LOMA LINDA — For two playoff games and half of a third, the Loma Linda Academy girls flag football team looked ready to advance to the semifinal round of the CIF Southern Section Division 4 playoffs. The Roadrunners added to their 13-12 halftime lead when Estella Paden threw her third touchdown pass early in the third quarter. Paden completed a 1-point conversion to give Loma Linda Academy a 20-12 advantage. Fullerton still had some plays to run. The visitors from Orange County had two touchdown passes from sophomore Ava Flores to earn a 27-20 victory over the Roadrunners on Tuesday night. The Indians will host North in a semifinal game Saturday. “Our kids kept pushing until the end of the game and showed a lot of character,” Loma Linda Academy coach Patrick Black said. “I didn’t know what to expect when we started.” This was Loma Linda Academy’s first varsity season. Black had coached club flag football for 10 years. He and his two assistant coaches are physical therapists. “The parents and students rallied around the team,” Black said. Loma Linda Academy also has a boys flag football team, and Black said there is a good tradition at the Loma Linda-based school. “We used to play other small Seventh-day Adventist schools,” Black said. The turning point in the contest came when Marley Keller stopped a possible Loma Linda Academy go-ahead score by returning an interception 70 yards to the 10-yard line. Fullerton capitalized when Flores completed a 10-yard pass to Olivia Yturriaga for the winning score. “That was a play where five players ran pass patterns,” Fullerton coach Frank Ramirez said. “She (Flores) found Olivia on the third check off and had space to pass the ball.” Flores completed 20 of 32 passes for 257 yards and four touchdowns. She even threw a couple of underhanded passes to center Alynna Ortiz during the closing minutes to gain yardage and use time on the clock. Ramirez said Ortiz is a sure-handed receiver. Fullerton quarterback Flores, who is a sophomore, said she hadn’t played before but thought flag football looked interesting. “I am proud to play with my coaches and my teammates,” she said. “We figured they had to be a pretty good team, so I had to lift my game up.” Related Articles High School Sports | North girls flag football team cruises past Norte Vista to reach Division 4 semis High School Sports | IE Varsity’s CIF Southern Section playoff scoreboard, Oct. 29 High School Sports | Inland girls athlete of the week: Braelyn Combe, Santiago High School Sports | Inland boys athlete of the week: Exzavior Oliver, Grand Terrace High School Sports | See which Inland football teams have secured playoff berths, can clinch in Week 10 One reason Fullerton won was that they were able to control Loma Linda’s option runs. Ramirez said his cornerbacks stopped being fooled. Reserve linebacker Ariel Enriquez was inserted on defense and played effectively. The option run involves a lateral to a running back. In Loma Linda’s cast, they will have three players share the ball, stretching the field. Black said the option runs are successful when executed well. Ramirez said he got a call to see if he was interested in coaching girls’ flag football. He has been a football official for 23 years. “I thought it would be fun to help the girls learn the fundamentals of the game,” Ramirez said. “It was the best decision of my life.