New era begins for girls’ sports

And while the actually football action is football, the rest of the game, well, it certainly is not the football most are used to.

“It’s definitely different,” said Capuchino head coach Andre Kelley, who also serves as offensive coordinator for the Capuchino boys’ football team. “It was a tough adjustment because the game is much slower.”

It took a while for everyone — players, coaches, spectators and officials — to really get into a groove and understand the game. San Mateo athletic director Jeff Scheller used an an announcer to not only help identify players, but also to explain some of the rules of the game.

A real quick run down of the game: the game consists of two, 20-minute halves with a running clock, except for the final two minutes of each half. It’s played 7-on-7 and on offense, everyone is eligible to run with the ball or catch it. A quarterback can only run once per drive and there are no-run zones 5 yards from the goal line, but also 5 yards from a first down. The field dimensions are also smaller — 80 yards — than a regulation football field and first downs occur at the 20, 40 and 20.

There are no special teams, so no kicking or punting. When a team faces a fourth down, the officials ask the coach if they want to “punt.” If the answer is yes, the other team simply takes over at their own 20-yard line. All extra points are all passes, as well.

Additionally, there were various levels of football playing and coaching experience. Mills head coach Erik Anderson started the girls’ water polo program at the school in the late 1990s. He had flag football coaching experience when he son Dane, a former San Mateo quarterback, played flag when he was younger.

The same applied to the players. Woodside’s Arianna Baca said she’s been playing backyard football with friends and family for years. When she scored a touchdown on a 42-yard catch and run, she was beaming as she went into the end zone.

“I was very excited,” Baca said, who said she wears the No. 18 in honor of her boyfriend, Dominic Mercado, who is injured and can’t play football this year.

“Being able to play is really cool,” Baca continued. “A lot of the senior girls really rallied together (to play this season).”

Burlingame and Woodside had two of the larger rosters of the six teams. Capuchino, on the other hand, had only a couple of substitutes. Kelley said part of that was because he has some kids who are still not eligible, but he also wanted to keep the roster relatively low to give opportunities to play.

“I just wanted the ladies to have fun,” Kelley said. “That’s my goal. That’s why I didn’t want the roster too big so everyone can play.”

The most fired up roster belonged to Mills, who celebrated accordingly after beating San Mateo 26-12. Unlike Woodside’s Baca, there wasn’t a lot of football experience on the Vikings’ sideline.

“Absolutely none,” Mills’ Kalyssa Chu said when asked about her football experience. “This is brand new for all of us. … Everything was foreign to us.”

But being a basketball player on the Mills’ Central Coast Section girls’ basketball championship team last season, Chu and her teammates definitely have the athleticism to excel on the football field.

Chu said she doesn’t play any other sports and usually just trains for basketball year round. She said she and a couple other teammates skipped out on basketball conditioning because of the football game.

“I hope our basketball coach is proud of us,” Chu said.

Woodside 34, Burlingame 20

The Wildcats racked up 280 yards of offense as they pulled away from the Panthers in the opener.

Woodside was one of the teams during the day that was committed to a ground game as the combination of Lilly Lyssand and Lilie Parodi combined to rush 94 yards on 12 carries. Meanwhile, quarterback Sophiya Karer completed 10-of-14 passes for 133 yards and three touchdowns.

Woodside built a 28-6 lead in the second half, but Burlingame scored back-to-back touchdowns to cut the deficit to 28-20 with just over a minute left to play.

But Woodside sealed the win on a Savannah Truby 44-yard touchdown pass.

The quarterback combination of Gorshen, Sibley and Sienna La Mark combined to go 13-for-23 for 163 yards and three touchdowns.

Capuchino 38, Terra Nova 0

While flag football is known mostly for its offense, it was the Mustangs’ defense that ruled the day against the Tigers.

Leading just 6-0 at halftime, Capuchino converted four interceptions into touchdowns on a quartet of pick-6s over the final 20 minutes. Madison Chau got the pick party started on the third play of the second half when she stepped in front of a pass and went 25 yards the other way to put the Mustangs up 12-0.

After the teams exchanged interceptions, it was Cap’s Kaitlyn Staff who took an interception to the house from 20 yards out to put the Mustangs up 19-0. Alana Koenig then had interception returns on Terra Nova’s next two drives, returning the first 55 yards for a score and the second, from 35 yards out, put the Mustangs up 32-0.

Capuchino quarterbacks had a strong performance with Natalia Ortiz and Phoenix Pinon combining to go 14-for-23 for 170 yards and a touchdown.

Mills 26, San Mateo 12

Kalyssa Chu amassed 167 yards of total offense to help lead the Vikings to the win over the host Bearcats.

Chu had 70 yards rushing on seven carries and caught two passes for 67 yards, including a 60-yard score from quarterback Luna Mengel-Yoshimura.

San Mateo took the first lead of the game, however, when quarterback Lily Bernard hooked up with Jasmine Bernardino for a 40-yard score. But Mills answered with Chu’s 60-yard catch-and-run as the Vikings would go on to lead 13-6 at halftime.

In the second half, the Vikings pulled away.

Mengel-Yoshimura had a good day at quarterback, completing 8-of-10 passes for 130 yards and two passing touchdowns. She also ran for a third score.

Bernard provided most of the offense for San Mateo, completing 7-of-13 passes for 150 yards and a pair of scores. Kayla Lichaa pulled in three passes for 54 yards and a touchdown, while Bernardino caught two balls for 63 yards and a score.