quarter and there the game started to shift. Quickly scoring to start the quarter, the Huskies made it a 7-0 game. It was not just the offense for Sheldon stepping up, but the defense continued to stop Pleasant Grove, forcing them to punt.

In Sheldon’s next drive, the offense picked up where it left off, driving downfield and quickly scoring again. But Pleasant Grove still had time to put points on the board before halftime.

Pleasant Grove drove downfield looking to score, but Sheldon’s defense stood strong again and kept Pleasant Grove from scoring. At halftime, Sheldon led 13-0.

Wide receiver No. 14 Niah McNally-Williams extends the ball looking to score.

Not only did Sheldon lead at half time, but the Huskies had the first possession of the second half. As they were looking to put the game out of reach, the Pleasant Grove defense stood strong this time and forced a stop.

Once Pleasant Grove took the ball, they looked to be building confidence as they put together a drive down the field. But a throw into traffic was intercepted and the Huskies were able to run it back, weaving through traffic, all the way for a touchdown.

Converting on the two-point play put the game at 21-0, completely flipping the momentum and seemingly putting the game out of reach for Pleasant Grove entering the fourth quarter.

Pleasant Grove continued to fight for the rest of the game, preventing Sheldon from scoring any more points. However, Pleasant Grove’s offense was unable to score.

The game ended with Sheldon the 2026 Delta League Champions in flag football.

Although the regular season is over, both teams qualified for the playoffs. In the first round of the Section Championship, Pleasant Grove is seeded No. 6 and plays Edison High School while Sheldon is seeded No. 4 and plays Rodriguez High School.    

Quarterback No. 3 Saniah Wiley avoids flags being pulled.