The newest high school sport in town experienced some shake-up in the offseason, and fans may be surprised by what they see this fall.
Girls flag football received a rule book makeover in May following the sport’s first two seasons as a CIF-sanctioned sport, opening the door to a new play style while forcing coaches and players to adapt.
From unlimited quarterback rushes to the introduction of special teams, girls flag football will be a must-watch sport in the coming months.
“It’s all new, so I have no point of reference and we’re going to be learning on the fly,” Dos Pueblos head coach Doug Caines said. “That’s kind of been this game each year, some pretty big holistic changes, and this year is no exception.
“We’re still all pretty green and we’re figuring it out, but we’re going to prepare and get after it.”
Revamped Rushing Attack
Perhaps the most impactful rule change from this offseason comes in an attempt to bolster the rushing game on the offensive side of the ball.
Under the new set of rules, there is no longer a no-run zone inside the 5-yard line and there are an unlimited number of quarterback rushes allowed in a drive.
For the past two seasons, teams have been forced to run pass plays once they get inside the 5-yard line of either the first-down marker or the endzone. However, there is now the potential for teams to install goal line packages for short-yardage run pays.
“I’m really excited that we have more opportunities for run plays because our team has a lot of speed and a lot of agility, and we’ve been training for that,” Dos Pueblos rising senior Sterling Streatfeild said. “I’m really excited for more opportunities to showcase that on the field.”
As for the quarterback rushes, teams were limited to one QB rush per drive in the past two seasons. This will open the door for more mobile quarterbacks to make dynamic plays on the ground and through the air.
“On defense, we’re always looking run just because you can run every single play now, if you want to,” Dos Pueblos senior Kacey Hurley said. “So it’s actually a little bit harder because you have to play the run when some QBs are going to be good at faking the run, but then throwing the ball.”
While this pair of rule changes favors the offense, CIF made sure to balance it out with a defensive shift that could help counter an uptick in run plays.
After two seasons in which defenders had to start 7 yards away from the line of scrimmage to begin their rush at the quarterback, the distance has been cut down to just 1 yard.
Now, the offensive team must line up behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive team must line up at least 1 yard away from the line of scrimmage, opening the door for more pressure on pass plays and potential tackles for loss on run plays.
“I think that’s the opposite and equal reaction to the offensive movement,” Caines said of the defensive change. “If you’re going to let the QB run whenever they want to, you better be able to put kids up at the line of scrimmage… You’ll need to finesse both of those sides.”
“There’s probably not going to be a lot of time for deep throws, so defense is going to have to condense down and offense is going to have to think quicker and move quicker,” Dos Pueblos rising senior Carly Letendre said.
“I think it definitely is going to help teams that don’t have a potent passing offense,” Caines said. “You can run it now in a more aggressive way, and you can pressure more. I think it just means that you’re going to see teams incorporate more run game than ever before.”
Welcome, Special Teams
For the first time in the sport’s existence, girls flag football will introduce special teams to the sport at the high school level.
While there are still no kickoffs, teams will have the option to punt at the end of drives rather than be forced to go for it on 4th down or turn the ball over to the other team.
The team on offense must declare that they are punting, and fakes are prohibited. Once the ball is kicked, the play is blown dead if it hits the ground, whether on the fly or after the receiving team muffs it.
Once a punt is recovered, there are no handoffs or laterals allowed by the receiving team and a punt into the endzone is ruled a touchback and the ball is advanced to the 14-yard line.
“I’ve coached football for long enough. I have a general plan, and I’ll be malleable based on what happens in game, especially game one,” Caines said of the new addition to the game. “It’s one of those things where we just have to wait and see.”
Additional Changes to a Growing Sport
While the tweaks to the run game and introduction of punts are some of the biggest changes to the game heading into this fall, there were plenty of other alterations made as well.
The games will now be made up of four 12-minute quarters, rather than two 20-minute halves. This will likely increase the length of games to an average of about 1 hour and 20 minutes, according to CIF.
The one-point conversion attempt will now be from 3 yards out rather than 5 yards, and any turnover will result in an immediate deadball. In the past, the defense had an opportunity to return a potential interception for a pick-six to score the points the opposing team was trying for.
Finally, drives will now begin on the 14-yard line rather than the 20-yard line, which allows teams to have an extra first down marker just 6 yards away to begin every drive.
While these changes may surprise some fans, they are clear signs of the growth of the sport both at the CIF level and locally in the Santa Barbara community.
“It’s just cool to be on the ground floor of something like that. It’s not often that a new sport has started in any area, so it’s been awesome,” Caines said. “I can’t tell you the number of people I’ve heard speak to me about coming to watch a game and it being so fun.”
“It’s been amazing because we’re trailblazing a whole new sport at our school, and we’ve just gotten tons of support and love from our community,” Streatfeild said. “It’s really fun to not have any expectations and create a path for future athletes.”
With plenty of talent in town and a revamped rulebook, the girls flag football season should be a fun one this fall.