Flag football faced a challenging first game of the season against two-time DI champions, Classical Academy, Aug. 26. However, with a mix of consistency, high energy, and team chemistry, the Wolverines came out on top 20-13.
Flag football came into the season with only a couple of practices under their belt. Middle linebacker Isabel Charlize (12) said that the team was apprehensive about playing against Classical Academy.
“We didn’t play them last year, but our coaches kept telling us that they practice all year long, and that they’re a club team too because they’re a charter school,” Charlize said. “It was definitely very stressful because we had only had one actual practice and a couple combined review practices with JV [before the game].”
However, changes in Classical Academy’s team dynamic combined with consistency in Westview’s offered a more even playing ground, according to Charlize. Westview currently has 11 returning seniors on the team.
“They had a lot of really strong senior players who graduated, which was the big difference from last year’s team,” she said. “I think that definitely helped us, also because we are a solid team from the year before. We only had two seniors leave and we have good new additions.”
After two years of playing together and in the same positions, safety Miley Shaver (12) said that the team is able to communicate and work better together on the field.
“We’re a close team,” Shaver said. “All of us were pretty new to the sport, but we’ve all been playing the same positions and playing with the same people for the past year now, so we’ve all gotten a lot more comfortable playing with each other.”
Especially with the new additions to the team, running back and slot receiver Shena Hafezi (9) said that the positive and uplifting energy of the team motivates her to perform better.
“When they have high energy and are gassing me up, I feel like I do better,” Hafezi said. “It wasn’t scary at all joining the team. Every single senior, all the upperclassmen, just everyone was very nice and welcoming.”
As well as creating positive relationships between the teammates, Charlize said that she’s able to rely on the coaches to help the team during the games for both guidance and support.
“Coach Coco is our defense coach, and she’s really good at talking with us and making sure we understand what’s going on,” Charlize said. “She’s always there to answer questions at all times. Coach Careth will defend us and stand up for us to the referees. Coach Coco’s is very calm, and keeps the mellowness so we don’t lose our minds. It’s super nice, because I feel like there’s a good balance between them.”
Throughout the game, the score remained close, with Westview getting a lead in the second half.
“It was pretty tied up, and then we started doing better towards the end,” Hafezi said. “We were calm and collected the whole time. We didn’t do many risky plays because everyone was a bit intimidated by the other team. But we stayed consistent throughout the game, and that’s what helped us win.”
Shaver said that the rushers on the team did an especially good job adjusting to new rules, which led to successful turnovers.
“London Davis, who was playing rush, blocked the quarterback’s throw multiple times,” Shaver said “She also had multiple sacks. These were really key moments on defense because they usually led to a turnover, meaning our offense came on. It was our first game playing with the new rules, one of them being the rush only started one yard back, so London and our other rusher Addison Doud did a great job adapting and figuring out how to use the new rule to their advantage as rushers.”
Along with Westview’s steadiness, Hafezi noticed a difference in the encouragement between the teams.
“Even when we were tied, our team was very good at consistently keeping the energy up, and I feel like I didn’t hear much cheering from the other side,” Hafezi said.
While Westview kept their plays consistent for the most part, Shaver said that one of her highlights of the game was preventing a touchdown.
“It was fourth down, and they were almost in the endzone,” Shaver said. “The other girl threw the ball, and I jumped up to smack it down. It was so exhilarating, because then everyone came up to me and high-fived me. I felt really good.”
The team’s division won’t be determined until the end of the league games. Charlize said she has high goals for the team’s success this year.
“Hopefully, we will become league champions this year and then move on to DI,” she said. “But we have been preparing and playing better than last year, so we are ready for a great season.”
