San Dimas Saints Girls Flag Football faced the Bonita Bearcats at their home field on August 27, 2025, for the second annual Smudge Crown flag football game at 7 pm. The score resulted in an upset for the Bearcats with an end score of 19-6.
Not only was this a cross-town rivalry, but it was also a game for the coveted end title of 2025 Smudge Crown winner. The game was sponsored by the LA Rams, who provided both teams with LA Flags and a $ 1,000 check.
As the game was about to start, both the Saints Captains and Bearcats Captains walked to the 40-yard line to shake hands and greet each other. The Saints won the toss and deferred to the second half. All captains hustled back to their teams for a quick talk from the coaches, giving the girls encouragement and prayers for the game.
The Bearcats started with the ball, but it was quickly turned over to the Saints. After a long nine minutes of the Saints being on offense, Senior Audrey Schlim punted the ball to the Bearcats for them to take over.
The Bearcats scored in the second quarter with 10 minutes and 30 seconds left on the clock until halftime. The Bonita side was extremely loud, and that was when the Saints realized the game was on the line.
With four minutes and 35 seconds left to go until halftime, Freshman Brooklyn Parkhill got a pick, putting the Saints back on offense. Parkhill said, “Getting my pick during my first ever Smudge Crown game made me so excited. I was beyond proud that I could help out my team. It also made me happy that my teammates hyped me up after and were so loud.” This helped Schlim throw a perfect spiral to senior Faith Kearns, who put six points on the board.
The Saints went for the extra point, but the pass was caught by Kearns again; however, the referee called it incomplete. Everyone’s faces looked devastated. The Bearcats went back on offense with a quick turnover. Time ticked away as Schlim threw a deep ball to Freshman Emily Nazick for a complete pass, but the clock ran out, and it was now halftime.
Going into halftime, both teams were tied 6 to 6 with only two more quarters to go.
During the third quarter, teamwork was particularly evident on the field. There was an outstanding diving catch by Nazick as numbers 32 and 23 for the Bearcats tipped the top of the ball. That play resulted in a third down for the Saints.
Bonita’s starting quarterback, Senior Tressa Beatty, had her pass picked off by Kearns, which gave the Saints another opportunity to score. The Saints took that opportunity and never looked back. Four downs happened quickly as Schlim worked to get it into the end zone. Schlim’s pass was completed to Senior Lei’ani Jamie for a touchdown. The score was now 12-6.
That was a quick third quarter for both teams. As the Saints were only up six points, the game was highly stressful for all. Bonita had won last year, and it had been chaotic because it was the first year, and everyone had been so excited about it. This year, there was an apparent change on the Bearcat side as the Saints led by six and the game was on the line.
The fourth quarter arrived quickly, as it began with the Saints in possession of the ball, but multiple fouls were called throughout every play. It was either false start or interference from offense or defense. The game grew very intense. The Saints had to keep repeating third down from where they had left off from the original spot. Schlim’s pass was supposed to be a pitch to Jamie, but she looked down the field to Kearns and threw a hard short pass. The Saints were only six yards away from another touchdown and decided to go for it.
Schlim’s pass was completed to Kearns as it bounced off of number five for the Bearcats into Kearns’ hands. The crowd went crazy, and everyone was excited and hyped for Kearns’ catch. The score now stood at 19-6.
With four minutes left to go in the fourth quarter, Beatty threw a long deep pass to number 15, but it was incomplete and stopped by Nazick.
The clock ticked down and everyone’s hearts raced. Beatty threw a short pass to number 15 as she ran down the field for multiple yards. She was sacked by Nazick and Senior Alyssa Franco. The Bearcats rushed, trying to get downfield to score. Tressa threw one last play to number 11 as the clock ran out.
The Saints looked up at the scoreboard and realized they had just won the Smudge Crown game. Multiple tears from both sides of the teams fell onto the turf, and the excitement from the San Dimas High School crowd would never be forgotten. The Saints had rewritten this game and taken the payback they deserved.
Pictures were taken, and the LA Rams announced Faith Kearns as player of the game. Kearns said, “I felt honored to be chosen, but it wasn’t without my great
Senior Faith Kearns, player of the game (PC: LA Rams)
support system. It felt great to help the team, and it motivated me to keep pushing myself and to learn new ways to grow.” It was well deserved as she had multiple sacks, one pick, and two touchdowns for the Saints.
The Saints were now set to face off against the Etiwanda Eagles at home on Tuesday, September 2nd, at 7:00 pm.
