Five more to go.

Maine South junior wide receiver Emerson De La Cruz made countless big plays throughout the season.

In Saturday night’s flag football state championship game at Willowbrook, De La Cruz saved her best move for the postgame.

Senior quarterback Aribella Spandiary passed for 221 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 57 yards and a TD to power Maine South to a 28-6 rout over Young in the state title game. The Hawks (26-3) led 13-0 at halftime and scored 13 points in the fourth quarter to ice the victory for the program’s first state title.

As the IHSA official stepped forward to hand the state championship trophy to the Hawks, De La Cruz gladly accepted the coveted prize. Standing in front of her teammates, De La Cruz grabbed the trophy, lifted the hardware and celebrated the first state championship in program history.

In just the second season as an IHSA sanctioned sport, the Hawks hoisted the biggest prize on Saturday night.

The Maine South boys football team, a traditional state powerhouse, have won six state championships, but the flag football team is aiming high, De La Cruz said.

“It feels really amazing that our team is representing Maine South and in just the second year of the sport, we were able to come up and be a big part of the Maine South community and our good football program and win a state championship,” De La Cruz said. “Winning this so early on is going to be huge for the Maine South football program.”

Spandiary piloted the offense with near perfection precise, completing 22 of 30 passes, including two TD passes to Laila Abukhalaf.

“The offense was absolutely amazing,” Spandiary said. “It feels amazing and this shows girls can do as much as boys can in football.”

Abukhalaf had a game to remember, catching five passes for 99 yards and TD grabs of 59 yards and 24 yards to fuel the offensive attack.

“That was my first time getting more than one touchdown in a game, so that felt amazing,” Abukhalaf said. “I’ve had great role models to look up to like Emerson and Aribella.”

De La Cruz, a speedy and elusive player with next-level talent, was a thorn in Young’s side all game. She drew the attention of the Dolphins’ defense, hauling in five receptions for 44 yards.

“I think our offense flowed really nice together and we kept our spirits high,” De La Cruz said. “We were quick and decisive on offense. Our quarterback did a nice job making plays and getting the ball where she needed to. Our receivers were able to run up the field and make the right moves and get touchdowns. The team did great on offense.”

On defense, the Hawks stymied the Dolphins with an aggressive pass rush to go with several deflections, not allowing them to find any groove to build momentum. After losing to Evanston in a regional final last season, the Hawks steamrolled through the regular season, and then won four of their five playoff games by double digits.

Ella Rice was consistently in the backfield causing havoc for Young’s offense. She tallied two sacks and three flag pulls. Nellie Ossmo led the Hawks with six flag pulls.

“My mindset was I wanted to win this game and I was super excited and threw my body on the line,” Rice said. “I really tried to get into their heads and dive for the flag and block the throws.”