Chugiak, West to meet in CIC flag football championship

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West’s Isabella Roberts reaches for yardage as East’s Amari Brown makes the pull. West beat East, 18-12, in the Cook Inlet Conference semifinal game of flag football on Thursday, October 13, 2016. (Marc Lester / Alaska Dispatch News)

For the first time since 2008, the Cook Inlet Conference will crown a flag football champion other than Dimond or East.

One week after losing to Dimond in overtime, Chugiak upset the top-seeded Lynx 12-6 Thursday at Dimond Alumni Field in the CIC semifinals. The Lynx played in the previous four conference championships, winning titles from 2012-14.

In the other semifinal, West scored the go-ahead touchdown in the final minutes to down defending CIC champion East 18-12.

No. 5 Chugiak (9-7) and No. 2 West (13-3) will play Saturday afternoon at West for the championship.

"We have been right there all year, head-to-head with the top teams," Chugiak coach Marilyn Campnell said. "Tonight, we just played the full game. It was a full team effort."

Chugiak broke a 6-6 tie in the third quarter when quarterback Chasity Horn hit Eva Palmer for a 3-yard touchdown in the third quarter.

Late in the fourth quarter, Dimond had a chance to tie it, but Chugiak's Leilani Fugere deflected a pass in the end zone and the Lynx turned the ball over on downs.

Horn rushed for 59 yards, threw two touchdowns and intercepted a pass.

In the first half, she found Carson Head for a 17-yard touchdown. Head added two interceptions.

Dimond quarterback Megan Luther rushed 19 times for 95 yards and one touchdown. Mikaela Lawrence (5 pulls) and Makenna Boring (4 pulls, 2 for losses) led the Lynx defense.

"We had the ball on the 9-yard line at the end of the game and just couldn't score," Dimond coach Kathleen Navarre said. "They played good defense. We had a couple opportunities, we just didn't capitalize on them."

In West's win, the Eagles marched 86 yards late in the fourth quarter with Isabella Roberts punching in the go-ahead touchdown from four yards out.

The touchdown put West over the hump in a game in which East answered both of West's previous touchdowns. The Eagles led 6-0 in the first quarter, 12-6 in the second quarter and the teams were tied 12-12 at the end of the third quarter.

"We have 19 seniors who've been with me for four years, and they've done a good job learning football and playing football," West coach Travis Cantrell said. "Rebecca Syrup was offensive player of the year and Maya Baquiran was defensive player of the year.

"That (shows) what our team has done this year."

Syrup did a little bit of everything. She finished with 208 yards passing with two touchdowns and one interception, added 43 rushing yards and pulled in one reception from Raymi Ross for another 15 yards.

Ross, who recorded 76 receiving yards and a touchdown, hit Syrup for a first down on West's final scoring drive.

Baquiran paced the West defense with seven flag pulls, one for a loss of yardage.