ANTELOPE, Calif. – Junior Tayli Paeu-Lindgren scored a touchdown on each side of the ball while senior running back Jade Abalateo caught a go-ahead scoring pass with 1:25 remaining, but Antelope marched 66 yards down the field in the final 85 seconds for the game-winner as St. Francis lost, 34-33, in the first round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II girls' flag football championship tournament Wednesday night.

The 10th-seeded Troubadours finish their season with a 19-8 record. The No. 7-seeded Titans, representing the Metro League, improve to 21-6, and advance to a quarterfinal game against No. 15 Vista Del Lago, which upset Kimball in another of Wednesday's first-round contests.

St. Francis stormed to 26 unanswered points across the first 14 minutes of play, gave up 27 straight through the midpoint of the fourth quarter, reclaimed a 33-27 lead on the Abalateo touchdown, then effectively surrendered two touchdowns – one of which was called back due to penalties – before giving up the final one-point conversion.

Paeu-Lindgren, the Sierra Foothill League's Co-Offensive Player of the Year one year prior, put the Troubies on the board with her defense: she returned an interception 27 yards for a "pick six" with 6:08 left in the first quarter. Then on the ensuing Antelope possession, following the successful one-point conversion to Paeu-Lindgren, Colleen Medina snared an Izzi Siegler pass and returned it to the 8-yard line to provide SF with a short field. This resulted in Paeu-Lindgren's second TD, this time on an eight-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Lola Fox.

Antelope went three-and-out on its next series, thanks in part to Piper Bates' tackle for a five-yard loss, plus Abbey Pavelchik's stop on a third-and-11 chance. Monet Zauner's punt return put the Troubies at midfield, but the Titans kept their guests in check for three plays, resulting in a fourth-and-8. That's when Fox found senior Annie Swanson for a 28-yard TD strike, extending the St. Francis lead to 19-0.

The Troubie defense came through yet again on the next Titan possession, this time on a Bates blitz against Siegler. In a play that normally would result in a batted-down pass, Bates ended up grabbing the pass at the line of scrimmage. She ran in SF's second pick six of the game just 1:24 into the second quarter. Paeu-Lindgren converted her second point after, boosting the margin to 26-0.

Antelope finally managed to move the ball on its subsequent series. On a fourth-and-2 on the Titan side of the midfield logo, Siegler found receiver Deanna Richardson – coincidentally, a former Troubadour – for a 42-yard touchdown pass with 6:24 left. Antelope ran in the point after to get on the board, 26-7.

Titan senior Sydney Sharp grabbed an interception to hold off the Troubie offense and give her team possession just outside of the red zone. Still, Lucia Vicio's near interception in the end zone and a clutch sack by Holland Sperber kept Antelope from closing the gap. St. Francis went to halftime with the 19-point edge.

Still, Antelope managed to adjust to the Troubies' pass defense, committing no turnovers in the second half. Amaya Morgan scored a 35-yard receiving touchdown to start the third quarter, then punched in a two-yarder at 8:06 in the fourth. Siegler connected with Semiyah Brown for the conversion, bringing the Titans to within a single possession, 26-21.

Antelope held SF on the next series, with a sack pushing the Troubies to their own 19. Millie Katzeff did her part on the punt, sending the Titans to their own 24, but Siegler completed five straight passes – including an 11-yard touchdown to Sharp, who evaded two deflaggings to find the end zone with 4:27 left. Sharp attempted to run in the one-point conversion, only to have Vicio pull her flag just shy of the goal line. Still, Antelope took its first lead of the game on that drive, coming away with a 27-26 edge.

Fox delivered a 30-yard pass to Paeu-Lindgren on the second play of St. Francis' following series, with an illegal contact penalty moving the ball another 10 yards to the Antelope 26. Two short passes to Natalia Zitelli and Katzeff resulted in a fourth-and-1 on the Titan 21 at the two-minute warning. St. Francis drew an offsides call on a long snap count, moving into the red zone and more importantly, resetting the down marker. Another Titan penalty – this time, a roughing the passer – moved the chains halfway closer to the goal line for a first-and-goal at the Titan 8. Three players later, Fox sent a toss to the back right corner of the end zone. Abalateo pulled in the pass and managed to get one foot in bounds for the go-ahead score before running through the back of the end zone. Zitelli ran in the point after, giving St. Francis the 33-27 lead with 1:25 on the clock.

With time for one last series to tie or regain the lead, Siegler missed on three straight passes, with Sperber hurrying the third attempt. While this kept Antelope stuck at its own 14, the three incompletions served to tick off only 10 seconds. Facing the fourth-and-6, Siegler hit Mia Atkins, who held on for a 35-yard catch and a critical conversion. A Troubie penalty moved the ball another 10 yards to the SF 21. Three more complete passes plus all three of Antelope's timeouts resulted in a fourth-and-goal on the Troubie 2.

Siegler rolled right, looked to throw, but finding no options, tucked in for what appeared to be a 2-yard touchdown run with seven tenths of a second remaining. However, offsetting penalties called back the score, reset the clock to :07 left and repeated the fourth-and-goal. This time, Siegler found her target – Richardson on the right edge of the end zone – to tie the game at 33-33. Antelope tacked on the one-point conversion to Angelica Rendon, who hauled in a pass in the back corner of the end zone.

St. Francis had one final play to finish the game, and Fox connected with Zitelli, who was halted at her own 30.

Wednesday's game marked the Troubies' second postseason appearance, with the 19 wins exceeding the 12 combined victories in the program's first two years. It also represented the career finale for a large group of seniors: Abalateo, Medina, Pavelchik, Sperber, Swanson, Vicio, Nevaeh Gavino, Lauren Herbelin, Amelia Zaragoza and manager Cassandra Salvucci.

The Division II bracket had two first-round upsets. Besides No. 15 Vista's 13-6 win over No. 2 Kimball, No. 13 Rocklin rolled past No. 4 Woodcreek by a 31-12 final. All other higher seeds advanced: No. 1 Merced, No. 3 Ponderosa, No. 5 Atwater, No. 6 El Capitan, No. 7 Antelope and No. 8 Whitney.