Poway’s Flag Football team was down 7 to 20 to Westview on Sept 17, They knew they did not have much time and had to make this play.
After running play after play led by coach David Arnold, their score started going up. Through teamwork, and perseverance Poway barely took the win, ending in a 21 to 20 victory.
The newly created Varsity Flag Football team has had a fantastic season. After only just being introduced as an official CIF sport at Poway High this year, they are 11-2, as of Oct. 16.
Arnold has been coaching for 14 years at Friday Night Lights youth flag football league. He describes the team as progressing and learning both on and off the field.
Arnold said the team’s biggest strength is their mental approach and never letting their nerves get the best of them.
“They’ve gone against some really good teams, but they never panicked. They came back, found a way to win, and persevered,” Arnold said
This is a huge factor into why they are having a good season.
Notable wins included one against Bonita Vista High School (20-12), who are defending D1 champs.
The team has four captains; seniors Avery Hansuvadha and Hailey Vermilyea, junior Kenzie Arnold, and sophomore Ashley Crafton.
Crafton plays left contain, which is similar to the position of linebacker in football.
“I think communication is a big thing because it’s fast-paced. So just being able to talk to each other so we all know what’s going on the field,” Crafton said.
Flag is different from football because it’s a no contact sport. Instead of tackling opponents, players pull each other’s flag. Flag is also faster paced than football as the play clock is shorter.
Captain Mackenzie Arnold has done well at quarterback. Crafton gives credit to her attitude on how she treats fellow teammates.
“She has been leading the team pretty well and just always builds up the players, ” Crafton said.
Hansuvadha said the best part of the girls’ varsity flag football team is how close they all are to each other. She gives a lot of credit to Coach Arnold. He’s very supportive of the team and makes sure everyone knows what they’re doing. Hansuvadha mentions they are not perfect and still are learning how to better themselves as a team.
“Our first loss was against San Marcos, and we had a winning streak of, I believe, six, and I think we just had a big head, and we went into the game super cocky,” Hansuvadha said. They take this as a learning expirence for future games and now know what not to do.
Reminding themselves of this, They went into their game against Mt. Carmel on Oct. 15. with a diffrent attitude winning 26 – 0.
Their next game is against Oceanside High School on Oct.22, at Poway.
