Posted: Sep 30, 2025
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Junior Tayli Paeu-Lindgren caught two touchdown passes, junior Natalia Zitelli ran for two and sophomore Monet Zauner returned for two more on "pick six" interception returns, as St. Francis rolled past Folsom, 46-0, in the varsity nightcap of a Sierra Foothill League girls' flag football doubleheader Tuesday night.
The Troubadours pick up their third straight win to improve to 16-3 overall and 5-2 in league games. This also marks their sixth shutout victory of the year, but the first since September 2 against Pleasant Grove. The Bulldogs remain winless at 0-14 for the year, 0-7 in SFL play.
After a scoreless first quarter, Paeu-Lindgren hauled in a 26-yarder to put SF on the board with 9:22 left in the second, then set up her second score on a punt return back to the Folsom 9. After a false start moved the chains back five yards, quarterback Jade Abalateo connected with her 2024 SFL Co-Offensive Player of the Year on a 14-yard strike.
Zauner notched interception touchdown returns of 26 and 19 yards. The first such pick six came on the first play following Paeu-Lindgren's second score. The second occurred with 3:20 remaining in the third. Initially, Zauner merely broke up a pass underthrown to Folsom junior Kyndle Bremby. As it happened, she tipped the ball slightly back toward the line of scrimmage. Zauner corralled the loose ball and ran it in for the Troubies' sixth touchdown of the day.
Zitelli scored both of her rushing touchdowns on the first play after the SF defense forced Folsom to turn over on downs. Abbey Pavelchik and Amelia Zaragoza combined for three stops to force a Folsom fourth-and-2 on its own 18. Trailing five possessions after the second pick six, the Bulldogs opted to go for it, only to fumble a handoff for a one-yard loss. That set up a Troubie first-and-goal from the Folsom 17. Zitelli dropped back to pass but found no targets, instead running untouched to the right side of the goal line with 44 ticks left in the third.
Then on the first Folsom series of the final quarter, the Bulldogs came up short of a fourth-down conversion – again, with Pavelchik grabbing a flag just in time – setting up St. Francis with a first-and-18 on its own 22. A double reverse put the ball back into the hands of Zitelli near the SF 25. The crafty junior ran the ball the remaining 55 yards, then tacked on the point after on a short flip from Abalateo, setting the board to its final state of 46-0.
Zitelli also turned a short Abalateo pass to a 22-yard completion to the 26, which set up the Paeu-Lindgren's first score early in the second.
Zauner's takeways were actually the third and fourth for the Troubies. Holland Sperber had the first one, coming off a third-and-22 after Anastacia Uniza's sack threw Folsom back to a "two-sticks" conversion attempt. However, SF did not end up turning the interception into points. Pavelchik nabbed the second pick. Madison Trafican's pass breakup helped force the Bulldogs into a fourth-and-18 on the first series of the second quarter. Pavelchik nabbed the next pass and return the ball to the SF 32-yard line. The following drive then featured the Zitelli 22-yard catch and the Paeu-Lindgren touchdown.
Piper Bates pulled seven flags, including a rare tackle-for-loss against Folsom crafty freshman, Jazelle Reed Johnson.
The varsity shutout followed an equally dominating 32-6 win for St. Francis' junior varsity. Freshman Chloe Hoertsch threw touchdown passes to Julia Tipton and Anna Votaw in the second and fourth quarters, respectively, while running in a 1-yarder to start the fourth. Freshman Hope Sperber ran for a 2-yard keeper to put the Troubies on the board midway through the first quarter, then Victoria Tateishi ran in a 25-yarder to start the second for the additional scores.
Only a long Shylo Carrera touchdown run prevented the Troubies from posting a shutout. On the second Folsom possession of the game, a dropped snap sent the Bulldogs backwards to the their own 10. Then Carrera evaded defender after defender before finding a seam that resulted in a 70-yard TD scamper with 3:30 left in the first.
The Troubadours pick up their third straight win to improve to 16-3 overall and 5-2 in league games. This also marks their sixth shutout victory of the year, but the first since September 2 against Pleasant Grove. The Bulldogs remain winless at 0-14 for the year, 0-7 in SFL play.
After a scoreless first quarter, Paeu-Lindgren hauled in a 26-yarder to put SF on the board with 9:22 left in the second, then set up her second score on a punt return back to the Folsom 9. After a false start moved the chains back five yards, quarterback Jade Abalateo connected with her 2024 SFL Co-Offensive Player of the Year on a 14-yard strike.
