Lilly Indefenzo’s punt return touchdown in the second quarter and 25-yard interception return for a touchdown played a part in the Bears’ shutout win over the Eagles 

The John Burroughs High School girls’ flag football varsity team dominated in their season home opener, coming out on top with a 39-0 victory over the Lancaster Eagles behind the efforts of Lilly Indefenzo. Indefenzo recorded a second-quarter punt return touchdown and a 25-yard interception return for a touchdown. Burroughs began their inaugural season on a 1-1 road trip with a 31-6 loss to South Hills and then bounced back with an 18-12 win over Valencia. 

The Bears jumped on the board with a pick-six by Isabella Estrada, which gave them an early 6-0 lead in the first quarter. Hailey Franco’s goal-line touchdown and Karisma Mendez’s converted extra point helped Burroughs increase the lead to 13-0, which was the score that ended the first quarter. Lilly Indefenzo started the second quarter by returning a punt for seven yards, putting the Bears at the Lancaster 19-yard line. Alyssa Pracha connected with Geneeva Keifer for an 11-yard touchdown pass, and Pracha converted the extra point with a quarterback run to help the Bears go up 20-0. The Bears weren’t done scoring in the second quarter, as Indefenzo had a punt return for 30 yards to give Burroughs a 26-0 lead going into halftime. 

While there was no offense in the second half for both teams. The Bears scored two defensive touchdowns in the third quarter, with Krytal Vilata and Lily Indefenzo both having interception returns for a touchdown for the Bears to help them have a commanding 39-0 lead. Both the Bears and Eagles had no points in the fourth quarter. 

“Wins are great, but I was more excited about the fact that we played better,” said Keith Knoop. Knoop also added that the majority of the Burroughs scoring was that the defense did a lot more than the offense in the win. 

Burroughs improves to 2-1 and Lancaster falls to 2-2. Burroughs will take on Westridge in a road contest on Wednesday, August 20th at 4:00 p.m., and Lancaster will play a second of a back-to-back against Fillmore at home with kickoff slated for 5:15 p.m. on Tuesday, August 19th.