Newbury Park’s Isabel Perez high-fives with her teammates before the start of a flag football match against Simi Valley Tuesday, August 29, 2023. This is the inaugural season for girls flag football. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
NEWBURY PARK — Newbury Park quarterback Thalya Flores took the snap, ran right, dodged a defender and launched the ball to Lila Rugee, who was waiting with outstretched arms for a Panthers touchdown.
Rugee was swarmed by teammates and Flores screamed in celebration. That kind of reaction wasn’t reserved just for touchdowns — pass completions, successful runs, pass deflections and even the start of the game was celebrated.
It seemed as though no one could be in a bad mood when Newbury Park hosted Simi Valley on Tuesday evening. It was a party for girls flag football, which is in its first season as a CIF Southern Section sport.
“It feels great,” Flores said. “We went out there, we played with a lot of heart, a lot of spirit. I’m really proud of these girls. They went out there, they showed them who we are. And we’re the Panthers and that’s what’s up.”
The Panthers won the game, 20-0, for their first win of the season and first win in program history.
The defense scored two of the team’s touchdowns, the first of which came at the 15-minute mark in the first half when Lily Johnson intercepted Simi Valley’s quarterback and ran the ball roughly 60 yards to reach the end zone.
Later on, with five minutes to go in the game, Maddie Wax pulled down an interception and took it in for another touchdown.
Maddie Wax with another pick six for Newbury Park. The Panthers just about have this one wrapped up, leading 20-0 over Simi with 9:30 left in the game. pic.twitter.com/uOzoRX8ixy
— Haley Sawyer (@haleymsawyer) August 30, 2023
Newbury Park (1-2) ended the game with five interceptions.
“We do a lot of drills for that exact thing, where two or three girls go up for the ball and they fight for it,” Newbury Park coach Steve Wood said. “And so that’s really been helping us both on offense and defense. That and just getting physical with the ball.”
The only offensive touchdown came on Flores’ pass to Rugee with eight minutes left in the first half. Flores, a freshman, played flag football at her middle school and with the local YMCA when she was a kid.
“A lot of defense was shifted towards the right and I saw Lila open,” Flores said. “She was wide open. It was a cross-body throw, so I did have to load up my hips a little more, but I saw her, I shot the ball. She was there. She caught it.”
Girls flag football features a running clock until the final two minutes of each 20-minute half, which pushes for near-constant action. At the 2-minute warning, the game clock resumes on each snap.
Newbury Park’s two coaches called plays from the sideline and each player had reads and diagrammed plays strapped to their forearms to avoid any confusion.
Tanya Wismann, the coach for Simi Valley (0-3), has an extensive basketball background and has found ways to channel her basketball coaching abilities into flag football. She has four quarterbacks to rotate while the Pioneers find their flow with one another.
“Having that consistent quarterback with an offense is important for (tackle) football,” she said, “but I feel like with flag football, because you have more receivers that you could throw to … it’s good to come in and show different looks so we can adjust to the defense.”
Now that flag football is a few games into its inaugural season, coaches are beginning to notice ways in which the sport could be improved. The game only lasts a little under an hour with its running clock and halftime is only five minutes long.
Final: Newbury Park 20, Simi Valley 0
The Panthers get their first win as a flag football program and move to 1-1 on the season. pic.twitter.com/908VD4sG7x
— Haley Sawyer (@haleymsawyer) August 30, 2023
There’s no time to waste given that tight time frame, so every play is run at a fast tempo. Halftime allows for some brief encouragement and corrections, but not much more.
Hitches in rules and game play aside, players, coaches and fans are happy to bask in the newness of everything. Newbury Park has six seniors on a roster of 26 players, which could set the Panthers up for a bright future in the sport they’ve come to love.
“We have a really young team and some would say that is bad,” Flores said. “But honestly, I look at it in a more positive approach because that gives us time to grow not only together, but as a team.”
Travis Burnett
A pioneer in the flag football community, Travis helped co-found the Flag Football World Championship Tour, FlagSpin and USA Flag. Featuring 15+ years of content creation for the sport of flag football, creating and managing the largest flag football tournaments on the planet, coaching experience at the youth and adult level as well as an active player with National and World Championship level experience.
