Daily Journal Athlete of the Week: South City’s Madyson Jade Quintanilla

When Madyson Jade Quintanilla arrived at South City her freshman year, she was met with a pleasant surprise.

Quintanilla arrived on campus in 2024-25 as a softball standout, and would fulfill her potential by capturing Peninsula Athletic League Lake Division Player of the Year honors on the diamond as a freshman shortstop. But had she been a year older, and started high school a year earlier, Quintanilla’s softball accolades would have been the whole story for the first-year student athlete.

Before she ever set foot on the South City softball diamond, however, Quintanilla was surprised to discover, during her first few days as a high school student, that South City was starting a flag football team. So, she jumped at the chance to play a fall sport in just its second season in the Peninsula Athletic League, its first as a sanctioned Central Coast Section sport, and in its first as an unaffiliated team at South City.

“When I heard about the opportunity, I really wanted to join,” Quintanilla said.

Now a sophomore, Quintanilla is one of the varsity standouts for a Warriors flag football team in its first season as an affiliated PAL program. South City is off to a fast start, currently tied for first place in the PAL Ocean Division with a 4-0 league record after last Wednesday’s 41-18 victory over Half Moon Bay at Jefferson High School.

Quintanilla has been named Daily Journal Athlete of the Week as the sophomore opened the matchup with HMB with another pleasant surprise, grabbing an interception on the first play of the game and returning it for a touchdown score. It was the start of a big day for Quintanilla, who added three touchdowns on offense — two passing and one receiving — to total four scores on the afternoon.

Switching between quarterback and wide receiver on offense, Quintanilla is the consistent anchor on defense at middle linebacker. She’s totaled four interceptions on the season, but her pick-6 against HMB was the first time in her varsity career she has opened a game with a defensive score — one that set the tone for the Warriors as they scored their highest point total in a single game in the program’s short history.

“They were pumped,” Quintanilla said. “They were so excited.”

A lifelong San Francisco 49ers fan, Quintanilla does have some football background, having played flag football at Next Level Sports. Her main focus was on softball, however, and with good reason. As a freshman, she’d go on to hit .649 with eight home runs and 41 RBIs to capture the PAL Lake Division triple crown. And she is intent on playing softball in college as well, although she will consider continuing her two-sport path if flag football becomes a collegiate sport in the years to come.

“If flag football ever comes into college, then I’m going to try to play both,” Quintanilla said. “Because the 2028 Olympics are going to have flag football.”

Standing 5-11, Quintanilla began her varsity flag football career as a wide receiver. Midway through the 2024 season, however, when regular quarterback Liongi Aiolupo suffered an injury that prohibited her from throwing the ball, Aiolupo shifted to running back with Quintanilla taking over at quarterback.

“Originally, I wanted to be a receiver.” Quintanilla said. “I had always done softball, so throwing was never an issue for me, and there was no one else on the team who could throw. So, I was just the next one up.”

This year, South City is utilizing a platoon of three quarterbacks, all of whom are sophomores, with Jordan O’Shea-Signio joining the rotation along with Quintanilla and Aiolupo. The three realign with something of a street football approach. Quintanilla tends to line up at receiver against teams with taller downfield defenders. But her dynamite arm keeps her taking consistent snaps at quarterback as well.

Against HMB, Quintanilla’s first touchdown pass was to Liongi, a short third-down outlet that saw Liongi motor of the score. Quintanilla aired out her next touchdown pass to senior Ciana Batutista. Quintanilla later rushed for a score, covering nearly half the distance of the field. This all came in the first half as the Warriors went into halftime leading 35-0, before Quintanilla sat for most of the second.

Quintanilla was met with another surprise after joining the flag football team last season. When she arrived for her first day of practice, she discovered her father Victor Quintanilla was serving as one of the team’s assistant coaches. Victor Quintanilla went on to serve as an assistant coach with the South City softball team. This year, he was promoted to head coach of flag football.

“I really enjoy it,” Madyson Jade Quintanilla said. “He’s a good mentor, and having him as a dad he can push me more. And he knows what I’m capable of.”

South City now has its biggest matchup of the season on the horizon, as the Warriors will host Hillsdale for a scheduled Wednesday start at 3:30 p.m.

South City and Hillsdale are currently deadlocked atop the PAL Ocean Division with identical 4-0 league records with three games to play. Hillsdale touts a good quarterback of its own in junior Ania Aleshi, who surpassed 2,000 passing yards, Thursday, Oct. 2, in a non-league win 18-0 over Gunn-Palo Alto. Last week, Hillsdale rolled 27-0 against Terra Nova, as senior Maddie Regan took two interceptions to the end zone for pick-6 touchdowns.

“I think it’s going to be a good one,” Victor Quintanilla said. “They have a good defense, we have a good defense. I think it’s going to be whoever makes a mistake first.”