By: Madyson Tang, Staff Writer
Our very own Varsity Flag Football team has been dominating the league, creating fun and interesting games to watch. From the competition to the amazing wins, the 2024 Varsity Flag Football team goes 9 for 1 this season.
Let’s talk to two of the team captains of the flag football team, receiver Kalyssa Chu and quarterback Luna Mengel-Yoshimura. “This season has been really fun just getting to know our team and there’s a lot of new players on JV so it’s been really fun to practice and play with them,” Chu told us. “The competition has also been really good, so we’ve been challenging ourselves in a lot of our games.” Mengel-Yoshimura commented saying, “My time on the team has been amazing. I love coming out everyday and especially playing games. The team dynamic is super good and we’re all friends so it helps but overall just a super fun sport.”
When asked why they enjoy being team captains, Chu told us, “Almost everyone going into the sport has never played it before, so just getting to guide my teammates in this new sport in a new environment is really fulfilling.” Mengel-Yoshimura told us, “I enjoy being a leader for the team and hopefully people look up to me just because I am a captain it doesn’t mean I do everything. Everybody plays a super important role on the team and I just love to see it.”
A favorite game both team captains enjoyed was the tied overtime game against Aragon. The game being in sudden death, Luna Mengal-Yoshimura got the interception, ran it to the other end of the field and threw it back to Kalyssa Chu ending the game all together with the final score of 15-13.
Next let’s bring it over to Coach Anderson, the Flag Football coach. Asking him about his team, he mentioned, “We have a good team so I think they are motivated to win the championship. They have improved by getting better with the plays and they have gotten better at working together as a unit.”
Following along with that lets talk to Reece Roach, who plays rusher, running back, and receiver, and Lucy Esquivel a receiver on the varsity flag football team. Reece started us off by saying, “It’s been really great returning to such a great group of girls. I joined a little late this year but I’m so grateful for my team.” Lucy said, “My time on the team has been so much fun and a new experience for me. I have gotten to meet so many new people and become really close with them. But most importantly I can’t wait to finish out the rest of the season with my team.”
When asked about how it feels to have your flag football team dominating your league Roach started us off by saying, “As a tri-sport athlete I’ve never played with a team this talented and with this much press! Last year I was the cover of the newspaper and that was surreal. We got called “unstoppable” [in the newspapers] which was wild but I’m really glad girls’ sports are getting the recognition they deserve.” Esquivel commented on the same question saying, “Flag football is a relatively new sport and to have Mills be a leader is an amazing experience. I am proud that our team shows Mills and represents the talent of our female athletes in the program.”
Lastly, when asked how they have been playing this season, Reece Roach said, “I think we’ve been playing really well. We are starting to figure out what plays work for us and adding more into our playbook.” Lucy Esquivel said, “Throughout the season we’ve played so well and bonded as a team no matter if games end in a win or loss. Every player has developed new skills, grown as flag football players and most importantly we have all grown as a team.”
In summary of it all, the Varsity Girls Flag Football team has a great season showing their sportsmanship and teamwork as a whole. With the season coming to an end, they have shown how girls sports deserves recognition and hope for more victories next season.
