Excitement filled the air as curious students filled the stands to watch the first-ever girls flag football home game against Lake Mary on Tuesday night. Both teams had trouble scoring, and at the start of the second half, the score was 0-0. The offense got the ball and led a successful drive, which was thwarted by a personal foul penalty, eliminating what would have been a touchdown. But with two minutes remaining, Laky Mary managed an impressive play and scored a touchdown. Running out of time, Hagerty moved the ball down the field but were stopped when Lake Mary intercepted a pass with seconds remaining, Hagerty lost 7-0.
“We made a lot of mistakes. But I think we’re going to get better. We dropped three balls that I thought were crucial to potentially scoring. It’s all because of inexperience,” assistant coach Chandel Coffie said.
The game was chaotic, with the ref throwing yellow flags throughout the game to both teams. Due to the sport being so new, many of the players in the league are still finding their footing.
“If we didn’t have some mishaps with penalties that we didn’t even know would count against us, we would have done much better,” quarterback and wide receiver Ashton Zitzke said. “It was just little things that we don’t get to do during practice that we just kind of have to see in the game.”
The team practices every day after school and on Sunday mornings, where they grow their skills and understanding of the game.
“There were some plays where I was disappointed because I could have beat them,” Zitzke said. “We’re doing pretty solid, [Lake Mary] was playing pretty aggressively. Overall, we have a really good bond—we’re a really good team, we just need to work on setting those plays up nicely and not making mistakes.”
Many of the players were used to the crowds and games since they have played other sports. However, very few of them had ever played flag football before joining the team, let alone in a stadium full of onlookers.
“I did play flag football when I was little, but having the bigger crowd is a little scarier,” Zitzke said. “Being in the big stadium is more intense than a small field with some parents sitting on the sidelines, but I wasn’t nervous because the adrenaline just tunes everything else out. It’s what gets me in the zone to play.”
The team looks forward to future games and to continue practicing and improving.
“Everybody worked hard, everybody did their best,” freshman Isabella Ariosa said. “[We have to] just try to get better for next time, and build off of what we have. I’m excited to keep working as a team with everyone.”
The next game is on March 5, where they will play Lake Howell at 4 p.m. Coffie and head coach David Attaway are more motivated than ever to get the team on the path of success.
“I’m excited, and Coach Attaway is helping to lead us back to the Hagerty way, so all of us just fall in line and follow his beat toward winning the championship,” Coffie said.
