While the days of news trucks and cameras swarming Menlo girls flag football games are over, the team has once again proved themselves worthy of national media coverage. The girls did not settle after finishing 15-1 in the first season of high school flag football in California last year. This season, the Knights are 9-0, outscoring their opponents 324-97. Since much of the hype their inaugural season had generated is gone, junior captain Sophie Housser reflects that the team has been working on bringing their own energy to their games.
Head coach Noah Lubarsky, who is in his first season coaching the team after coaching tackle football at Menlo since 2012, believes the team’s offense has been their biggest strength. “We’re playing really good offensive football,” Lubarsky said. “We have some great athletes who are playing fast. We’ve had really good quarterback play.”
The Knights have been working on improving their defense as well, especially in terms of flag-pulling, and Lubarsky thinks their defense really shined in their game against Saint Ignatius College Preparatory on Sept. 25.
Similarly, Housser believes that the team’s offense has been dominant but they could improve on their defensive positioning.
Housser praises Lubarsky’s coaching style. “He plays football in a very smart way, everything is calculated,” Housser said. “All the plays he calls, it’s clear that we’re at a coaching advantage. Not just [Lubarsky], like all of our coaches, [David Trujillo], [Buffie Ward], [Sharon Purcell], [Ryan Cooper], [Deric Thompson].”