Game On – November 2023

    As the Autumn winds slip through the back gate to Miramonte’s football field, they bring a slight chill and a beautiful, subtle, shimmer to the new blades of synthetic grass now adorning the playing surface.
    It’s beautiful and state-of-the art, with better cushioning, superior drainage and much lower upkeep costs.
    Underneath, a geological historian might say, the ground has been impacted by a multitude of past events. Layers upon layers of seismic sports occurrences over the years.
    Back-to-back National Championship Sports (NCS).
    California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) championship wins for Miramonte in ‘72 and ‘73.
    The huge 1981 State Championship win.
    The last time our JV team beat Campo in 2015.
    The Redemption Tour.
    Pete Stehr’s 1,693-yard season.
    My son’s first game.
    Coach Payo’s last game.
    It all happened somewhere under that new playing surface.
    A more recent layer, which brings a smile to my face just thinking about it, is the Moraga Orinda Lafayette (MOL) flag football championship exhibition games, played at halftime under the Friday night lights.
    You can’t watch those little grade schoolers without joy in your heart. The boys hit the field wide-eyed and ready for their NFL contracts. Heck, if they were puppies, they just might pee in excitement. Clearly they have caught Flag Football Fever.
    And, watch out, it is contagious.
    Look no further than this year’s launch, and success, of the Diablo Athletic League (DAL) Girls Flag Football League. Seven on seven, three 40-minute games every Wednesday evening, against two other local school teams. Look for my photographs of their games posted on the Miramonte High School Instagram pages.
    Our new girls flag football team coach, Jennifer Lezcano, spoke briefly about her new team and upsurge in the sport.
    “I think having teams with all four Acalanes schools will help generate interest at the middle and elementary level and the sport will continue to blossom,” she said.
    And at the typing of this article, it looks like Coach Lezcano is going to lead with standout freshman athlete Sophia Blore as starting QB, and juniors Jessica Chambers, Julia Quinn-Fergson, Mariana Lawrence, Chance Newby, Magnolia Rebmann and senior Mary Zarate as Blore’s go-to “A” team.
    Most all agree flag football is the safer future, and still exciting to watch. Girl and boy leagues are said to be scripted out for the growth of the NFL, to continue their global expansion plans.
    Flag football is even slotted to be in the 2028 Olympics. Yep, the floodgates are open.
    So if you were lucky enough to have caught one of Miramonte girls’ games before the season ended Oct. 28, you were watching our young women make history.
    Flag football is here to stay at Miramonte. It is, no doubt, the next layer of frosting atop our field’s deep sports history cake. The winds of change have arrived, enjoy the breeze.