Girls Flag Football takes San Marin by storm

By Emma Langford and Makayla Young

Many girls have been involved in Powderpuff Flag Football since its start in 1970, and it always attracts a large crowd of girls who enjoy the game. However, this is only one game against their own school. With girls flag football becoming a new high school sport, they can play against other schools such as Rancho Cotate and Terra Linda. The sport has been in discussion since Feb. of this year, and now it is official. This is flag football’s first year as a California high school sport, and although some say they wouldn’t expect a large turnout, due to other popular sports being played in fall, 33 girls wanted to play.

“These girls are making history by being one of the first girls flag football teams in the state,” Head Coach Mo Orrfelt said. “This is one of the reasons many of the girls decided to join.”

However, Orrfelt’s reasons for coaching are different.

“I have always loved to play football and coach it. We are going to have fun, learn the sport, and win as much as we can,” Orrfelt said.

Orrfelt used to coach tackle football before becoming a flag football head coach. The transition was especially hard for her because there is no offensive or defensive frontline in the sport.

“Transitioning from coaching tackle football to teaching girls flag football was a challenge, but the girls brought a ton of energy and spirit to the first game,” Orrfelt said.

She hopes the girls will be “mentally and physically challenged, and gain experiences to take with them as they mature.”

The Mustangs played their first ever flag football game on Sep. 6 and lost to Rancho Cotate. However, the team didn’t let this discourage them and took it as a valuable start to the season.

“Even though we lost 8-6, our team still came together and found our rhythm,” sophomore saftey Eliza Stickle said.

Sophomore slot reciever Sydney Ware shared many challenges the team faced that may have contributed to the loss.

“The main challenge is definitely learning the sport since it’s the first year,” Ware said. “Pulling the flags is kind of hard too.”

Girls flag football is very different from tackle football most people are familiar with. In tackle football, players are only subbed out if they get hurt, or if one team is losing. However, in girls flag football, the players are constantly being switched out and moved around. The team has two quarterbacks, freshman Avery Bishop and junior Lauren Fong, who both play throughout the entire game.

“It’s fun switching off between running back and quarterback,” Bishop said. “And I love switching with Lauren, she’s great.”

Flag football also has twice the amount of injuries as tackle football, however tackle football has a longer recovery time from those injuries, according to the National Library of Medicine. This hasn’t stopped anyone from wanting to play, and “history has helped them bond with each other,” Coach Orrfelt said.

These girls are making history by being one of the first ever high school girls flag football sports, and they are excited to be doing so.

“Flag football is a good opportunity for girls to learn the sport, and I’m excited to play this year,” Stickle said.