Gridiron girls

WASILLA — Call them athletes, call them competitors, just don’t call them powderpuffs.

They’re football players, and for an afternoon on Monday, high school girls from across the Valley showed females have as much place on the gridiron as on the sidelines or bleachers.

Part of a fledgling high school flag football effort, teams from Wasilla, Palmer and Houston took the field at the Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports Center for the first of what Wasilla coach Chuck Pfeifer hopes will be many games.

“Flag football is big in Anchorage, but not so much here right now,” said Pfeifer, a former local youth football coach who also spent seven years on the Wasilla High School football coaching staff. “The girls out here have been begging me to get something going.”

What better time to start than the holiday break, when the girls are off from school and have time to practice and play, he said.

“That was the idea,” he said. “We wanted to see if there’d be any response, and there was.”

Although flag football is non-contact — players are “tackled” by pulling off colored flags hanging from harnesses around their waists — there’s nothing dainty about the way the girls play, Pfeifer said.

“Oh, they’re out to win, that’s for sure. They’re competitive,” he said. “This is competitive stuff and we’re just looking to get better.”

Ashlyn Frizzelle, a Wasilla High senior, agreed. Before going out for flag football, she spent time playing for Pfeifer on the WHS junior varsity boys’ team as a kicker. The fast pace of the flag game “is something different for girls to do,” she said. Playing organized football in the past “is a little bit of an edge, but the main thing is it’s fun and competitive.”

That competition was brought out early on Monday when Wasilla took the field against Houston for the first game, a 9-0 Houston win.

Although it’s football, there are several distinct rules that make the flag game unique.

There are seven players on the field at a time for each team, and they play on a 60-yard field. Playing two 20-minute halves, there are no kicks (punts or extra points) and players aren’t allowed to plow through defenders. Any fumble is a dead-ball at the spot of the fumble.

That opens up the field for a game that resembles smaller high schools that play 8- or 6-man football, Pfeifer said.

That Monday was the first action for the teams — for Houston, the only action, as the Hawks didn’t practice before game time — was apparent from the start. The first snap went over WHS quarterback Bethany Payne’s head and Houston eventually would capitalize on the field position to force a safety, leading 2-0 with 12:40 left in the first half.

With high school players helping out as referees, both coaches worked the angles to encourage delay of game calls.

“Hey, you don’t get a half hour over there,” Pfiefer chided the Houston sideline.

But that extra time for the Hawks would pay off as quarterback Jessica Baybado connected with sister Vicki Baybado for a 30-yard toss and scamper down the left sideline to set up a first-and-goal for Houston. The Hawks would eventually turn the ball over on downs, but the stage was set for a quick and aggressive Houston team.

The game became more physical and fast-paced in the second half, with Jessica Baybado connecting with Paige Wagner for the game’s longest play, a 46-yard pass and run that ended just outside the end zone. It didn’t take long for the quarterback to find her sister again for a 1-yard touchdown and the 9-0 final.

Although she had the longest play on offense, Wagner also shined on the defensive side of the ball, recording two interceptions.

For Wasilla, Payne connected with Taylor Steiner for a 20-yard gain midway through the second half and the WHS girls had momentum. It was one of several athletic plays for Steiner, who also intercepted a Houston pass late in the contest to give her team a final shot at the end zone.

For Pfeifer and the players, any preconceived opinions that girls can’t play football are a lot of hot air.

“Some say girls can’t play football, but I tell you what, I’d take a lot of these girls over some of the boys I’ve coached,” Pfeifer said. “Ashlyn Frizzelle over there? I had her kick for me on the JV team and she kicked a 35-yard field goal. “

For Jessica Baybado, the game was a good outlet for her holiday adrenaline.

“It was really fun,” she said. “Usually, we all play together (in other sports) anyway.”

Jenae Shannon, a 17-year-old Houston junior, said gender shouldn’t be a factor in playing whatever sport a person wants to participate in. Like her sister, Rachael, Shannon also wrestles on the high school team with the boys.

“We may not have played a lot of (organized) football, but I can make up ground really quick.”

And about that spirit of competition, the games may seem a little unorganized or a step up from glorified street ball, Shannon said, but there should be no questioning that desire to win.

“Are we out to beat them into the ground?” she said. “Pshaw, yes, of course.”

Contact Greg Johnson at greg.johnson@frontiersman.com or 352-2269.