High School

Without a senior, San Ramon Valley wins North Coast Section D1 flag football championship

Sophomore quarterback Gia Ryan and freshman receiver Tatum Prindiville come through in clutch of hard-fought win over East Bay Athletic League rival Granada

Mitch Stephens

San Ramon Valley's flag football team, especially Hania Bowes (33) celebrates its 14-7 North Coast Section Division 1 championship win over Granada at Clayton Valley High School on Nov. 6, 2025
San Ramon Valley's flag football team, especially Hania Bowes (33) celebrates its 14-7 North Coast Section Division 1 championship win over Granada at Clayton Valley High School on Nov. 6, 2025 / Photo by Mitch Stephens

CONCORD, Calif. — San Ramon Valley flag football coach Chad Cochran  gathered his team before the team’s final game of a long and roller coaster season. 

The Wolves had reached the pinnacle — the last game of the North Coast Section season — the Division 1 championship contest against East Bay Athletic League rival Granada at Clayton Valley High School. 

“Just focus on the fun,” he said. “Just enjoy each other. You’ve come as far as you can go so go out and enjoy.” 

Nice try coach. It will never work. Even a team with no seniors surely will get the ploy to get the team to relax. 

Turns out, Cochrane knew exactly what he was doing. 

The sixth-seeded Wolves overcame a late third quarter deficit to score touchdowns on two 25-yard passes from sophomore Gia Ryan to freshman Tatum Prindiville in a matter of five minutes to score a hard-earned, but relaxed 14-7 victory over the fifth-seeded Matadors. 

““Our motto the whole playoffs was to have fun and no stress,” Cochran said. “It was like ‘if it doesn’t work out this year, we’ll come back next year. Let’s go have a party.” 

Party on Wolves (18-6). 

Granada (15-7), led by four sacks from Giselle Badilla and a 30-yard first-quarter touchdown pass from Katie Vail to Marin Lnenicka, a trio of seniors, looked in control before the young, but battle tested Wolves stole the game late. 

The first TD connection was followed by a two-point conversion toss from Ryan to Hania Bowes, making it 8-7 with 4:04 left in the third quarter. 

After holding Granada on three-and-out, the Ryan to Prindiville duo connected again on the second play of the fourth quarter.

Ryan, a tall, fluid right-hander rolled right and flipped the ball along the sideline to Prindiville, who dove into the end zone, giving the Wolves a touchdown edge. The defense did the rest from there. 

Ryan said it wasn’t as much about relaxing as it was competing. 

“I think just every one on this team is so competitive,” she said. “And I think we all just hate to lose. Even though there may be no pressure because we don’t have seniors, we all just want to win so bad. You have to put it all on the line.” 

Cochran said he wasn’t surprised at all Ryan kept going to Prindiville or that his prized freshman delivered. 

“Didn’t surprise me one bit,” he said. “Tatum is an amazing player and she's been doing it for us all season long. She’s not only athletically amazing, but her smarts are off the chart. She finds the open spot. She knows the right time to key in our quarterback. She makes her job a lot easier.” 

Why did Ryan have so much faith to throw to Prindiville? 

“She’s just a crazy good athlete,” Ryan said. “I mean, the future ahead for her is so bright. It’s fun to watch.” 

The same could be said of Ryan, who has two more seasons of eligibility in high school. Prindiville has three. Each has another sport which is considered their No. 1 — Prindiville in basketball and Ryan in softball. 

Vail, the East Bay Athletic League’s Offensive Player of the Year, is a basketball standout also. Though she’s looking forward to the hoop season, she couldn’t stop getting choked up that the Matadors, on a mission of their own, had fallen just short. 

They had pulled off impressive NCS wins over defending champion Alameda (26-20) in overtime, fourth-seed Heritage (33-0) and top seed and previously unbeaten Las Lomas (13-7). They lost to a team they had beat by the same score during the regular season. 

“I just wish I could have put more out there,” she said. “I mean, I know I tried to do my best but I always want to do more. The reason this is so tough isn’t just because we lost but because this is all over.” 

Said Granada coach Jared Muela: “It’s a tough one. It was two really good teams playing their best football at the end of the season. Sometimes breaks don’t go your way. The girls played their hearts out. That’s why you’re seeing so much disappointment. It wasn’t for a lack of effort or preparation, they just didn’t get the win tonight. This senior class has been with us since the beginning. It’s a great group. 

“The fact we have two teams in the finals from the EBAL speaks volumes. I’m happy for them and their coaches. If it wasn’t us, then I’m glad it was them.”

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Mitch Stephens
MITCH STEPHENS

Mitch Stephens is a senior editor at SBLive Sports for California, a state he's covered high school sports since 1984. He won multiple CNPA and CPSWA writing awards with the Contra Costa Times, San Francisco Chronicle and MaxPreps.com before joining the SBLive staff in 2022. He's covered the beat nationally since 2007, profiling such athletes as Derrick Henry, Paige Bueckers, Patrick Mahomes, Sabrina Ionescu, Jayson Tatum, Chiney Ogwumike, Jeremy Lin and Najee Harris as preps. You can reach him at mitch@scorebooklive.com.

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