The Benedictine Mesa women's flag football team showed grit and resilience on Thursday but ultimately came up short in a 49–18 loss to Simpson University.
Simpson opened the game with early momentum, striking for back-to-back touchdowns in the first quarter to take a 12–0 lead. The Redhawks responded in the second quarter with their most methodical drive of the day—an 11-play, 66-yard march capped by a Benedictine touchdown. Although the 1-point conversion pass from
Giahni Ruiz was unsuccessful, the score cut the deficit to 12–6 and injected energy into the Redhawks sideline.
Simpson answered quickly, however, punching in two more scores before halftime to extend their advantage to 24–6.
The Redhawks continued to fight in the third quarter, putting together a pair of strong offensive series. Another sustained 66-yard scoring drive midway through the period brought the score to 30–12. After the defense forced a short field on the next series, Benedictine capitalized again—this time needing just five plays to travel 14 yards and close the gap to 30–18.
Despite the Redhawks' offensive surge, Simpson responded with two more touchdowns late in the third and early in the fourth to regain control of the game. A successful 1-point rush by Simpson pushed the lead to 42–18, and a final score in the closing minutes sealed the outcome at 49–18.