By Sofia Marquez

Holy Spirit Girls Flag Football has been in the championships for four out of the last five years. It takes strategy and a good mindset to play flag football. Our Girls team has done wonders by beating everyone to get to the championships last year. We beat OLG in the championships last year and won in the gold division. This year’s girls flag football team is ready for the season. We will soon scrimmage our boys flag football team, Sacred Heart, and Saint Ignatius. That will get us prepared for our upcoming games. I interviewed Audri Gordon, Parker Smith, and Gabby Costantino. 

Unfortunately we lost our star quarterback Marie Morton. She is now a freshman at Christian Brothers High School. We brought in a new Quarterback Parker Smith. She is an incredible athlete, she played wide receiver on offense and a Safety on defense. She is one of our best players on our team. We are very lucky to have found a quarterback that plays all round. For my first question I asked “What makes you enjoy flag football?” I got a very similar answer from Parker and Gabby, they both said it is fun to play. Meanwhile Audri said “I enjoy flag football for many reasons, first I love playing with my friends, I have a love for the sport, and I feel very happy while playing it. I also have realized that with the years of me playing it, that it really is a sport that I would like to pursue towards my future. ”

For my second question I asked “How do you feel about this year compared to last year’s performance?” I received a variety of answers that we would play just as well as last year but we now have a big impact on our team from losing our old 8th graders. 

Question three had everyone in the same thought process. My question was “Do you think we will be able to make it to the Championships this year?” Audri said “Yes, if we have faith and play our best I think we have a chance.” Parker said “Yes, because we have a lot of great players left.” and lastly Gabby said “Yes, because we have a bunch of returning 8th graders who know the game.” 

My fourth question was “What makes Holy Spirit great at girls flag football?” I had some very inspiring answers. Parker and Gabby talked about passion and atheism. Whereas Audri said “I feel like the commitment and how much compassion my teammates and I have for flag football. I also think that we try very hard and it is not only fun, but we really work hard and practice.” 

My last question to finish it off was “What made you want to sign up for the team?” Parker had a very reasonable answer that was “I love to play.” It makes sense she has played and always enjoyed the sport even before she got the chance to play on a team. Gabby on the other hand never really played as much as Parker, Gabby said “It was a new thing for me to try.” Audri said “I wanted to sign up for the team in 6th grade because it sounded fun and I had never played it before, now that it is my 8th grade year I have an extreme devotion to this sport and I will for sure be playing flag football in high school.” 

In all, Holy Spirit’s Girls Flag Football has helped me and others to step out of their comfort zone and try something new. I am so excited to see what this year’s team will bring to Holy Spirit.