West Ranch Flag Football has had an impressive regular season with an overall record of ten wins and three losses. This season, the team would not have been as dominating and successful without two valuable freshmen: Viviana Sanchez and Rachelle Clark. These players have proven to be valuable assets to the team defensively and have contributed immensely to West Ranch’s remarkable record.
Sanchez and Clark have proven to be essential components to the team’s successful defense, allowing an average of less than 10 points per game. Together, they have a total of 61 flag pulls and 17 interceptions. Varsity flag football Coach Mark Hornberger explained, “Rachelle being on safety is pretty remarkable, knowing that she’s made that many picks. And then Vivi’s also contributed well on defense, and she’s just got a lot of burst.”
Despite flag football being a new sport to players, especially to freshmen, Coach Will Ortiz, co-coach of the flag football team, expressed that Sanchez and Clark immediately stood ou
t to them: “Just their effort, their willingness to just give 100% during tryouts and their athleticism. I mean, it was definitely night and day compared to the others.” Sanchez and Clark were able to quickly adapt to the team’s atmosphere. Unintimidated by the challenges of being a freshman on Varsity, both girls earned their starting positions on the field.
Sanchez communicated how flag football has helped her develop as an athlete by branching out of her comfort zone: “Flag football has challenged me to work in different scenarios and with different people, but I think it’s also helped me improve my character a lot by just being in different situations.”
Although the majority of the team consists of juniors and seniors, instead of feeling intimidated, Sanchez describes how she uses the opportunity to get to know her teammates and become a better player. “It motivates me because I have people and upperclassmen to look up to who make me better every day and just improve my character on and off the field. And I just have coaches and others who challenge me every day.”
Similarly, Clark shares her experience about being a freshman on Varsity, expressing how the challenges also motivate her to improve her game. “It makes you want to walk in and do better for every season for the upcoming years.”
Both Sanchez and Clark have demonstrated that they have earned their spots on the team. Hornberger describes how “their catching ability, their speed, their agility, quickness, it’s kind of a whole package deal. There’s girls that we’ve seen early on in camp that had maybe some hands or maybe some speed, but they just didn’t have the entire, complete package.”
The Girls Flag Football team has grown tremendously over the season, with both Sanchez and Clark contributing to the success. Both girls encourage the other underclassmen on Varsity to put themselves out there. Sanchez says, “The advice I give them is just to be aggressive and work hard and if you want something, just work until you get there.” While Clark says, “Just have fun and get to know people and lock in your practice.”
Cats, the next time you watch a Flag Football game, be sure to catch #24 and #33 on the field!
