Cheers echoed through the bleachers as the Berkeley High School girls varsity flag football team ran off with a commanding 60-0 victory over Leadership High School on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, closing out their regular season on a positive note for the team’s senior night.
BHS wasted no time in securing an early lead; within the first five minutes of the game BHS senior Zatiyah Dunmore intercepted the ball and ran down the field to return it for a pick six. This interception set the tone for Berkeley’s defense, which put up five defensive interceptions over the course of the game, two of which came from Dunmore.
BHS went on unchallenged, as their offense worked with flawless precision to cut through Leadership’s defense and secure a shutout. The win signified the end of an electrifying season and stood as a product of Berkeley’s hard work across the season and pre-season.
Prior to the game, BHS had studied the opposing teams game film and were prepared for Leadership’s style of play, “We watched the older games that they played; we learned how to be in the zones that we have to protect, and where to attack,”
Ana Garcia, a BHS senior and lineman, said. This preparation was especially significant for the three seniors on the squad, who were determined to walk away with a win in their last regular season match. “This game meant a lot to me because I’ve been in this program for four years and I played for three,” Dunmore said, “We played really good. There’s some stuff we could clean up, but overall, towards the end, we picked it up, and we played like a team.”
As Berkeley’s season comes to an official close, the West Alameda County Conference (WACC) tournament battle begins. The squad is looking to carry the momentum from their senior night victory into their WACC game next week as they aim to ramp up practices to prepare themselves for the post-season.
“I’m really looking forward to this WACC tournament. We can pull it off if we play together,” Donald Miller, a BHS assistant coach who was born and raised in Berkeley and was a BHS student-athlete himself, said, “We are just thankful and blessed to be included in the tournament. Because we have a really, really good team, we have a chance to beat anybody.”
After finishing the season with an overall 8-12 record, the squad remains optimistic about their future.
Miller has noticed a huge improvement in the program’s development and growth year after year. With a young squad consisting of many sophomores and juniors, the team looks toward next season by building on this year’s progress. “We are getting all these people, which makes our preparation easier, because we can go to advanced drills and skills versus having to start from ground zero,” Miller said, “Our preparation has been getting stronger and better every year.”