An amazing second season of girls flag football was capped off with a big celebration on Jan. 26 as a large crowd at Santa Cruz High watched the first Central Coast Flag Football All-Star Game. Fun and football were enjoyed by all on a cool, sunny afternoon.
Four Hollister senior football players competed on the South team, which lost a 13-7 thriller to the North.
Pacific Coast Athletic League Offensive Player of the Year Jasayla Mariscal, also a Baler track star, won the South MVP Trophy with contributions on offense and defense. PCAL First-Teamer Defense stars Mia Briano and Bianca Guerra also competed, along with valuable Baler center Jazmin Rubio. The South head coach was Hollister head man Jose Perez.
“I’m super grateful to play in this game,” Mariscal said. “It was super fun. It was great to meet the girls we played against all season and be on the same team this time. I love playing flag football and being an inspiration to the middle schoolers and many were here.”
The football was contested by the North (Santa Cruz County) versus the South (Monterey and San Benito counties). Rosters consisted only of seniors. The South team included players from Hollister, Salinas, Alisal, NMC, Palma and King City.
“It’s really fun, with teams made up from teams that were your rivals,” Briano said.
Yes, there was Salinas’ Emily Aguilar passing to Hollister’s Mariscal. There was defensive communication for Baler players with girls from Alisal and King City. The full-size boys turf football field was used, as opposed to the shorter and narrower field of the flag football season. Additionally, the game had four 15-minute quarters, longer than the regular season games.
“It’s fun seeing the other girls,” Rubio said. “We got comfortable with each other with the first practice. This is such an honor. Seeing us in the news, being No. 1 in league and now this.”
The South team practiced twice before the All Star game—on Jan. 12 and Jan. 19.
There was also swag for all on Jan. 26, including a special all-star jersey with each player’s name on the back, and an event hoodie. The afternoon began with skills competitions with prizes, red-carpet style player introductions a la the NFL, a DJ playing hip-hop music, a food truck with street tacos and public address announcer recognition. Add in the presence of KSBW television for a subsequent broadcast.
The football game started with a bit of nerves and rust as the teams traded punts. The North broke through in the second quarter. Watsonville’s Fernanda Lazo tossed touchdown passes of two yards to Scotts Valley’s Claire Skinner and 44 yards to Aptos’ Izzy Graff. It was 13-0 at halftime.
In the third quarter, the South replied with a 13-yard scoring toss from Alisal’s Jasmine Estrada to Salinas’ Natalie Jiminez. Estrada threw to Mariscal for the one-point conversion to narrow the tally to 13-7.
The South marched downfield again in the final quarter. A 29-yard Estrada-to-Mariscal completion keyed the drive. But the possession was halted by an interception by Soquel’s Trinity Wilson. A later last-ditch drive stalled on downs in North territory.
“It was a really cool experience to go to the first All-Star Game,” Guerra said. “I had a really good time, playing with girls from different schools.”
Hollister’s Jayden Osborne was also present on the sidelines. Osborne, a First-Team All-League football player who was recently named Winter Homecoming Queen, saw her season end early due to a severe injury. She is now nearly recovered from surgery and rehab.
Osborne will be back on the field for Hollister in the spring as a member of the Baler track and field team where she competes in the shot put and discus.
“It was cool,” Osborne said. “Watching it made me miss it a lot.”
The game was presented by the Reggie Stephens Foundation and the Gino Panelli Foundation. The event raised contributions to the Reggie Stephens Foundation, which provides opportunities for youth athletes through art and academics, and the Gino Panelli Foundation, which supports the Boys and Girls Club, hospice, Pop Warner and high school and college sport programs.
The day’s action began with a series of skills competitions. In the 40-yard dash, there was a tie for fastest time at 5.0 seconds between Graff and Mariscal. The passing accuracy competition was won by Taylor Wilson of Scotts Valley.
The third event was a passing competition between a quarterback and receiver against an opponent’s defensive back. The North won. Winners of the skills competitions received Erik’s Deli Café gift cards.
“It was exciting,” coach Perez said. “The sport’s only going to grow. The girls love it. This experience was special. At the first practice, everyone kinda hung out with their own teammates. By the second practice, they were all going out together and having ice cream. Now, after the game today, they’re sharing contact information and they’re going to hang out.”
