The girls flag football team concluded their senior night with a 39-0 shutout victory against Clairemont High School, Oct. 24. The win punctuateds the last regular season game of the team’s first-ever season as an official CIF sport.
The game kicked off with a touchdown on the first play by co-captain Soraya Souvanaphong (12) after dodging two defensive players and gaining a sizable distance between herself and the other team.
“It was a really awesome feeling,” Souvanaphong said. “I knew I was going to get that touchdown by the time I was at the 10-yard line, and I already had a smile on my face. I felt like it was a good way to end the league season. I turned around and I saw the whole team running at me, my whole family in the stands, and it was really sweet.”
This play set the tone for the rest of the game, and a collective effort from the team led them to score four more touchdowns, another of which was made by Souvanaphong.
“By the time we had scored our second touchdown, everybody was so happy,” Souvanaphong said. “But we kept playing. Our coach’s mindset is ‘You don’t win until the last whistle blows,’ and so we just kept going. We didn’t care how many we were up by, because the other team could come back at any moment. We all played our best the entire game until that last whistle went off.”
Souvanaphong said that they used a multitude of offensive tactics to successfully get the ball across the field and implemented different defensive strategies to prevent the other team from scoring. She said the team didn’t overthink it too much and did what worked.
Souvanaphong said that playing alongside her co-captain Lexi Gaines (12) has been a highlight of her first and last season on flag football. As the only two seniors on the team, they’ve grown to be close partners.
“I’ve gotten to know her very well this year,” Souvanaphong said. “We’ve been playing together all season, and she’s been a really great co-captain and a teammate. She’s so supportive and energetic when it comes to spirit, so she’s a good person to have on the team with us.”
Souvanaphong said that because the teammates are all friends both on and off the field, they can work cohesively as a unit and successfully make quality plays, helping each other out on field.
“We all know each other outside of the sport, so it’s really easy to know each other’s behavior,” Souvanaphong said. “Also, everybody knows everybody else’s routes. If you get put into a different place, you’re going to know what to do because you’ve practiced it. Everybody has their place on the field, and if they have to step in for somebody, then they’ll do it, and they’ll do it well.”
Wide receiver Mia Jacobson (11) says that before games, the team communicates to make sure that they are on the same page about the expectations of what plays to run and how to execute their game plan.
“We go in there with an ‘Okay, let’s do this’ mindset,” Jacobson said. “Usually at the practice before, we go through all our plays, and then if we have any variations to it, we talk about it. Then we do a review during warm-ups. Sometimes we make things up or create plays the practice before and then implement them during the game.”
Prior to this year, girls flag football didn’t exist as an official CIF sport, meaning that this team was the first to navigate the new playing field.
“A lot of communication is key,” Jacobson said. “Either discussing defense or offense, or just generally asking questions a lot [is important] because a lot of us haven’t played football before.”
Regardless of the novelty of the sport, London Davis (11) said the season was very fun and joining flag football was an incredible experience for her.
“I thought flag football would be fun to try since it was the first year and I wanted to be involved,” Davis said. “I knew it would be really cool because we’re making history. If and when we go on to the playoffs and win, that would be super awesome for our school and for our team.”