Zauner notched interception touchdown returns of 26 and 19 yards. The first such pick six came on the first play following Paeu-Lindgren's second score. The second occurred with 3:20 remaining in the third. Initially, Zauner merely broke up a pass underthrown to Folsom junior Kyndle Bremby. As it happened, she tipped the ball slightly back toward the line of scrimmage. Zauner corralled the loose ball and ran it in for the Troubies' sixth touchdown of the day.
Zitelli scored both of her rushing touchdowns on the first play after the SF defense forced Folsom to turn over on downs. Abbey Pavelchik and Amelia Zaragoza combined for three stops to force a Folsom fourth-and-2 on its own 18. Trailing five possessions after the second pick six, the Bulldogs opted to go for it, only to fumble a handoff for a one-yard loss. That set up a Troubie first-and-goal from the Folsom 17. Zitelli dropped back to pass but found no targets, instead running untouched to the right side of the goal line with 44 ticks left in the third.
Then on the first Folsom series of the final quarter, the Bulldogs came up short of a fourth-down conversion – again, with Pavelchik grabbing a flag just in time – setting up St. Francis with a first-and-18 on its own 22. A double reverse put the ball back into the hands of Zitelli near the SF 25. The crafty junior ran the ball the remaining 55 yards, then tacked on the point after on a short flip from Abalateo, setting the board to its final state of 46-0.
Zitelli also turned a short Abalateo pass to a 22-yard completion to the 26, which set up the Paeu-Lindgren's first score early in the second.
Zauner's takeways were actually the third and fourth for the Troubies. Holland Sperber had the first one, coming off a third-and-22 after Anastacia Uniza's sack threw Folsom back to a "two-sticks" conversion attempt. However, SF did not end up turning the interception into points. Pavelchik nabbed the second pick. Madison Trafican's pass breakup helped force the Bulldogs into a fourth-and-18 on the first series of the second quarter. Pavelchik nabbed the next pass and return the ball to the SF 32-yard line. The following drive then featured the Zitelli 22-yard catch and the Paeu-Lindgren touchdown.
Piper Bates pulled seven flags, including a rare tackle-for-loss against Folsom crafty freshman, Jazelle Reed Johnson.
The varsity shutout followed an equally dominating 32-6 win for St. Francis' junior varsity. Freshman Chloe Hoertsch threw touchdown passes to Julia Tipton and Anna Votaw in the second and fourth quarters, respectively, while running in a 1-yarder to start the fourth. Freshman Hope Sperber ran for a 2-yard keeper to put the Troubies on the board midway through the first quarter, then Victoria Tateishi ran in a 25-yarder to start the second for the additional scores.
Only a long Shylo Carrera touchdown run prevented the Troubies from posting a shutout. On the second Folsom possession of the game, a dropped snap sent the Bulldogs backwards to the their own 10. Then Carrera evaded defender after defender before finding a seam that resulted in a 70-yard TD scamper with 3:30 left in the first.
The SF defense locked down after that equalizing touchdown. Angie Weston interrupted the next Folsom drive with an interception at midfield. Votaw's QB hurry forced a turnover on downs and set up the short field for the Hoertsch-to-Tipton TD. Emily Nguyen pulled two flags and posted a hurry of her own to force a punt early in the third.
St. Francis inadvertently surrendered a fourth-down conversion in the fourth when an Isla Pattni TFL highlighted a defensive stop to a Folsom fourth-and-2 on its own 18. The Troubies set up for a punt return, only to discover the Bulldogs looking to go for it. With no time for SF to switch units, Folsom freshman Brianna Diaz had a relatively easy path to cross her 20-yard line and reset the down marker. Nonetheless, incomplete passes and one of Talia Luhrsen's quick deflaggings eventually led to a Folsom punt after all.
In fact, the Troubie punt return crew also set its offensive with favorable field position on two different occasions, thanks to the running abilities of freshman Audri Gordon. Although she didn't field either punt, she was the recipient of laterals on each. Her first runback gave SF a first-and-goal on the Folsom 18, leading to the Hope Sperber TD run. Gordon's second return finished at the Folsom 37 with 3:07 left in the game, which gave way to Hoertsch's 37-yard strike to Votaw for the sixth Troubie score.
St. Francis JV improves to 10-1-1 with the win, and remains unbeaten in SFL play at 5-0-1.
Both teams return to action on Thursday, heading west across the Yolo Causeway to Davis for a 6:15/7:30 p.m. doubleheader.
